Facebook Certified Community Manager Exam: The Ultimate Guide 2024

Until sometime back, community managers were on their own – whether it was learning the a to z of community building or getting validated for what they were doing.

But, the latter half of 2020 turned out to be extremely favourable for them.

In October, Facebook decided to give community managers the much deserved recognition in the form of the Facebook Certified Community Manager exam.🎊

And since then, it has taken almost all the community managers by storm.💃🏻

(Check out all the latest updates by Facebook for communities aka Facebook groups here.)

This community manager certification is part of the Facebook blueprint certification that gives you an opportunity to build your skills through online courses on building, managing and monetising communities, a study guide, and a practice test.

At the same time, it validates that you are passionate and know the science behind building great communities.

A few days back, we hosted a live session with Linda Porter, a Facebook Certified Community Manager who played an instrumental role in shaping the community management certification exam.

She runs a Facebook group named Certified Community Manager Study Group, where she teaches people everything about the Facebook certified community manager exam, free of cost.

Basis that session and our research, I’m going to tell you all about:

• What exactly is the Facebook Certified Community Manager exam?
• All necessary details of it
• The study material for this community management certification
• How to take the exam – the process, policies, and technical considerations
• Facebook Community Manager exam FAQs

What exactly is the Facebook Certified Community Manager Exam? 

The Facebook Certified Community Manager exam is an initiative to recognise the hard work and relentless efforts of community leaders and social media managers across the world through a professionally supervised fee-based online exam.

“Created for community managers by community managers across a range of business types, from agencies and brands to nonprofits and NGOs, this certification will measure the comprehension and application of best practices and standards for online community management,” tells Facebook.

To make things clear for you: It’s not an ‘Admin’ exam. Meaning, if you’ve been an admin of multiple Facebook groups for the last 4-5 years and think that’s enough knowledge to pass the exam, well, it’s not!

It’s for all those who strive to become successful community managers or look to make a career in the same.

If you are a Facebook group admin and have the same vision, you must take the exam.

As told by Facebook, “This exam identifies candidates who possess the ability to build, scale, and sustain an online community by utilizing community-building strategies and tools.”

When you receive the certification, you get the ‘Facebook Blueprint Certified Community Manager’ badge along with an actual page on the acclaimed website.

Not just that, you also get to be an insider by becoming part of the private Facebook group of Facebook Certified Community Managers.

Why should you take the exam? 

If you are passionate about managing communities and are willing to advance your career into one of the coveted professions of today, i.e. Community Management, earning a certification is a great beginning.

If you clear it, you open doors to some fascinating job opportunities (like the ones shared below from an online job portal, Naukri) as a Community Manager.

Not to forget the validation by Facebook, certification badge, and becoming part of Facebook’s exclusive FCCM Group where you can learn from others, step out of your comfort zone, and change things for the best.

Amazing, right?

Now, let me tell you all about the exam, including its course structure, policies, and more.  This way, you will better understand it and might even have a better chance of clearing it.

Facebook Community Manager Exam: All Details Shared 

As mentioned above, the community manager certification by Facebook is divided into five sections, and the topic areas are:

1. Defining and establishing a community

It covers everything from building an online community to setting community goals, mission, vision, KPIs, and community guiding principles.

2. Developing community strategies and processes

Best practices for managing audiences, tapping into the platform, building a brand, launching effectively, building and supporting your team, nurturing strong partnerships, and developing efficient operational workflows.

3. Making strategic content decisions for a community 

Serving up relevant content, keeping track of trends and planning goal-driven activities.

4. Engaging and moderating a community
Understanding the onboarding process for new members, community operations, member-to-member connections, engagement tactics, community standards and terms of service, as well as safely and thoughtfully handling crises and conflicts.

5. Measuring and analyzing community success
Content performance, feedback collection, data reporting and sustainability.

Check out the exam policies below. (Source: Facebook)

Here’s how you can prepare for the exam.

Facebook Community Manager Certification Study Material 

There are some fantastic resources available to help you prepare for the exam. And all of them are entirely free.

I’ve listed them below for you.

1. Online Courses 

Facebook offers individual courses on the above-listed topics ranging from 15-35 minutes in length.

Here’s the community management content library that entails all of these courses.

2. Study Guide 

There’s an 81-page comprehensive study guide on the topics listed above. You can easily download it and refer.

3. Practice Test

Facebook also offers a 30 question practice test to help you prepare for the exam. It’s a mock exam that familiarizes you with the exam content. While this will give you a fair idea, the actual exam is a lot harder than the practice test.

4. Linda Porter’s Study Group on Facebook 

Linda Porter has been running communities since the 1980s.

In her Certified Community Manager Study Group, she teaches people everything about the exam. From general information about the exam to sharing tips and tricks to crack it, Linda covers it all.

She goes live at least once every week (in fact, as per different time zones) to share her knowledge and experience about the Facebook Certified Community Manager program and certification exam. Her study group is filled with information, helpful guides, and very supportive community members.

Some of you might have test anxiety and might get nervous thinking about attending all these 60 questions and the time limit for each question. That’s where Linda can help. She:

• Shows you how to get in and out of some of these questions a bit faster
• How to look for obvious distractors
• Keywords to track
• Things you should be studying to pass the exam

Her study group is extremely kind and respectful, where they celebrate every member’s success (who qualifies for the exam) together. She believes,

“The last thing you want to do is study alone because you might have a lot of doubts. To save yourself from all the confusion, you can be a part of the study group. Join the live sessions and you will be able to get rid of your doubts and feel more comfortable and confident.”

Linda is committed to helping candidates achieve certifications and education. Her goals and objectives are aligned with educating as many people as she can. She is respected and loved by everyone, including the Facebook team, her students, and fellow admins.

So, go ahead, join her study group, meet like-minded people, and get all the support you need while preparing for this exam. #StrongerTogether.💪🏻

IMPORTANT NOTE: If anything urgent/unavoidable comes up, you can reschedule/cancel your exam free of charge. But, make sure you do it 24 hours before the scheduled date of the exam.

Please keep in mind that cancellations after 24 hours will not be considered or refunded.

That said, I’d suggest you make any rescheduling/cancellations at least 48 hours in advance so that you can get a full refund.

Technical Considerations

You can take the Facebook community manager exam on a desktop or laptop only.

When you sit for the exam, you need to download a utility that will be running in the background. That utility will be scanning your laptop, computer to make sure everything is shut down and there are no interferences.

The following operating systems support the utility:

• Windows 10 (64-bit) (excluding ‘S mode’)
• Windows 8.1 (64-bit) (all editions except ‘RT’)
• Mac OS 10.13 and above (excluding beta versions)

Note: Windows operating system must pass genuine windows validation. Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows 7 are strictly prohibited for exam delivery. All Linux/Unix based operating systems are strictly prohibited.

Do not take the exam in a setting with a corporate Firewall (including VPN) or alert your Network Administrator to the network configuration requirements. We recommend taking your test on a personal computer. Work computers generally have more restrictions that may prevent successful delivery.

Facebook Certified Community Manager Exam FAQs

Ques 1. Do we need to know about all Facebook associated social media platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook page?

Ans. Yes, absolutely. You must know everything about all the platforms Facebook owns like:

1. How they differ from each other
2. The strengths of each platform
3. Their metrics
4. The analytics
5. How do you go behind the scenes, collect data, what you do with the collected data, how do you put it into a chart, what chart is that, and everything else

Ques 2. Is just knowing to run our community enough?

Ans. No. Like I mentioned above, it’s not an admin exam. This means you need to know more than just running your community if you decide to appear for it. The exam is so much more than knowing how to manage your own Facebook group.

Ques 3. Should we prepare for the exam and when ready enrol for it?

Ans. I’d suggest you to start getting familiar with the study material. Pick any course and start reading it. See how much you’re able to relate to it and grasp it. You’ll automatically begin to realise whether you are comfortable with it or not.

That’s when you should go ahead and take the practice test. It has 30 questions with no time limit. It’s the best tool you have to see how the actual exam is laid out.

Ques 4. Do you need to study for the Facebook certified community manager exam? And when is the right time to take the practice test?

Ans. Absolutely! The exam is rather difficult and covers all the material in the online modules and study guide. The practice test gives you some insight as to how the exam is structured.

First, read the material, take some time to process it, and then take the practice test. Linda offers Power Practice Test Sessions, whereby she explains every practice test question and how to select the correct answer in her community manager exam study group. She will work with you by reading out the information and telling you what to look for. This way, all the information goes into a different part of your brain, and you remember it for long vs when you read it yourself.

Ques 5. How much time should I allow to prepare for this exam?

Ans. There is no direct answer to this. Allow as much time as you need. How long you decide to study is dependent on your style of learning and retention.

Are you a super-fast learner? Can you retain what you’ve read and apply it to a scenario with accuracy? Well then, go ahead and take the exam sooner. If not, take some more time and do not rush into the exam until you are confident in yourself.

Each person learns at their rate. Once you start looking at the materials, you will be better able to determine how much time you’ll need. Once you feel fully prepared, schedule your exam.

Ques 6. The community manager certification costs $49. Is it worth it? Why should a Facebook group admin take this exam? What benefits will it give them?

Ans. This is a personal determination you make for yourself. If you’re looking for a career in community management, then it’s worth it. If you get the certificate, you’ll be seen as Facebook certified, which means that the social media giant will validate you. It is enough to say that the person can run a community.

This certification validates several skill sets and gives you a strong foundation that showcases your exceptional understanding of what it takes to run a thriving community.

Earning the Facebook Blueprint Certification means that you possess an advanced proficiency level when it comes to Facebook’s products and services.

This credential will empower you as a Facebook certified leader and give you an edge when applying for relevant community management positions. You will possess the ability to build, scale, and sustain an online community by utilizing community-building strategies and tools.

You will also be granted admission to an exclusive Facebook run group for Certified Community Managers and will be exposed to like-minded individuals.

They post a lot of job openings there which can be a game-changer for you. You can even connect and listen to the stories of people working at Facebook. It can challenge you and push you to move out of your comfort zone.

Ques 7. If you fail the exam once, is there a waiting period, or you can take the exam as soon as possible?

Ans. There is a mandatory 5-day waiting period. On the sixth day, you can reschedule it. But, don’t rush to retake it unless you have a deadline. Wait to see how much confidence you can gain/ regain to take it. Only when you are entirely confident, should you reschedule the exam.

Ques 8. If I register from a device with a firewall, will I be able to take the exam from another device? Should we submit proof for registration?

Ans. You can register on any device. However, for taking the exam, you must do it on a laptop/desktop (with the right specifications) to download the test system software.

When you register, you can download the software and do a test run to ensure everything’s fine, and you can take the exam. There needs to be a webcam during the test to be watched by the invigilator/proctor.

Yes, you will need to upload a photo of your government-issued ID for registration.

Ques 9. Being a Central government employee, will it affect my job? Being an engineer by profession, I will love to take it. Should I take the exam?

Ans. No matter what profession you are into, taking the exam will not affect your job.

Ques 10. Is it mandatory for all community managers to take this exam? And can we do it via mobile?

Ans. No, it’s optional. Only those willing to advance their career in community management should take this community manager certification to enhance their knowledge and skills and validate them by Facebook.

No, you cannot take the exam via mobile. You can do it only through a desktop/laptop.

That’s about it.

I hope this answers all your questions.

If there’s anything else I can help you with, please feel free to put it down in the comments section below.

Or you can share it in our Facebook group, where thousands of Facebook group admins are continually discussing this and so much more about community building.🙂

Simran Grover

Creating value in the lives of others with my content, little by little.✨

Working at Convosight, I do more than just wrangle commas. I’m passionate about innovating new ways to create super valuable and actionable content about Communities and Community Marketing at large, and sharing it with the right audience.
I also happen to manage a global community of power admins on Facebook, and that’s where most of my learnings come from.

Do check out my latest blogs and feel free to share them! 💛

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