Facebook groups unlocked: 5 frequently asked questions resolved!

Since I've been getting a lot of questions about how I manage my Facebook groups, I thought it was about time to give you some answers to the 5 most asked questions!

How can I limit and monitor who’s entering my Facebook group?

If you’re the admin of a Facebook Group, you can create the possibility that new potential members need to request permission to join your group. This means that you will have to approve the access of those potential members manually, but it gives you several possibilities. For instance, you’ve got the possibility to monitor the profiles entering your group, meaning you can create Facebook groups which are only for the buyers of one of your courses or products. 

Secondly, it gives you the possibility to ask questions. You’ll find more information about setting up questions below.

You can set up the approval of a membership by:

1. Going to your group and clicking ‘More’ below your cover picture. 
2. Click ‘Edit Group Settings’
3. Scroll down until you find the ‘Membership approval’ part. Select ‘Only admins and moderators’ next to ‘Approval membership requests’. 
4. Click ‘Save’ at the bottom. 

This is also the location where you’ll be able to find new membership requests, but they’ll also show up to the news feed of the group page for anyone who’s an admin of the group.

These steps do look a bit different in the new Facebook lay-out. 

When you go to your group in the new Facebook, you’ll be able to find all the tools for admins of a group on the left side of your screen. In order to set up the approval of new members, take the following steps:

1. Go to ‘Settings’. 
2. Scroll down until you see the ‘Manage Membership’ part. 
3. Click the pen next to ‘Who can approve membership requests’. 
4. Select ‘Only admins and moderators’. 
5. Save your changes.  

How can I set up questions for those wanting to enter my group? 

Setting up questions upon approval is a great way to find out more about the people who want to join! Maybe you want to know why they want to join the group, what specific questions they have, what their age is and so on. You can ask three questions, each having a maximum of 200 signs. 

If you want to add questions, follow the next steps: 

1. Go to your group and click ‘More’ below your cover picture. 
2. Click ‘Moderate group’. 
3. On the left side of your screen, you will see a title called ‘Membership questions’. Click that title. 
4. Start adding questions! You can opt for multiple choice questions, tick boxes or a written answer. 
5. Save your questions! 

Now the person wanting to join your group will see the questions! 

Again, there are some changes for the new look of Facebook. Going to your group, you can immediately find the block ‘Membership questions’ on the left side of your screen. Just click that one and you’re good to go! 

I’ve installed some questions on my Facebook group, but people aren’t answering the questions?

Members requesting access to your group are not obliged to answer your questions. This means that they can close their request without answering any question at all and they will still show up in your membership requests.  They will however get reminders from Facebook eventually if they still haven’t been granted access after a day.  

Where can I find the replies people give to my questions?

These replies are not stored anywhere by Facebook. So it’s important that you screenshot their answers or save the information somewhere externally before approving their request! 

How do I plan a post in my group?

Scheduling a post in your Facebook group is actually pretty easy and straightforward. All you need to do is go to the feed of your group, act like you would make a new post, but instead of posting it, click the next to ‘Locations’ and select ‘Plan a post’. 

The first steps are the same for the newer version of Facebook. When you’ve written out your post, the only thing which changes is that you now have to click the calendar next to the ‘Post’ button in order to be able to choose a date and time for your post. 

If you want to review or change your post later, you can go to your group and select ‘Manage group’ on the left side of the screen. Click ‘Planned posts’ and select the one you wish to alter.

Alright, you're now completely ready to start hosting your own Facebook group! Good luck!