Updates and How to Use Them
Let’s talk about Facebook™, specifically Facebook™ Groups. Some of you might already know all the benefits that come from being a part of a Facebook™ Group, and some of you might feel like it will be one more thing on your mile-long to-do list. What I want to share with you, whether you use Facebook™ Groups or not, are a few features that have been added and/or updated, what they are used for and the benefit of each. This should either give you Facebook™ Group users some new tools in your repertoire or turn you non-users over to the dark side .
Inviting New Members – Update
Unsolicited invitations to groups was and continues to be one of people’s biggest pet-peeves. Please make sure you are not overwhelming users with group invites if the group is not useful to them!
Jennifer Perez Medina
Inviting new members to a group may not seem like a new feature, because it isn’t. However, updates to what happens after a person is invited has had some changes.
If a member invites a new user to the group, they will still need to be approved by an Admin or Moderator. This person will receive a notification that they have been invited and can preview the group for 28 days, or until they accept or decline the invite.
While in preview mode, the user will not be able to post or comment on other people’s posts in the group nor be able to invite others to the group. They will be able to react to posts in the group, and members of the group can see that this person is previewing the group on the members list. But those who aren’t members of the group will not see them in the members list and won’t be included in the total member count.
If the person interacts with posts from the group, the preview mode will be extended for another 28 days. If there is no interaction the preview will expire. This gives potential members the opportunity to preview the interaction of the group, gauge engagement and decide if it is a good fit for them.
Admins will be able to send reminders to the invited user to have them accept or decline. This change is not too recent, but it was a great update to make sure that groups are filled with engaging users and that the groups they are joining are relevant and meaningful. It also gives you an accurate count of group members. Having access to an engaged group allows you to stay up to date with your demographics’ needs.
Social Learning Units
This feature is one that is really exciting! It allows you to give real value to your members and share your expertise. Social Learning Units or Facebook™ Units allow you to create lessons and track members’ progress. You can even create quizzes to test your group members. You’re able to create units as a set, or separate units for different topics. Your group type will have to be under Social Learning to utilize this feature, and you can change yours by updating your group settings. How cool is that?
Depending on your industry you can utilize this in many different ways.
- You can offer customer support.
- Give lessons on how to make the most out of a product, or
- Educate members to help them get to where they need to be, to become an ideal client.
- Create a paid Facebook™ Group as a tool to host courses and make sure students are gaining value from the membership.
Keyword Alerts
Show up when you need to by setting up a custom keyword and phrases alert. We all have limited time, so hiring a VA or scanning your Facebook™ Group for discussions you need to be a part of can be unproductive. This tool allows you to set up alerts for keywords and phrases that will notify the admin and moderator each time the word or phrase gets mentioned as a post or comment in the group. Did you know this?
This will allow you to show up for your group when it matters most. The list can be changed; so as your group’s interests and problems evolve, so can the list. You are also able to view all the mentions at once with this tool. Think about what is important to you and your members, what needs to be addressed sooner rather than later and build your list around those needs.
Changes on social media platforms is our new normal. It is definitely one of my clients’ biggest frustrations. Once you feel like you finally mastered something, then it changes again. I want to highlight that changes in technology are a must and as business owners we must learn to stay up to date. I highly recommend visiting my Facebook Group, Social Media Socialites to stay current, make connections and keep learning how to grow your business.
Do you have any features or updates that you love/hate, or are you still not convinced on Facebook groups? Let me know!
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