Unless you are not an avid Facebook user, and what social media manager isn't, you most likely have noticed the changes in your newsfeed, especially in your mobile feed. Facebook group updates are coming at us with great speed; have you been able to keep up with all the recent changes? Increased and incessant group notifications are just one results of a huge shift in priorities in your newsfeed!
Overnight or so it seems, the emphasis has shifted from a feed full of friends and ads to a feed full of Facebook group posts and Facebook story notifications.
What happened?
Being rolled out to us is the new FB5 design as announced at F8 last week, and it is being implemented on mobile first before it rolls out on desktop later this year.
The FB5 Redesign as Announced at F8
The 2019 F8 conference was held from April 30, 2019 to May 1, 2019 in San Jose, California. During the keynote, Mark Zuckerberg announced:
“The future is private.”
Ch-ch-changes are coming to Facebook and many users are seeing the design changes at work. Facebook group updates is a huge part of Facebook strategy.
The redesign makes it easier for users to go from public spaces to private ones such as Groups. Currently, there are over 400 million Facebook users who are part of a Group.
The Facebook groups tab was redesigned in order to make discovery easier. Now the tab shows a personalized feed across all your groups. There is also a new discovery tool with improved recommendations so you can quickly find the groups you might be interested in and want to join.
Facebook is making it easier to find relevant group recommendations elsewhere in the app like Marketplace. When you look at the gaming tab and Facebook Watch, Facebook is also adding content directly to groups from the news feed.
Facebook Group Updates: New Group Types Announced
Facebook is simplifying the types of Facebook groups. They will soon be adding a new type called General, and retiring 13 of the old types.
Retiring groups include
- Close Friends
- Club
- Events and Plans
- Family
- Neighbors
- Parents
- Project
- School or Class
- Study Group
- Support
- Team
- Travel
- Custom
The NEW groups will include
- General – The standard set of tools available to all groups. Most groups will soon be General groups.
- Jobs – Announced at F8, the new Jobs type will include tools like a new post type for members to share job openings and an easy way for job seekers to filter posts and apply on Facebook.
- Health Support – Announced at F8, Health Support groups will include tools like the ability for members to ask the group's admins to post on their behalf, which allows a member to make a sensitive post without revealing their identity to everyone else in the group.
These new groups will have access to new group tools and features. For now, Facebook is still early testing the Health Support and Jobs groups. They will be rolling these both out gradually.
Facebook Group Updates: Units in Social Learning groups
Social Learning Facebook groups allow admins to access the (fairly) new ‘units' feature, which in turn allows admins to organize their group posts by topic. Posts can be added to units as they are published, or units can be used to organize older group posts. Units also give the group admins the ability to use their group as a platform for online course content.
These are big Facebook group updates. How can you use these updates to your advantage?
Ideas on how to use group units include using units to
- welcome new members
- share the latest industry news
- update group members on events
- conduct research
- run a contest or challenge
- educate via video
- connect members to chat about a topic or interest
- and so much more!
Facebook Group Updates: Mentorship in Select Groups
In August 2018, a new feature rolled out to select groups. Facebook group mentorship became available to members of select groups. The Facebook groups with this mentorship option are focused on parenting, professional and personal development.
Here is the rundown on how the mentorship program works:
- Group admins decide to create a mentorship program. Admins can choose from a variety of template programs, such as career advancement, skill development, or encouragement and support, and select the one that fits their community’s needs best.
- Members sign up and are then matched with their mentor/ mentee: Group members can sign up to be a mentor or a mentee, then the group admin will pair people together. This is a fairly easy step.
- Member pairs are introduced to each other. Pairs can get to know each other and work through program steps in their one-on-one mentorship program on Facebook. They can share and comment on posts there or communicate through Messenger.
- Mentors and mentees receive step-by-step guidance. The pairs progress through a guided program that encourages them to check in with each other weekly.
Mentorship is a great way to create closer online relationships with people within your industry or organization. For the aspiring social media manager, mentorship would be a great way to gain inside knowledge of how an agency or freelancer works.
The Scoop on Facebook Group Badges
Facebook wants online communities to thrive. Facebook has added ‘badges' to groups to help group owners to acknowledge admins, moderators, and dedicated group members.
From the Facebook news room we learn about these badges.
Admin and Moderator: These badges help members easily identify group leaders, which in turn enables your moderation team in keeping your community engaged and safe. This badge will always appear for group admins and moderators.
New Member: Welcoming new members and making them feel supported is critical to building community. This badge will appear for members who have joined the group within the last two weeks.
Group Anniversary: Celebrates the time a member has invested in your group. This badge will appear on the anniversary of the day a member joined your group.
Conversation Starter: Recognizes members who start meaningful group discussions. This badge will appear for members whose posts receive the most likes and comments in the past month.
Founding Member: Acknowledges early members who have helped grow your group. This badge is awarded to people who join within the first three days of a new group's creation and write a post, invite people to join, or share to the group within those first three days. This badge is only available in newly created groups.
Conversation Booster: Recognizes people who frequently generate meaningful discussions can encourage other group members to contribute more. The conversation booster badge will appear for members who make comments that people find valuable.
Visual Storyteller: Recognizes members for unique contributions to the community can help spark conversation within the community. The visual storyteller badge will appear for members who share photos or videos that group members find valuable.
Greeter: Provides new members with information and support upon joining can help them feel welcomed. The greeter badge will appear for members who frequently respond to new members' posts and comments.
Link Curator: Recognizing members who help bring topic-relevant news to the group, the link curator badge will appear to members who share quality, external content with their group that receives many reactions and comments.
Rising Star: Recognizing new members within their first month with the group that contribute to the community. The rising star badge will appear for new members that receive the most comments and reactions on their posts and comments.
Not every badge will fit every group. Therefore, Facebook has given admins control over which badges are available to group members. As a Facebook group admin, you have the power to disable badges for all eligible members. This can be done by visiting ‘settings' in ‘admin tools & insights', and selecting “Group Badges”.
Our Facebook group Social Media Managers has these badges and we've deiced to use them. As we are a large group with 31,000+ members, these badges are a great way to connect and recognize those who are most active within our group.
NOTE: Badges are currently available to groups who have at least 50 members.
Facebook Group Updates: Facebook Pixel in Groups
Last but not least we want to share one more exciting Facebook group development you might not be aware of.
Did you know you can add your Facebook Pixel to your group?
Why? The Facebook Pixel in groups allows marketers to track users’ behavior after clicking on posts. The feature is another reason for Facebook advertisers to pay more attention to groups. The pixel will make it possible for brands to determine how their Facebook group content is impacting traffic and conversions on their websites.
The data from the pixel will show up on groups’ insights page and be visible to groups’ administrators. Facebook is limiting access to the pixel only to groups with 250 or more members.
Will there be more functionality coming to this group pixel?
We sure hope so! How exciting would it be (from the perspective of a social media manager, of course) if we could target Facebook group members with ads based on their group behavior and membership?
More Facebook Group Updates Rolling Out!
We are confident these recent Facebook group updates are only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
As more and more emphasis is placed upon privacy, meaningful interactions and closed group engagement, it only serves Facebook to roll out new features, new badges, and new opportunities for admins to keep their groups healthy and growing.
When we get the word on new features, we will update this article!
What do you think will be rolling out to Facebook groups next? Leave your prediction in a comment!
I am a Certified Social Media Manager, Strategist, International Keynote Speaker, Organic Specialist and Agile marketer! Blogging is my creative outlet. Running, hiking and skiing are how I recharge. You'll recognize me on stage and online by my always present orange glasses, a nod to my Dutch heritage.
