Does your Women's Ministry need a Facebook Group? Why it might work better than a page for you.

As I mentioned in Why Facebook is No Longer Your Friend, having a Facebook Page for your Women’s Ministry is no longer a reliable form of Publicity.

Another option to Facebook Pages are Facebook Groups.

Facebook Groups can be:

  1. Secret – Only members see the group, who’s in it, and what members post.
  2. Closed – Anyone can see the group and who’s in it. Only members see posts.
  3. Open (public) – Anyone can see the group, who’s in it, and what members post.

There’s a really great graph here that explains who can see and do what in a Group.

Groups can have 1 or multiple admins (people with behind the scenes who have control).

In addition to everything that group members can do, a group admin can:

  1. Edit the group description, tags and settings
  2. Add more admins to a group
  3. Remove abusive posts and remove or block members

Facebook Groups are appealing because:

  • You can share files in Groups.
  • You can create event invites for Groups.
  • All the posts will show up in each member’s newsfeed (which can be good, or bad).

You may find that creating a Group for your ministry is more useful than a Page.

I would caution you to set up some group rules for your Facebook Group.

Some things to consider:

  • What is the goal of your Group? Put it in writing for all Group members to see. Publicity? Connecting? Sharing? Recipe swapping? Selling items? All of the above?
  • What is/isn’t acceptable to post? Jokes? Events at other churches? Home parities? Baby shower invites? You can set up your guidelines both in a document and pin them to the top of your Group newsfeed.
  • How will you deal with over-zealous Group members who post frequently?
  • What type of Group will it be – secret, closed, or public? Take into account your purpose and the privacy of your women.
  • Who will serve as Admins for your Group?
  • Who will be responsible for stepping in if there is a problem?
  • How will problems be handled?

On a personal note: Please, please handle issues that come up off-line if at all possible. Call the person and let them know your concerns. Please do not email them – they can’t read your concerned tone. Reprimanding anyone publicly could do a great deal of damage. I have been through this and girls, it can be downright ugly. Extend grace, love, and forgiveness whenever possible.

Your turn to share: Does your ministry have a Facebook Group? How is it working for you?