New Facebook Group Features Update: October 2020

I’m sure you get pretty excited whenever you come across a new feature in your Facebook group(s). 🤩

So do I.

And here I am, with details of all the latest features released by Facebook for communities, i.e. Facebook groups.💃🏻

Our October’s edition of Facebook Group Features will give you a sneak peak into:

• 4 awesome Facebook group features released to empower admins
• 3 amazing features released exclusively for Parenting Facebook groups
• 2 much-needed Facebook group features that help members know each other better and connect
• 1 feature addition specifically for private groups

So, let’s dive right into them!

EMPOWER Facebook Group Admins💪🏻

1. Post-level insights for both public and private groups

Facebook now allows admins to view insights for every post in both public and private groups that have over 250 members. It gives a clear picture of how the members are engaging with individual group posts.

Facebook tells:

“With post-level metrics, admins can easily see the reach of a post with the unique number of people who’ve seen the post as well as engagement by reactions, comments, shares and clicks. Each post also shows the number of active members in the group at the time of post, a key driver of reach and engagement.”

While the number of comments and reactions were already displayed underneath every post, you now see the details, under the ‘Interactions’ tab.

Besides, the main additions to the post insights are:

• Post Engagement: The number of people who have interacted with the post. (Total reactions+comments received on the post)
  It also comprises:

1. Photo Views- The number of times a photo in the post was viewed. Photo views are counted when people click on the photos to view them.
2. Other Clicks- These include profile name clicks and clicks to “see more”.

• People Reached: The number of people who saw the post at least once. In other words, it tells you about your post’s organic reach. For public groups, this includes both members and non-members.

• Active Members at the time of post: The number of people who were active in the group in the last 28 days from the day the post was published. A member is considered active in the group if they have viewed content in the group or via News Feed.

Looking at the above image, you can tell how many members reacted on that particular post and what my key statistics are.

Post Reach% : Total people reached/Total people active. For this post, it is, 50,525/275,400, i.e. 18.3%

Post Engagement% : Total people engaged/ Total people reached. For this post, it is, 1299/50,525, i.e. 2.57%

2. Report directly to Facebook for SPAM

Facebook now gives the option to report a post as ‘SPAM’ and further block that user or hide all posts of that person in the group or both.

So now, you can say goodbye to spammers forever!

P.S. You just need to click on the three dots appearing on a post and select ‘Find support or report post’.

Earlier, the closest option Facebook offered was to report the account as fake or representing a business or organisation.

3. Keyword Alerts replaced by ‘Moderation Alerts’

One of the most important group features, ‘Keyword Alerts’, has been replaced by Moderation Alerts in all groups, no matter public or private.

The function will remain the same. You will still be able to mark keywords that are spam for your group and will be notified whenever any member uses them.

Just that, it will all take place under ‘Moderation Alerts’ going forward, instead of ‘Keyword Alerts’.

4. The all new ‘Engagement Alerts’

On similar lines to Keyword Alerts, Facebook has come up with the ‘Engagement Alerts’ feature to enable admins to set up alerts for specific posts that are getting increased engagement in the group.

The feature will be available as part of ‘Moderation Alerts’ accompanied with Keyword alerts under the ‘Admin tools’ tab.

Facebook says, “Engagement Alerts let admins know when posts or comments in your group are getting a big response.”

As part of this feature, you can:

• Choose the type of content you want to be alerted about (posts or comments)

• Choose the type of engagement you want to be alerted about (angry, sad, likes etc.)

• Set upto 35 alerts for positive engagement and set upto 3 alerts for negative engagement type

• Set as many different engagement alerts as you’d like

EXCLUSIVE Features for Parenting Facebook Groups🎊

1. Post as ‘Anonymous’

To help parents discuss topics they’re not comfortable to share openly, Facebook rolled out the feature of anonymous posting.

Now with this, parents can easily post their queries or discuss sensitive issues without revealing their identity.

2. Parent-specific badges

In addition to the existing badges in groups (like rising star, conversation starter), Facebook has introduced parenting-specific badges for the group type.

Not only does this categorise members but also helps them connect and seek advice from those going through the same phase of life.

Facebook explains,

“If you want to find people who are going through a similar situation as you, badging makes it easier to quickly find those people and connect to them. Example badges include “New Parent” and “Expecting Parent” to help parents connect more closely with those in similar situations.“

3. Mentorship for Parenting groups

Finally, Facebook will also be extending its mentorship feature to parenting communities.

“Parenting group admins can now choose and create an online mentoring program, let members sign up and match mentor/mentee pairs. Members can pair up with one another to offer guidance during some of life’s biggest moments like expecting a new child, moving or switching careers,” says Facebook.

HELP Group Members Connect with and Support each other👭🏻

1. Member Profile visible in ‘Admin Tools’

Facebook recently rolled out this feature of ‘Member profile’ in Admin tools to help members know each other better.

That said, when a member clicks on the name of another group member, they are taken to a group specific profile where they see a feed of a person’s activity in the group and the things in common (like education, work, mutual friends, current city, hometown, and groups in common).

This feature helps members make a profile more relevant to the group they’re a part of by allowing them to:

• Choose a specific bio for the group
• Update their badges
• Choose specific information to display

2. Request or Offer help feature

In an attempt to help people nearby, Facebook rolled out the ‘Request or offer help’ button in some private and public groups. It is a part of the ‘Community Help’ feature Facebook announced in April this year.

Since we are in the middle of a pandemic, Facebook allows people to either request for help or seek help from those in their neighbourhood for essentials like groceries. It even helps you participate in other volunteer work or donate to a local food pantry or fundraiser.

ADDITION for Private Facebook Groups 🔐

1. Share posts in private group

Until last month, only public groups on Facebook had the share option where members could easily share a post with their close ones.

But now, Facebook has extended this feature to private groups as well.

The feature is currently available in a few groups only and the social media giant will soon be rolling it out for all private groups.

Although you can share a post with anyone from a private group, the person will only be able to see it if he/she is a member of the group.

That’s all for this month’s edition.

Stay tuned for information about another set of Facebook group features.⚡

Meanwhile, if you wish to know more about any of these, feel free to drop in your queries in the comments section below.

Or you can also post your thoughts in our Facebook group, Growth and Monetisation for Facebook Group Admins and get some wonderful insights from hundreds of power admins who are constantly discussing this and so much more on community building.😊

Also, Read about the latest Facebook group features for November and December

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! 💛