Just like rules encourage us to conduct ourselves a certain way in offline settings, they help manage online communities too. Facebook allows admins to create rules for their respective Facebook groups. These Facebook group rules lay down the foundation of the group and communicate what one is expected to do / not to do when interacting with fellow group members.
Stay with me if you have a newly-created Facebook group or are someone who’d like to learn more about group rules and modify your existing ones.
As you read ahead, you’ll know everything about group rules including:
- What are Facebook group rules?
- Why use group rules on Facebook?
- How to write rules for a Facebook group?
- 5 best Facebook group rules examples
- Some FAQs on Facebook group rules like how to add rules, edit them, pin them, and more
- 5 sample Facebook group rules to choose from
What are group rules on Facebook?
Facebook group rules are nothing but the list of dos and don’ts that you see in the about section of groups – both public and private.
We can also refer to them as Facebook group rules of conduct.
These rules also appear with the membership questions and are visible to all those who request to join the group.
As Facebook says,
“Rules tell members what is encouraged in the group, so members know how they can positively engage with the community.”
Why use Facebook Group Rules?
According to the social media giant, “Rules set the tone for the group and help prevent member conflict.”
Indeed.
They help keep your community safe.
A set of predetermined rules in your Facebook group conveys what is expected of the members and the things they can post/not post in the community.
This ensures proper functioning of your community alongside encouraging members to instigate a discussion, post a question, or share their opinion.
If at any point you feel that members are not abiding by the rules and are requesting posts that are not allowed, you can easily decline that post, telling them which rule their post violated.
Thanks to Facebook for this latest feature that helps tighten group moderation.💪🏻
You can even choose to share an additional note or feedback with them.
When you do that, they will get a notification stating their post has been declined, telling them the rule they broke, along with displaying the personalized note.
Check out this BLOG to know more about other latest Facebook group features.
All in all, a great set of rules are a binding factor in every Facebook group. So, add rules in your Fb group if you haven’t already.
Read ahead for some tips on writing some good rules and regulations.
How to write rules for a Facebook group?
Understand that by laying down your group rules, you are putting out the culture of your community.
So, make it a point to consider these few things when writing your group rules.
a. Don’t be harsh
Sound as encouraging and positive as you can. As it is, no one likes to be part of a group that’s not kind, humble or demotivates them in any way.
b. List down the things members can do
Instead of only stating things that are not allowed, include things that are encouraged in your group. This helps set a positive atmosphere and gets potential members excited.
For instance, the rules of our Facebook group clearly tell that admin success stories are welcome.
This entices all potential members, i.e. FB group admins and moderators as they can share their respective milestones and be applauded for it.
c. Use rules to keep your group safe
Explicitly tell the things that are not allowed in your group – this is the only way to make sure that your members are safe. Only if your members feel safe, they will continue to be a part of it and engage in discussions.
Taking the example of our group again, we have clearly mentioned that no hate speech or bullying of any kind will be tolerated. Apart from that, we also don’t allow members to share their personal information like contact number in the comments section of posts. They exchange such information over DM.
Have a look at some tips from Facebook on writing great rules
Apart from this, the social media giant says:
“Admins tell us they remind members of the group’s rules by posting them in the group on a regular basis. If needed, restate specific rules in the comments of any heated conversations when managing member conflict.
If you make changes to your rules, admins recommend rolling them out in smaller steps, not all at once. Gradual changes in rules and transparency from the admins allow the community time to adapt and react. Your rules will change and grow as your community does.”
No matter what category your Facebook group belongs to, these rules go without saying.
So, make sure to add them. Apart from these, you can add other rules depending on the type of conversations that happen in your Facebook group.
Now, moving on to…
5 Best Facebook Group Rules Examples
Below I’ve shared 5 of the best Facebook group rules examples across different categories – parenting, general, buy and sell, food, and fitness.
1. Strong Moms
This parenting community connects moms from all over the world and encourages them to share anything and everything from nursing, diapers, jobs, to makeup, and more.
In the group rules (rule 4, 6, 8), the admin team has clearly pointed out what type of posts are not acceptable in the community, i.e. links, spam/ forwarded memes, and anything related to Covid.
In rule 5, they tell that promotion is allowed in the community, but there are certain guidelines. They have also shared the contact person for the same.
2. Moms and Pops
Started by the team behind Delhi Foodiez, Moms and Pops is one of a kind community that connects moms and dads from all walks of life. It aims to make the journey of parenting beautiful and rewarding.
Apart from the basic rules for every FB group, the admin team has clearly stated that:
- No spamming and irrelevant conversations are allowed
- Blog links and recipes need to be shared in a way that does not seem promotional and adds value to the members
- If anyone is interested in collaboration, they can contact at the given whatsapp number
3. Super Indian Women
This is a women-only buy and sell Facebook group with 100% genuine and verified sellers.
Sheenu, the admin, has listed down 10 rules that very well explain what her FB group is about and its culture.
Rule 3 and 5 tell that the group is only for women and connects buyers and sellers. On the other hand, rule 1, 2, and 4 clearly highlight the don’ts of the group.
In rule 6, Sheenu has mentioned that all sellers are 100% genuine which tends to excite all potential shoppers as they are guaranteed a safe shopping experience.
Looking at rule 8 and 9, one comes to know of the posting format and post approval timings while rule 10 strictly prohibits anyone from posting anything related to Covid 19.
4. Moms Magic Cooking
This cooking group is a boon for all female vegetarian food lovers. And Samiksha (the admin) has clearly stated that in the second and third rule.
Since she allows members to share the links of their Youtube cooking videos, she encourages them to write down the recipe too and only share links in the comments since posts with links have less reach. And has mentioned that in the fourth rule.
Rule 6 and 7 discourages members and YouTubers/bloggers from sharing any cooking recipes and links respectively.
5. Fitness2Flash
Fitness2Flash is a women-only health and fitness community comprising a team of certified personal trainers and sports nutritionists.
Rinku Shah, the admin has talked about guidance by F2F trainers in the fourth rule. All the women looking to seek advice and suggestions from trainers would definitely like to be a part of this group. And for those who are already a part, they must listen to the trainers just like a doctor as they are certified.
The second great thing here is that Rinku has mentioned the posting format in the second rule, i.e. only 2-3 hashtags on a post are allowed and no promotions will be entertained.
Facebook Group Rules FAQs
Now addressing some of the frequently asked questions regarding group rules of Facebook.
How to add rules to a Facebook group?
To add rules to your Facebook group, follow these steps:
1. From the left hand corner on your news feed, select the group you’d like to add rules for
2. Under the admin tools on the left, select ‘Group Rules’
3. You’ll see this screen – Click on ‘get started’
4. A dialog box asking you to create new rules will appear. You can choose to add information under title and description to create a new rule.
Or click on any of the four rule examples given by Facebook. When you click on either of them, the details under title and description will automatically be filled.
5. Hit create and your first rule will be added. You will be able to see it as part of the group rules. To create more rules, click on ‘Create’ and the same dialog box (shown in point 4) will appear.
How to edit group rules on Facebook?
To edit your Facebook group rules, follow these steps.
1. From the left hand corner on your news feed, select the group you’d like to edit rules for
2. Under the admin tools on the left, select ‘Group Rules’
3. All your group rules will appear. Click on the three dots against the rule that you want to edit. Hit ‘edit rule’
4. A dialog box comprising that rule’s title and description will appear. Make the necessary changes and finally click save.
How to change rules in a Facebook group?
To change rule in Facebook group is synonymous to editing or deleting a Facebook group rule.
To edit your Facebook group rules, please follow the steps mentioned in the above answer.
To delete a rule in your Facebook group, the steps will remain the same as above, except in the third step, you have to select ‘Delete Rule’.
A dialog box confirming from you to delete the rule will appear. Hit delete.
How to pin rules in Facebook group?
To pin rules in your Facebook group, you need to create a new post, paste all the rules on that, and pin it to the top.
Sharing the steps for the same below.
1. From the left hand corner on your news feed, select the group you’d like to pin rules for
2. Copy all your Facebook group rules and paste them in the ‘create post’ section and click Post
A Tip: Make sure to format the post like we have done. Also, feel free to add a simple yet attractive image that says ‘Facebook group rules from the admins’.
3. The group rules are posted as a new group post and will appear in your group feed.
4. Click on the three dots that appear at top on the right side of the post and select ‘Mark as Announcement’
5. Head over to the announcements section, find the post, and again click on the three dots and select ‘Pin to Top’
Your Facebook group rules have been successfully pinned to the top and will be visible as the first thing when someone looks at your group posts.
Facebook Group Rules Templates
Sharing with you the template of each of the Facebook group rules I’ve mentioned in this article.
You can pick from any of these sample Facebook group rules that are relevant for your Facebook group and add them.
TEMPLATE 1 – For parenting Facebook groups
TEMPLATE 2 – For general Facebook groups
TEMPLATE 3 – For buy and sell Facebook groups
TEMPLATE 4 – For food and cooking Facebook groups
TEMPLATE 5 – For health and fitness Facebook groups
That’s about it.
Let me know if you have any queries. You can drop them in the comments section or share them in our Facebook group where thousands of admins are discussing this and so much more about Facebook group features, issues, monetization, and more.🙂
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! 💛
