Since you’ve decided to create a private Facebook group, I assume you already know a lot about it, including:
- Anyone can search for it but only members can see and share the content being posted there
- A private Facebook group allows members to open up and share their hearts out
- And its exclusivity is one of the reasons that helps increase the chances of growth
Not just that.
You also probably know that a public Facebook group, on the other hand, is an open group and anyone can see the conversations happening.
So, I’m not going to take up your time to tell you what a private Facebook group is or about its features, benefits or which Facebook group you should choose: public or private.
If you want to know any of this, you can check out my blog on: Public vs Private Facebook Group: Which one to choose?
Instead, I’ll tell you what you are here for, i.e. to Know How to Create a Private Facebook Group?
Whether you’re planning to create one for your business, organisation, or simply to follow your passion.
That too in just 5 minutes!🙂
So, here goes…
7 Simple Steps to create a Private Facebook group
1. Login to your Facebook Account
When you login to your Facebook account from a laptop, click on ‘Groups’ under the explore section on the left.
In case you have logged in via your phone or through Facebook app, click on the three lines on the bottom right corner and you’ll be taken to the explore section.
Select ‘Groups’.
2. Create New Group
A screen with groups suggested by Facebook will appear. Click on ‘Create new group’.
On the laptop, this option will appear on the left hand side.
Whereas on the phone, ‘Create group’ option will appear on the right side.
3. Fill in all the details asked.
A. Group Name
Your group name should be simple and must convey the benefit/intent.
For the simple reason that, whenever Facebook would suggest your group to the most relevant people, they will understand what your group is about just by the name and will likely join if that’s what they’re looking for.
Actually, there’s one foolproof formula for naming your groups. And that is,
Pain Point/Passion Area + Target Audience
For instance, we have our group of power admins named, Growth and Monetisation for Facebook Group Admins.
Here, the pain point is ‘Growth and Monetisation’ and the target audience is ‘Facebook group admins.’
Check out our group’s growth over the last 60 days!
Group name certainly has a role to play here. So, make sure you name your Facebook group accordingly.
If you need some assistance on it, this article would certainly help👇🏻
How to choose a Facebook group name that helps grow your group organically?
B. Add some people
For creating a Facebook group, you need to add at least 1 person or you won’t be able to proceed.
So, choose any of your friends.
As it is, a Facebook group is all about the members and conversations.😊
C. Privacy setting
Click on Private and you’ll get options to choose from.
Visible group is the one that can be seen by anyone who searches for it.
Hidden group is the one that cannot be seen by anyone upon searching except for members.
Depending on the purpose of your Facebook group, you need to decide and choose between the two.
I’d suggest you keep your private Facebook group visible unless it’s a group meant for only the employees of your organisation or business.
Once you do that, hit create.
Perfect! You have the basic version of your Facebook group.🙂
Now you need to customise it. And, for the same, go ahead and
4. Add a cover photo
You can do it by either clicking on ‘upload photo’ or choose an existing photo.
Preferably, you should create a new cover photo that conveys what you group is about.
Your cover photo should ideally have the group name on it and must be self-explanatory.
This is the cover image of one of our parenting groups, Makeup, Skin, and Hair Care Tips.
Doesn’t it speak for itself?
You can create similar attractive cover images for your Facebook group on Canva. It’s a one stop tool for all your creatives!
Lastly, do take care of the size.
The size of your Facebook group cover photo must be 1640 pixels x 856 pixels.
If you’d like to learn about some cover photo best practices and get your hands on some awesome templates, refer to this blog👇🏻
Facebook group cover photo guidelines + 10 free templates
Once you’ve successfully created your group’s cover photo, go on to add the description.
5. Add a group description
Your Facebook group description is a way to tell new and potential members what your group is about.
So, make sure it is compelling enough.
You’ll get the option of ‘Add a description’ under ‘About This Group’ section.
When you click on it, a box will appear where you can write your description and hit confirm.
You can add up to 5000 characters.
A good Facebook group description talks about:
- The purpose of creating the group
- Who is it for
- The benefit members will gain from it
- Dos and Don’ts of the group
Here’s a good Facebook group description example.
It is of our Facebook group of power admins, Growth and Monetisation for Facebook Group Admins.
In this, we have mentioned:
- The admins who are a part of this community
- The purpose of starting the community
- The value it provides
- The dos and don’ts
Here’s sharing some more details on how to come up with a mind-blowing group description👇🏻
Writing the best Facebook group description – Everything you need to know
If you’re still feeling lazy, here’s a Facebook group description template for you to pick.
“XYZ GROUP was created to inspire people from around the globe to share experiences & queries in the form of images, videos, and anecdotes, about Your group’s subject.
We expect all our members to extend utmost respect and courtesy to fellow members. May it be a polite word of appreciation on a member’s experience or a heartfelt thank you for a member replying to your queries, it is absolutely imperative that we value each other’s inputs.”
6. Invite Members to your group
Once you’ve successfully created your Facebook group, uploaded a snazzy cover photo, and updated the group description, it’s time to add in people.
Because a Facebook group is all about the members and conversations.🙂
But don’t add people just for the sake of it.
Initially, you should start with adding friends, family, and relatives who’d support you in your new venture.
For those friends you don’t really know on Facebook, don’t invite them. Instead, prioritise the ones whom you think will really be interested.
Going forward, they will happily invite their own friends if they like the group.
On the right side, you get an option to invite members along with a list of friends suggested by Facebook.
You can either simply hit on the invite member button against each name or can choose to send a personalised note by clicking on the page icon.
If you’d like to know more about how to invite people to your Facebook group, this article will help you.👇🏻
How to invite people to a Facebook group?
7. Start Posting!
Finally, it’s now time to start posting!
For the first post, I’d suggest you create a welcome post mentioning the guidelines. It can be a simple text post but if it’s an image post, that’ll be great.
Shoot a wonderful hello to all those joining your group by clicking on the ‘Write Post’ option under Discussions tab (on the left).
Once you’re finished, hit ‘Post’ at the bottom.
I recently asked the power admins of our group about the first post they did in their respective Facebook groups.
And, the answers were amazing!
Check them out yourself. 👇🏻
Voila! You just finished creating and customising your private Facebook group.😊
From here on, all you need to do is share valuable posts, focus on bringing members closer & encourage them to participate more.
Ask questions & recommendations for various subjects under your group category.
You will notice members responding with their suggestions and inputs, so appreciate the group members who are active as that motivates them to engage frequently.
Above all, enjoy the process. It’s your community and it’s upon you to keep the energy of the group high!
P.S. Check out this blog that comprises 25 highly effective Facebook group engagement ideas
And just in case, if you wish to change the privacy setting of your Facebook group and find yourself thinking:
How to change a Private Facebook Group to Public?
Well, you cannot.
As per Facebook, it’s a breach of privacy.
Your members joined the Facebook group for the reason that it’s a private group and they can share their feelings and emotions. And most people are not comfortable to do that in a public setting.
With that said, if you choose to create a private Facebook group, it remains as is and there’s no going back.
However, earlier the social media giant provided this option to admins with groups less than 5000 members.
That’s about it.
So folks, go ahead and create your private Facebook group today.
Do you know over 3200 successful Facebook group admins are using Convosight daily to grow, engage, and monetise their Facebook groups?
If you wish to increase your Facebook group’s engagement by at least 10x or want to earn from it, you can SIGN UP for Convosight here. It’s absolutely free. 😊
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! 💛