Facebook Group Rules - How and Why You Should Use Them

Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites wherein people can share pictures of their daily life, share videos and even update their status. Facebook is really easy to use, people can sign up which hardly takes a few minutes and begin posting on Facebook. Facebook has over 1 billion users. Facebook gives people control over what they share, who they share it with, the content they see and experience, and who can contact them. Facebook is safe to use when used the right way. You can even keep your profile private so that strangers don’t view and misuse your information. 

Contents

1. What are Facebook groups?
2. Types of groups on Facebook
3. Facebook group rules
4. How to write rules for your Facebook group
5. Benefits of Facebook groups for business

What are Facebook groups?

Facebook groups are basically spaces wherein people with similar interests can share their thoughts and knowledge about a particular topic. Facebook groups mainly come in picture when businesses selling the same kind of product come together to form a group on Facebook. 

Facebook groups are an excellent place for small businesses to get identified and sell their products which can help them in building strong connections with their clients. There are over 640 million Facebook Groups. 

Types of groups on Facebook

There are three types of groups on Facebook

1. Public groups- Anyone can join public groups without waiting for an approval from anyone. The name, location, members list and posts can be viewed by anyone who opens the group. Public Groups experience can grow your group's reach, membership, and participation, with new tools to expand Admin control. 
2. Closed group- In closed groups users who want to join the group have to send a request to join. The viewers can’t view the group’s content until they become a member of that group. A Closed group's name, description, and member list are not closed, but are publicly visible. Closed groups may even show up in a search publicly.
3. Secret group- Secret groups also known as private groups are hidden and they do not show up when searched. Joining one requires being invited by a current member of the group. Without an invitation you won’t be able to get into a secret group. Mysterious! Isn’t it?

Facebook group rules

A Facebook group requires rules in order to function properly. When setting group rules, it's important that everyone is honest about what they want, what they expect, and what they can contribute. Here are a few rules every Facebook group needs!

1. Stick to the topic

Let your members know that no foreign content shall be entertained in the group. Stick to the purpose and the topic. Members who post stuff not related to the group should be sent a warning.

2. No spamming

Posting, interacting and being consistent on a Facebook group is important. But make sure you don’t go overboard! Too much is too bad.

3. No hate speech or bullying

Being an admin of the group, it is your responsibility to make everyone feel safe in the group. Bullying and hurting each other’s feelings with bad comments and hate speech shall not be tolerated. Be kind to one another 😊

4. No self- promotions

Self-promotions or irrelevant links or spam shared in the group shall not be entertained. Don't just share links without a little explanation and personalization. Send a warning to those who misguide these rules!

5. Use the search option

Before you raise a query, make sure you search your query in the groups feed. Do not ask unnecessary questions which have already been answered or don’t make sense at all

6. Think before you report

Do not report anyone’s post or comment until and unless they go against a rule. Everyone has an equal right to share their thoughts on the group. 

7. Be a good listener

Just like you want people to listen to you, make sure you open your ears for them too. This will create mutual understanding between everyone in the group.

8. Do not cross post

Cross posting is an act of posting the same message over and over again. Tell your group members that every post and message should be new and not repeated.

How to write rules for your Facebook group

Step 1- Open the homepage of the group on which you want to add rules.

Step 2- On the left of your screen, you will see many options such as member requests, badge requests, automatic member approval, membership questions etc. Click on “Group Rules”

Step 3- If you like any of the suggested rules, you can add them to your list by clicking on them. Or you could add any rule of your choice. 

Step 4- to add your own rule, simply click on title, then add a description and click on “create”. 

Also note! The maximum number of Facebook group rules is ten! 

Benefits of Facebook groups for business

Facebook groups are a powerful marketing tool. Brands have an opportunity to build fan communities using Facebook groups. Below are a few more benefits of Facebook groups for business. 

1. Helps build strong relationship with customers

 Engaging with your customers everyday helps build trust among you and your customers. Groups allow everyone, from admins to members, to post as many contents as they want. This is also a great way of understanding everyone’s business and the competition in the market. 

2. Get to learn from one another

One of the main reasons to be a part of a Facebook group is you get to learn from one another. Different people from all over the world share their thoughts and ideologies which can help you learn more and take your business to a next level. If you have knowledge let others light their candles in it.

3. Receive immediate and honest feedbacks

You can ask questions using polls to get a clear idea of what your audience think about you and your work. Facebook polls allow you to create a community and improve customer engagement.  

Having better social media engagement means your customers have a stronger relationship with your brand. This in turn provides you with more opportunities to build brand loyalty and of course increase your sales. 

4. Helps with driving traffic to your website or brand

Sharing your thoughts on a Facebook group can help drive traffic to your brand’s website which in turn can help you increase your sales. Once you have spent time building up a relationship with members of the group by sharing valuable content, they will become more comfortable with your brand and will even share it with their family and friends who might also find your brand interesting.

5. Helps you increase your organic reach

Facebook Groups for business can also do wonders to boost your brand’s reach. Be consistent and keep engaging with others in the group and no doubt you will increase your brand’s organic reach within no time! Also, the more you engage the further your reach in the newsfeed will be.

Wrapping up 

If you're looking to establish a brand and promote your business to a large number of people, a Facebook group makes the most sense. 

Go forth and conquer! 💪