Thursday, January 24, 2019

New Changes to Facebook Groups


by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Once again we facing changes from Facebook, this time with groups. But it's not all bad news, I promise. 

Facebook groups... the good, the bad and the ugly...

The Good
Personally, I love the groups I've created and the groups where I hang out. These communities give me encouragement and provide information that helps me out in life. 

The Bad & The Ugly
The Bad comes when someone adds me to a group without asking. I appreciate that someone wants to have me in their group. 

The ugly comes when I look at the several-hundred groups I'm now a part of. It's so bad that there are too many to unsubscribe from. When I view my groups list, I'm overwhelmed. 

The Solution
Facebook has listened to our frustration and is now changing the way groups work. 

  • 1. If you were added to a group and have never participated, you now have an INVITATION to join that group, but you are no longer an official part of that group. To see your invitations and the groups you're a part of, click on the Groups tab found on the left side of your newsfeed. (see screenshot below) When you click on that tab, you'll notice that your groups are sorted into several categories
    • Groups you own
    • Groups you're a member of
    • Groups your page (if you have a professional page) is a member of
    • Groups you've been invited to join
  • NOTE, you may decline an invitation and that group—or the person who invited you—will NOT be notified. Your invitation will just quietly melt away.
  • 2. If you own a group, anyone you (or a member of the group) invited to join has been removed from the membership list and is now listed under a tab called INVITED. To see the changes, click on Members and then on Invited. (see screenshot below)

In addition, you will probably have received a notification from Facebook about the changes in your groups. FB is sending out this notification to everyone who owns a group or is a member of the group. This isn't a scam, it's Facebook's way of letting everyone know what's changing. 

What Should We Do Next?
From the Group MEMBER Side:
  • First, take a look at your group invitations and decide which groups you really want to be a part of and participate in. Then accept or decline invitations based on that. 
  • Next, take a look at the groups you're already a part of. For me, this was a good time to do a little housecleaning in regard to groups I rarely visit.
  • Finally, visit the groups that you want to be active in and change your notification settings in each group. 
    • Click on NOTIFICATIONS
    • Choose ALL POSTS
If you don't choose all posts, you won't see many updates from your group.



From the Group OWNER Side
  • Visit your group and click on the INVITED tab. (see the second screenshot in this post)
  • Send a reminder to each person individually to join the group. You aren't able to personalize this reminder, FB has a standard reminder that they will send when you click SEND REMINDER under the individual's invitation.
  • Post a message in your group about the changes to groups. Remind each person to visit the notifications tab and change their notifications to ALL POSTS. 
NOTE: This isn't the time or place to badger anyone. One additional invitation is fine. After that assume that person isn't interested.

Bottom Line
While I am NOT a person who likes changes, I truly believe this change is a good one. It is certainly helping me manage the avalanche of Facebook groups. 

I'd love to know what you think about these changes, or any questions you have! Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Don't forget to join the conversation,
Blessings,
Edie

TWEETABLES

28 comments:

  1. Am sure glad we have you to help us stay on top of all these social media changes Ms. Edie. How in the world do you find the time young lady? God's blessings...

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  2. Thank you Edie, for explaining it so easily.

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  3. As always, Edie, you plow through the maze and straighten the path for us all! Thank you!

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  4. Thank you for explaining these changes, as a facebook group owner I was a bit scared there for a minute haha!

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    1. It did initially seem like a difficult change, but when I dug deeper I discovered I was happy with the changes!

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  5. Thanks for this post, Edie. Lately, I've been overrun by emails and correspondence from FB groups I'm a part of . . . and those I no longer wish to be a part of. I just took some time to do some housecleaning with my groups. This post was fabulous! Thanks!

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  6. Thanks, Edie. I was wondering why I got invited to a group I was already in, and now I know! I was able to follow the steps you listed to accept their invitation and see their posts.

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    1. Barbara I’m glad I was able to help you clear that up!

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  7. Edie, I appreciate how you help the rest of us stay on top of these changes. I'll be going to my FB page to put these steps into practice.

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  8. Thanks Edie for explaining this to us. Appreciate you! :)

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  9. I've been wondering why I've been suddenly inundated by FB group emails. Thanks for the clarification on the changes. You've done it again with a wonderful post!

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    1. Initially the emails will be more, but it should help in the long run!

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  10. Thank you for the information Edie.. You do help us navigate on Social Media... blessings,

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  11. I’m thrilled with the change. In the past when you invited someone to a group, they were automatically added and that was the only way to do it. I know there were some groups I wanted to invite people to, not just add them. On the flip side, I hated being added to groups that I didn’t want to be part of and didn’t know how to gracefully leave the group. Now I have options! Sometimes Facebook gets it right... even if it takes them a while!

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  12. I know this is late, but I want to thank you, Edie. ;)

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  13. Thanks for explaining this in an understandable way!

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