HOW TO CREATE A GROUP
It is easy to set up a Group within Facebook…
Right from the Facebook guide, here is a synapsis of the steps to set up your group:
1-From your Facebook home page, go to the Groups section on the left side of the menu and click Create Group.
2-Click on Create New Group at the top of the page. A window appears, and you can add a name, members, and set privacy settings for your new Group.
3-Once you have made the settings choices, you will click ‘create’.
4-You will then be asked to choose and icon and then after be taken to the page of your new Group.
5-From that page, click the asterick (*) at the top right and select Edit Group Settings.
6- From that point, you can add a group description, tags, set a group email address, and even add a group picture.
7-The next thing you will want to do is to customize the Group so that it is unique and reflects the main focus of the Group. You want it to be recognized by members and potential members. Use an attractive header, check the description once more, look at and edit the tags if needed to make sure they are appropriate…
8-Consider adding in a pinned post that remains at the top of the Group page and that all members will see when they arrive on your site. I would add in rules to this post plus describe what the community is all about. Why was it created, what do you want people to get from being a member, perhaps add in examples of what is and what is not allowed to be posted.
9-You can also decide what kind of privacy settings you will have for your Group. Before making that choice, read through the next section, and see what the parameters are for each. Decide and set them for your Group.
10- Decide on some initial posts and prepare them and schedule them to get the conversation going. Perhaps a welcome message and some other posts that add valuable content and will engage members.
The Privacy Settings for Groups
As you created the Group, you had three options for the privacy settings: Open, Closed, and Secret.
(1)Open: These are public groups that are discoverable by everyone and the content can be viewed as a member or not…Anyone can also see who is a member of the Group.
(2)Closed: This is a bit more private but still anyone can request to be a member or invited to be a member by another member. You can set up a condition where members must request to be members and add in an interview process ( normally a series of questions)…
(3)Secret: As indicated, this is a very private Group, and they are NOT discoverable through a regular search…Members can be added or invited by another member or by Administrator only…Only current and former members can see the name of the Group, posts by members, tags and stories. This type of Group gives you the most control.
In general, for all Groups, you have the power to remove members that are not following Group rules. You will need to do this from time to time, there are always members that will repeatedly break Group rules, and you have to have a means of removing them as a consequence.
To do this from Facebook’s guide here are the steps….Remember that only admin can take these steps…To remove or block a member:
(1)Click Members at the top of the page
(2)Find the member or members you want to remove
(3)Click the asterick (*) next to the member’s name, then select ‘Remove from Group’.
(4)Click ‘confirm’.
Note the following: Only admins see the above info on group members’ names.
Once the members have been removed, they will have to request to join the group again.
If they are blocked, members will no longer find the group in search results nor see any of the Group content, and also, they can no longer be added to the group again by other members.
Once they request reinstatement and you think they will act within the guidelines, you can accept them back into your group.
If this is the case you can remove a block on a member by the following steps:
(1)Click Members at the top of your Group
(2)Click Blocked at the top
(3)Click ‘Remove Block’ that is next to the member’s name
Here are some more basic admin features available to you with your Facebook Group…Best practices and tips I provide here can help you make your group a more valuable resource and community for members and keep you relevant and even increase participation…
(1)Click the ‘…’ at the top right corner of the Group page and select ‘Edit Group Settings’.
(2)Click and check the box next to ‘Post Approval’.
(3)Click ‘Save’ at the bottom of the menu.
Once that is set up you will get notifications when pending posts are waiting for your approval. When you check, you can approve them as follows:
(1)Click the check mark for each to approve.
(2)Click the ‘x’ if you do not want the post to be published.
(3)When needed, you also can click on the ‘do-not-enter’ symbol and delete the post and block the member.
Note that any group admin member can use the above steps to approve posts.
That is pretty much it…Of course as you work on your plan for the group, i.e. content, pinned posts, rules, images, etc. you make it further into your unique take on the niche…
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