A quick steer for you, Facebook have just made it easier for pages to join Facebook groups directly.
What appears on the face of it a routine admin task will further open the door to you using Facebook in a brighter and intelligent way in 2025.
In short, almost two thirds of the UK population uses Facebook and two thirds of them are a member of at least one Facebook group. These groups can be based around hobbies, interests or hyperlocal geographical communities.
How much of people’s timelines are Facebook groups?
Recent Facebook data shows that 15.5 per cent of timelines are from Facebook groups. That’s a higher number than that from pages.
What’s also striking is that posting a link into a Facebook group is penalised. Just 0.2 per cent of all posts are to a group that contains a link.
How many Facebook group memberships do people have?
There’s no upper limit to the number of Facebook groups you can be a member of. On average, based on research I’ve carried out for clients across the UK I’d estimate that people in London were on average members of two Facebook groups. Move outside the capital, counties and districts are likely to see twice that number.
Can a Facebook page join a group?
First, remember that you have no rights as a Facebook page to join a Facebook group. This is a space created by an admin and they decide who can use it.
However, the new update has edged the door open slightly.
Facebook group admin have been sent an advisory note that Facebook pages will be able to ask to join a group by default. Previously, admin had to go into their group back end and give permission for a page to join before pages could even try and join.
In other words its easier for pages to join.
How Facebook pages can join a group
As an admin of a Facebook page you can use Facebook’s own search tool to look for a relevant Facebook group. Before you ask there’s no shortcut. I’d always look to join through the front door so it is very clear who you are.
Why a page posting to a group is a good plan
Engagement rates on pages have been flatlining for some time.
So, going out into the wilds of Facebook is a clever thing to do.
Go to where the eyeballs are.
So, if there’s a spate of break-ins you need to tell people about in Quarry Bank you can do so best in a Quarry Bank community group.
I deliver training to help you make sense of the changing landscape ESSENTIAL AI FOR PUBLIC SECTOR COMMS, ESSENTIAL COMMS SKILLS BOOSTER, ESSENTIAL MEDIA RELATIONS and ESSENTIAL VIDEO SKILLS REBOOTED.
Picture credit: Ben Brooksbank Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license 2.0.
