Facebook's Latest 'Cash Money' Community Summit Updates 

Facebook introduced paid subscriptions for Groups mid-2018, and it has this week announced a further expansion, rolling out the feature to a growing number of partners.

The expansion of paid Groups came amidst a raft of new Group features announced at Facebook’s latest Community Summit.

Facebook Community Summits have run every few months, since 2017, and tend to coincide the launch of new Facebook Group features and functions.

For communicators and marketers wanting higher levels of organic (unpaid) reach on Facebook, Groups have offered strong results for at least two years.

How Do Facebook’s Paid Subscription Groups Work?

Paid subscriptions launched with a small number of select partners in June last year. Initially, Facebook allowed Group admins to charge US$4.99 to US$29.99 per month for access to dedicated sub-Groups of exclusive content, support and experiences. 

The feature launched with a hand-picked array of parenting, cooking and annoying Kon Mari type Groups.

One of the launch partners was Grown and Flown, a US-based parenting community. The subscription Group can be accessed here. Joining the Group costs A$42.59 per month.

If you are a nosy type, like me, select the ‘Request Free Trial’ button at the top of the Subscription Group. The paid subscription offers resources and support for parents finally getting rid of their kids, who are flying the nest.

I recently tried to get my kids to fly the nest, but since they are four and one respectively, they just sat out on the drive, and someone called the police*.

During the initial trial, Facebook didn't take a cut on the fee. However, since the feature bills through iOS and Android, those operating systems get their 30% cut of a user’s first year of subscription and 15% after that. as standard.

Other Facebook Marketing Features Announced

1. New and improved post formatting

   • Group admins will soon have a range of new post formatting options
   • Including variable text sizes, bullet points and block quotes
   • Giving Admin updates a more distinct look in the feed

2. Pages posting to Groups integration 

   • Facebook Pages will soon be able to communicate with customers in Group discussions
   • Of course, representatives from a Facebook page can participate in groups with their personal accounts
   • But no one really wants that
   • Think about popular Groups like Kmart Hacks or Seed, Country Road And Witchery Buy, Swap And Sell, these could offer the relevant brands huge upside
   • Not to mention, local government connecting with local communities and resident Groups

3. Simplifying messaging for Page admins

   • Page admins will also soon be able to respond to Instagram Direct Messages from their Facebook Page inbox
   • 150 million people on Instagram have a conversation with a business every month
   • On Messenger, 10 billion messages are sent between people and businesses every month
   • All of this is now in one tidy spot. Noice.

To get more out of Facebook in 2019, check out SMK’s upcoming courses below:

Training Cycle 1: March/April

• Social Media Strategy + Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn Advertising Masterclass
  Day 1: Social Media Strategy Optimisation
  Day 2: Facebook, Instagram & LinkedIn Advertising Mastered
• Content Marketing + Digital Copywriting Masterclass
  Day 1: Creating A Killer Content Strategy
  Day 2: Digital Copywriting Mastery: Social, Website, Email & Ads

Training Cycle 2: May/June

• Social Media Strategy + Facebook Marketing Masterclass
  Day 1: Social Media Strategy Optimisation
  Day 2: Facebook Masterclass: Messenger, Biz Manager, News Feed, Ads and More
• Content Marketing, Google Analytics & ROI Masterclass
  Day 1: Creating A Killer Content Strategy
  Day 2: Google Analytics, Evaluation & ROI Masterclass

*This is a joke, no children were actually harmed in the making of this article.