This week our Social Media Managers Facebook Group acquired a new feature that is proving to be helpful with moderating our large 32,000+ group.
Do you ever get an unexpected gift and want to share it with the world? That’s us this week!
While this was and continues to be an exciting moderating feature for us as group moderators, this feature alone might not be the most exciting topic to write about!
Therefore, we are going to give you not one, but seven ways to win at moderating a Facebook group.
[Interested or curious about the latest moderation feature we acquired this week? Scroll down to item #7].
Group Management 101 – Moderating a Facebook Group Alone
Most new group owners start out by creating a Facebook group because they see a need for an online forum.
That need could be related to a
- hobby
- sport
- association
- business
- local event
- research
- disease
- love for a brand
- charity involvement
just to name a few reasons to start a group.
The Facebook group set up process is straightforward; the new admin selects a group type, invites a few friends to become the first group members, and makes the first post in the group and voila, the group is up and running.
Soon though, most group admins realize there is more to Facebook group moderation.
- When posts and comments flood in; someone needs to moderate.
- When requests to join pile on; someone needs to vet and approve new members.
- When spammers leave copy and pasted posts and comments; someone needs to remove those and block that member.
That brings many new group owners to the conclusion that going it alone is not the preferred method of growing a Facebook Group.
Group Management 102 – Looking for Moderating Help
One way to grow your Facebook group is to grow your moderating team. While you can look and find new moderators just about anywhere, here are a few proven ways you could find additional admins and moderators to help you moderate and grow.
- Use one of the 3 questions when new members apply to join as a way to find out their current level of interest and/or expertise about your group topic.
- Find active members and strike up conversations; take these conversations to messenger to learn more about them and gauge their interest.
- Ask your online friends if they might be interested.
- Once you find one new moderator, ask for referrals from them for additional moderators.
There is a lot more to moderating groups than finding a few volunteers willing to give their time. Moderators also need to be trained, managed and monitored.
Therefore, we've put together a list with seven steps to implement if you want to win at moderating a Facebook Group.
Winning at Moderating a Facebook Group
Once you implement the next seven steps to moderating a Facebook Group, you will be well on your way to growing an online community with success, and little stress!
1) Naming a Facebook Group
Naming a Facebook Group is an important first step in your Facebook group's moderating journey.
What instant way can someone understand the purpose of the group and its intended use but not for its name?
While members will come to your group from many different links, coming up first in a Facebook search is going to help you grow faster.
To choose a Facebook group name, research (on Facebook) what groups are currently active.
Search by
- Niche
- Geographical Location
- Topic
- Intended Name
- Keyword
Understanding how Facebook search works should be the first step in choosing a group name wisely.
2) Create a Facebook Group Strategic Growth Plan
If you can't measure it, you can't improve it.
Measuring growth starts with a snapshot of what you have, and then a plan for growth. Putting your thoughts, ideas, strategies and tactics in one document, will help you refocus when things get busy. Just like would do for any other social media marketing campaign, create a strategic plan for this group on Facebook. This growth plan should include a content plan and an outline of what should be posted on the group page. Content can include a wide variety of images, text, weekly features and live video. This plan should also outline ways to gain new members, and ways to communicate with members.
3) Train a Volunteer Moderating Team for Your Facebook Group
While we discussed earlier, briefly, how to find volunteer moderators for your Facebook group, we didn't touch on the need to train and monitor their activities.
Someone – one person – needs to be in charge of the team who in turn is in charge of your group. You need a team leader.
Initially, most group owners assume that responsibility. However, as the group grows and as thoughts turn to monetize the group, it might be time to consider hiring help. What does this leader do? The leader sets the guidelines, checks in frequently with volunteer moderators, facilitate team meetings and informs moderators of changes to and within the group.
4) Hire a Community Manager for your Facebook Group
The next phase of a fast and furiously growing Facebook Group could be hiring a paid community manager. This community manager can be put in charge of leading the volunteer moderating team and the content strategy and could be an asset to any business owner ready for growth.
5) Set and Update Facebook Group Rules
Setting group rules is as easy.
When a new group is formed, Facebook gives you sample rules you can adapt and implement.
We strongly encourage any community manager or Facebook group owner to keep track of rules violations, as well as all other spamming and trolling incidences. Screenshots are great for this purpose! Checking and updating group rules should be a monthly task!
Every group has the ability to post 10 rules. If you need more space, we suggest you combine several rules i.e. “Spamming and Rants are forbidden” into one. Use all available space to post your rules. The clearer you are, the less time you have to spend moderating.
6) Moderate Your Facebook Group
If this tip seems weird to you *high five* for being a star moderator! It’s a given to any Facebook Group owner who understands the power of these groups, yet many Facebook Groups are abandoned!
We urge you to be present and moderate the group! If the group is left to its own device, spammers will spam, trolls will troll and overbearing-loudmouths will take over your conversations! Being in charge means laying down the law, but also encouraging conversations and discussions, leading by example!
7) Utilize Any and All Group Features
Yay! We finally get to share the coolest new feature we acquired!
It’s called the Keyword Alerts feature.
To activate this feature, add keywords (in your group settings) which in turn will activate a real-time alert aka Facebook notification.
For our Social Media Managers group, we have initially added keywords related to the prevention of self-promotion and spam. We are keeping track of what words trigger the alerts, and whether the alerts are warranted, or not. We can also see this work as a way to give instant help when needed by adding the words ‘admin' and ‘help' to the keyword alerts feature.
We will be testing this feature for a while – but it's already proven to be handy, finding spammy links in comments!
SIDE NOTE: If you’ve ever used Google Alerts, you understand how this feature works and how useful it can be!
Additional Facebook Group Moderator Resources
If you are the admin of a Facebook group and need a community of fellow Facebook Admins, request to join this Facebook group.
When you have a need to understand more about the roles admins and moderators play, read ‘The Complete Guide to Facebook Group Admin Roles and Responsibilities.'
Lastly, our friends at AdEspresso have a nice resource about Facebook groups. Check it out!
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.
