New Group & Page engagment tools rolling

Over the past few years, Facebook Groups have undergone a metamorphosis to become a keystone social media feature for marketing and comms teams worldwide.

Groups have grown popular with global players like Pelaton, with its 400k+ official Group, to SMBs such as The Sleep Store, which hosts 6 Groups for parents with little ones across AU and NZ.

To help boost Group participation and interaction further still, Facebook has a new plan to give Admins the power to leverage experts within their Groups.

Maria Smith, VP of Communities, Facebook App

“There are more than 70 million admins and moderators running active Facebook groups around the world.

Many of these groups are home to subject matter experts who love to share their knowledge, from fitness trainers to highly skilled crafters. Now, it’s easier than ever to help experts stand out in groups and offer ways for them to engage with their communities.”

Group Experts will be highlighted in discussions, will be able to run Q&A sessions with Admins and will be visible to Admins of other Groups – who may wish to invite them into their discussions to provide extra insight.

An invite-only club

Maria Smith, VP of Communities, Facebook App

“Admins now have the ability to select specific members in their communities who stand out, empowering them to play a more meaningful role.

“After accepting this role, group experts will receive a badge next to their names in the group, making it easier for group members to spot informative posts and comments from designated experts.”

It must be said that Group Experts don’t have to be accredited brain-boxes in their field – these are people Admins believe to be prominent within a Group or field. All this status really means is that an ‘Expert’ has the trust of an Admin.

Less workload, better Groups

Admins can add as many Group Experts as they want, which could help to improve engagement and provide additional moderation powers from strong figures within each community.

As mentioned previously, Admins will also be able to search outside their Group to find other experts – and invite them into the conversation.

Updates like this will allow Admins to create deeper, more authoritative communities – although this feature is only available for fitness and gaming Groups at launch.

Experts could drive growth by themselves since they will be able to invite people to join the Group.

Automated invites

Additionally, Facebook’s new automated invites feature helps Page managers to invite followers to join a specific Group.

Maria Smith, VP of Communities, Facebook App

“To make it easier for experts to engage with their followers, we’re introducing automatic invites, which allows them to invite their recently engaged Page followers to join groups they’ve created.

“As their communities grow, they’ll be able to create more collaborative places for discussion and content sharing.”

Automatic invites can be a clever way of building communities across Facebook, especially if a brand runs a Page and a Group.

Page followers might not always be aware of the existence of a separate, branded Group, but this easy way to re-engage active Page followers can help marketers to maximise engagement on Facebook.

Moderators could use this tactic to expand community engagement, especially through Groups, which contain 1.8 billion active Facebook users per month.

As people shift online to stay connected, providing an audience with more opportunities to connect with your brand will boost organic reach and community engagement.

Facebook continues to improve Groups with tools such as audio rooms and video rooms, and these latest updates provide more ways to be seen as an authoritative and entertaining voice.