To collect emails, or not to collect emails—that is the question. For some Facebook Group Admins, their community has become a healthy source of new leads for their business.
Building an email list is one of the best ways to grow your customer base. People build an email list so they can nurture relationships with potential and existing customers.
With many admins looking for different ways to monetize their Facebook Group, building an email list as an asset can prove to be an advantageous move.
However—there are certain causes for concern when it comes to collecting emails with Facebook Groups—the most important one being data privacy.
The topic of collecting emails has been talked about in both our global and Southeast Asia community for Facebook Group Power Admins.
In this blog, I’ll be sharing some of the insights I’ve gathered through the conversations that happened in the group.
At the end of this, my goal is to help shed some light on the topic of collecting emails and if you should do it for your group.
That being said, let’s dive right in!
Data Privacy Concerns With Collecting Emails Using Facebook Groups
Anytime you ask for someone’s email address, you are essentially collecting personal information. In some countries, giving an email address is common. However, for countries in the UK, GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is strictly enforced.
According to Facebook Group Power Admin and Founder of ‘On A Budget’, Toni Trevillion, collecting email addresses in the UK using a Facebook Group’s membership questions is a big no-no.
Here’s an excerpt of what she shared:
The strategy that Toni shared is actually very solid. I know some Facebook Group Admins who do the same thing.
Basically, you can share a link to your subscription or opt-in list in the Membership Questions area, so people can choose to provide their email address if they want to.
Toni is based in the UK, and GDPR is strictly enforced. So if you live in a country where data privacy is a big deal, you can try to use a similar strategy.
Making Providing Email Addresses Optional
For me, the best way to approach collecting email addresses is by making it optional.
You don’t need to require members to provide their email address just to join your Facebook Group. Technically, you own your group and you can do as you please. However, to be on the safe side of data privacy laws, as well as to not turn off potential new members, you can simply make your opt-in form optional.
Whether you ask for a member’s email address during the membership approval process, or you simply put a link there to your opt-in form, as long as members can decide if they want to give you their info or not, you should be good to go.
Collecting Email Addresses With Facebook Groups for Business Growth and Relationship Building
Some members of our Southeast Asia community are fans of collecting email addresses using a Facebook Group.
Allan Ngo, founder of Email Marketing Philippines, who is also a highly experienced email marketer, admits to using his Facebook Group to grow his email list. With Allan’s business around email marketing as a whole, he practices what he preach, which makes his Facebook Group an asset for his business growth.
Other members of the community also ask for potential members’ email address so that they can send regular updates too.
There are times that members don’t check their Facebook, or they just flat out miss your post.
Having their email address allows you to quickly shoot a message or an update so your members can stay in-the-know with the top happenings inside your community.
You can use the 1:1 platform to build stronger relationships with your members.
Should You Collect Email Addresses With Your Facebook Group?
As we close, the answer to this question is simple…
It depends on your goals for your community.
If you want to use your Facebook Group as part of a lead generation strategy to sell your product or services, then building an email list is a good move.
If you want to have a contingency plan in case your Facebook Group gets shut down, having an email list as a backup to communicate with your members is a solid strategy.
If you want to keep things simple and not collect emails, you can do that too. Ultimately, it’s your Facebook Group!
Our CEO, Tamanna Dhamija said that building a community is like building a company. As a Facebook Group Admin, you must think of what’s best for your community. If collecting emails with your Facebook Group will help with your overall growth and objectives, then go for it.
If not? Then you don’t have to do it.
Just take note of the different data privacy laws, especially in your country of origin, to make sure that collecting info is OK. As far as Facebook is concerned, they did not specifically state that asking for email addresses is bad. As long as it’s optional, you’re not really hurting anyone.
Good luck with your journey!
P.S. To join conversations like this and more about Facebook Groups, join our community here.
Leads digital marketing and content at Convosight. I’m passionate about all things marketing and growth, e-learning, and community building. If you’re awesome and made it all the way here, could you do me a favor and share/tweet this post too? Forever grateful!