Should you use Facebook Groups for your community?
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- čas přidán 21. 08. 2024
- Get the low-down on the good and bad of Facebook Groups and learn if they are a good home for your community. 🔥
Yeah...yeah...I get it...Facebook...
...even people who use Facebook don't seem to be huge fans of Facebook as a company...but let's put that to one side for a moment.
Thousands of companies, interest groups, support groups and more use Facebook Groups every single day, so, here is the question: are Facebook Groups a good platform for building an awesome community?
You know what, it is a fair question.
There are a billion people on Facebook, and Facebook Groups are totally free...so does it make sense to dip your fishing rod into the communal fish pond (so to speak?)
Well, unlike people on Twitter complaining endlessly about anything to do with Facebook (or Meta), I decided to remove emotion from the equation and explore if Facebook Groups are any good.
In my video I explore the good and bad of Facebook Groups covering features, capabilities, insights, data, notifications and more...while also demoing a live community in a Facebook Group.
Finally, I will let you know what I would do if I was in your shoes and whether I would use Facebook Groups for a community...
If you are a community manager, community leader, community evangelist, or marketer...you should check this out.
Spoiler alert: there is a lot to like, and there are some things that really suck...
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![Facebook Groups for your community in 2024? [Full Breakdown]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/AhiWjpG5VB8/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm struggling with using Discord because I don't know who I'm really connecting with. On Facebook, people use their real names, making it easier to know who you're talking to. This transparency is something I appreciate about Facebook.
That is a great point!
Absolutely love how densely-packed your presentations are Jono. Thanks for putting in the time to make this so fast, valuable, and enjoyable!
Thanks so much, Ted!
I have been running FB groups for alumni for three years. Very helpful video. I am always thinking about pros/cons of my social media strategy and it was wonderful to have a few minutes of rethinking that strategy. Your experience, insight and wisdom are much appreciated.
Thanks for the kind words!
I'm getting absolutely fed up with Facebook constantly asking users to join groups every two posts on the damn newsfeed.
There must be some sort of financial incentive for Zuckerberg to keep doing this otherwise he wouldn't.
I DON'T need nor do I WANT Facebook telling me to join a damn group. I've been on the platform long enough to know how to use the search feature in order to FIND a specific group to join on my own time!!
If you're a business owner you should really be building your own forum as I did for a website promotion client. This way you get user-generated content building your website and increasing your search engine ranking and authority.
Great feedback!
Very interesting and helpful information. Thanks so much 🌟🙏🏼
Thanks so much!
Thank you fror this video. I am currently managing a group I created for a village in Germany and I am looking for ways to improve it to better serve the community of about 2.3K members.
Awesome, thanks for letting me know. Out of curiosity, what kind of things do you discuss in your group?
Great analysis of the pro's and con's of Facebook Groups (Communities?). I've been running an informal hobby community on Facebook for over a year now and it's terrific for casual use and the features are pretty good, but I'd never want to run a community there as a brand of an appreciable size. I've seen it done but it just seems far too risky since you never know just how they are going to change things up based on what Meta needs at any given moment.
Thanks so much, Todd, for the comment - great to get your perspective. 🤟
Hi this was awesome, & I had just asked another CZcamsr exactly what you answered 😂 Do you still recommend this in 2023/24? I created a page to help people find resources for celebrate recovery 12 steps but would really prefer to simply by using my personal page/group. Ty
Thanks for the reply...and much of my advice in this video still stands...although....I have a new and updated video coming out in the next month or so. :-)
The best social media media, is going to depend on your industry
Totally!
Your video got me thinking. How do you like good old-fashioned (logged) email lists as a backbone for a community?
Great question!
I think email is a powerful element of a community, and often under-utilized. Email provides a way to gather a low-friction commitment (you get their first name and email) and then you can send them all kinds of value via email. The key in my mind is to focus on value and not sales junk.
An example is my Bacon Bulletin email list that I set up:
pages.jonobacon.com/bulletin
@@firefoxmetzger9063 If you're referring to the old Yahoo groups Google groups is still around and one company that started a Yahoo groups like website.
Is this audio really left channel heavy or is it just me?
Oops yes, I just saw the error. Will be fixed for future vids. Thanks!
Thank you.
Thanks!
Interesting stuff. My hobby is racing radio control cars. A lot of racing clubs use Facebook groups extensively, mostly for the first two reasons on your good list. Although it hasn't directly harmed those communities, I do think that the bad column has an effect on what I call "the fringe" of the community. Or, to put it another way, those who might want to come and join the community who have not participated before, or could be tempted to rejoin the hobby after a period of absence. Because of the perceived ease of an FB group compare to other tools, all the online effort tends to go towards the FB group, and the website ends up being a token effort or creeps out of date, occasionally doing more harm than good (for example listing venues that are no longer used, or classes of competition that are no longer raced). In the case of RC racing, But if you're a rookie, or returning racer looking to find what is being raced near you, you'd Google it right? I do wonder if some of the clubs are actually not retaining existing members, or missing out on new members, because the aren't aware of the items in the bad column. Nice work Jono, I'll be dropping this video in a few groups as food for thought.
Thanks, pal, and great feedback! :-)
@@jonobacon it's just occurred to me that I wonder how many communities using groups do any work to keep information in their groups up to date and accurate? Could this be another thing to go under the bad column?
great video despite the music on the back
Thanks!
Good info but maybe ditch the distracting background music. Just my opinion.
I fixed this in more recent vids :-)
Thanks for the informative video. I have a question. Our 55-unit condo is just beginning a year-long exterior renovation project and already communication between the volunteer strata council and residents is problematic. Most residents are relatively young but some are older and not too computer literate. I was pondering a private Facebook group as a platform to inform residents of what's happening and to prepare for invasive construction events. Some have suggested Slack and I've noted your Discourse video. Is there another platform you would recommend or a method of contact you could suggest? Best wishes.
My issue exactly! Would be great to hear what uou choose.
Sorry for the slow response - do you still need a response to this?
No worries...the project is a few months away from completion...although low-tech communication has been imperfect a recent in-person information general meeting was a big step forward. All the best in 2024... @@jonobacon
You should add 1 more to the bad. For those group without admin approval you will get shitbags spamming videos that had nothing to do with the group purpose
Great point!
Why are you playing music over your talking? Can not hear you.
Fixed in later videos
Hello.
Thanks for your efforts.
Can you have subgroups in your group?
Take the stupid music off so we can hear you🤷
Fair point...music is lower in more recent vids...and we have a new and updated FB video coming soon (likely this week.)
No
Can you elaborate why?