Joining Facebook Groups is essential for bloggers to gain traffic and learn how to improve. But, you will not be successful if you make these Facebook group etiquette faux pas.
Facebook Groups are created for you to learn from others and network. You will discover tons of information, meet amazing people, and even share your expertise.
I posted this request in the Blogging Babes Collective Facebook Group.
~List one DO and one DON’T in terms of proper etiquette expected in a Facebook Group. ~
Those babes practically wrote this post for me with their answers. So thank you to all of you, you are always so helpful and supportive. And funny.
Affiliate Disclosure: There are affiliate links throughout this post. This means if you click on a link and purchase a product through that link, then I will receive a small commission for the referral. And that is kinda cool.
Facebook Group Etiquette Don’ts.
Don’t do any of this.
- Be rude.
- Spam your products or blog post links, especially if they do not apply to the topic.
- Pick a fight. Always play nice with others.
- Be arrogant.
- Try to one-up your administrator.
- Rush over the rules of a particular thread. Make sure you know what they are asking of you before joining. I have been in trouble with this more than I wish to admit.
- Judge and don’t criticize.
- Respond with one or two-word responses. Think this through. Make sure your answer is helpful and meaningful.
Don’t use bad grammar. Grammarly is a life changer, and they check for plagiarism, too.
And furthermore, don’t do this, either.
- Post irrelevant links.
- Ask a question in a thread unless you have tried to find the answer. Try Google first. Or you can search within the group in the top search bar to see if the topic in question has been discussed. Often you will find your question has already been answered.
- Break the rules that the administrator has listed. Know the rules and abide by them.
- And my personal favorite…
I promise you if you make any of these mistakes, you will know it rather quickly.
First of all, administrators will call you out if you break their written rules. And secondly, bloggers are protective. They will let you know if you aren’t acting appropriately.
Unwritten Guidelines: Facebook Group Etiquette.
- Read the group rules, respect them, and abide by them.
- If you join a thread, follow the rules. If they say to comment or share five, then comment or share five. Believe me; the admins are watching.
- Be kind.
- Reciprocate. If someone takes the time to comment or share your work, do the same.
- Be helpful—this is what we are all here for, right?
- Introduce yourself to the group when you join. It is a nice gesture, and it is the beginning of amazing friendships.
- Be respectful of all levels of bloggers. We are on this journey together.
- Be supportive and encouraging.
- Share other blogger’s content generously. You will find that most of us will reciprocate.
- Promo Day is the ONLY DAY to promote yourself.
- Be interactive. The more you engage with fellow bloggers in the group, the more benefit you will get from your group.
- Think before you answer a question. Are you answering in a way that is easy to understand? Are you helpful? Kind? Encouraging? And supportive?
- Research your question before you post it. There is a search bar within the group at the top. Search to see if the topic has already been discussed. Often it has, and you will find your answer there.
- Always be polite and say thank you when someone helps you out.
- And this…
Facebook marketing tips while maintaining proper Facebook group etiquette.
- Engage. Ask questions, answer questions, share ideas related to post topics, and stay involved.
- Add personalization. Don’t just share a link and run with no explanation of what it’s about.
- Don’t just pop in now and then only promoting yourself. Most groups have self-promotion threads. Use them.
- And when self-promoting, write a fun blurb on what you are promoting and how it will help your audience. You will get more engagement if people know what they are getting from you.
You can easily avoid Facebook Group etiquette faux pas by following the above simple, yet unwritten rules.
Excellent post! Very helpful for us socially awkward introverts who struggle with interactionsm Here is one more I would add: don’t message people out of the blue on messenger trying to sell your stuff unsolicited. I’ve had lots of peole contact me via messenger asking questions, which I’m always happy to answer. But every so often I get people who just want to sell me something I didn’t ask for.
I have, too. More so on Instagram, which I don’t get and you are right, it’s annoying!
I think unsolicited spam via PM should be another one, although maybe that happens more on Twitter.
I agree. And you are not the first to mention this.
Excellent advice! These guidelines can really help people from all over the world come together with a shared understanding of expectations. 🙂
I agree. All over the world, imaging that?
This is such a good post. I really enjoyed reading it and I hope many many other bloggers will read it too and take notes.
Blogger groups can be amazing and so helpful BUT it really annoys me when bloggers don’t reciprocate or even at the very least just say thank you! We’re all in the same boat and we all started out somewhere.
When they post their links and run. 🤬🤬🤬🤬 It’s usually always the same culprits.
I always try my hardest to reciprocate and do over and above and if I know I won’t have time to put the effort in I’ll either reciprocate the following day or not drop my link.
But it’s getting frustrating! Sorry to moan. I love this post but it’s just made me want to get this off my chest here rather than in the bloggers groups since I have to balance this frustration with being polite!!!!!
Live the detail you’ve put into this too. You might be interested in joining ‘Epic Bloggers’ group too. It has only been going a couple of weeks and so far everybody is reciprocating. I did leave you a FB message stating the same but unsure if you saw it. Xxx
It is annoying. But, there are so many people that you can count on and I focus on them. I try hard to reciprocate, as well. And if I know that I won’t have the time, I don’t put my post in. Most people are good about minding their manners. Thank you for the info on Epic Bloggers, I will check it out! AND thanks for always interacting.
Great post!!
Very helpful tips everyone should defo dead and follow 🙂
Agree! If only…
I love this post and all of the points you make are so true! Especially the ones about being nice and reciprocating. If someone is taking the time out of their day to help me, I’m going to do everything possible to reciprocate.
I try really hard to do the same. We are all in this together!
Because I’m a bit of a geek, I write a list of the ones I’ve joined each day, an overview of rules, what I’ve shared and what I need to share in order to complete the thread.
It can be hard to keep up with different groups and different rules but I do love a good Facebook group!
I wish that I was that organized or could come up with a better system! And I agree, Facebook Groups are fun, and I love them.
This is a great list and to be honest I never introduce myself to the group because I don’t think anyone really cares. Sounds like I am wrong here and need to do a better job here. Great post!
I didn’t at first, but I think it is a nice gesture.
This is a great list of guidelines for interacting in Facebook groups. Facebook groups have been amazing for bringing traffic to my blog. If it weren’t for those connections, no one would be visiting my blog. I agree about reciprocation. It’s definitely a must. When I participate in a thread, I always at least do the minimum of what is expected and then try to reciprocate for all the people who commented and shared for me. If I don’t have time to do the extra, I try to remember who has commented and shared for me and do the same for them on the next thread I participate in.
I do about the same. I hope that I get most people who have commented on mine, I try. It is also great to have that usual group of people who interact regularly. Helps with traffic, networking, AND learning.
Great advice! I am new to this whole Facebook groups for bloggers thing and this list is of great help. However, there is this one thing I struggle with: the reciprocation part. I am very grateful that people share and comment on my posts, and I will be more than happy to reciprocate… if I’m genuinely interested. I mean, my social media is highly centered in my niche, so I find it kind of awkward to share motherhood, beauty or other kinds of stuff. I don’t think they are not interesting in general, I think they just don’t fit for me in particular. So I thank the awesome blogger who dedicated their time to my post, and most times I try to find something in their blog that would fit my content, but if I cannot, I don’t really reciprocate. It would feel fake otherwise…
You know, I have thought about that. And I agree to a certain extent. But, Now I read posts that maybe I normally wouldn’t read and I have learned and shared lots of new things, virtually and personally with friends. So I go out of my niche for that reason, just to experience something new. Does that make sense?
Thanks for sharing these great tips! I’m a part of a few Facebook groups (actually where I found this post) but I haven’t been extremely active in these groups. Participating in Facebook groups more is definitely on my to do list and I will be taking these tips into consideration! Thanks again!
They are so helpful. So much of my traffic and interaction is from Facebook groups, even the huge ones.
As a FB Group Admin/Owner, I totally agree with every single tip on the list! Some of my members are amazing & making the group a great community, while some other start to spam their affiliate links after 10 minutes of their approval. They seem not to understand that if everyone behaved like that, the group cannot function.
Wonderful post, I will share it on my channels as well 🙂
Thank you, Chris. I’m fortunate to have found your super interactive group. That all starts at the top!
excellent advice. thank you for sharing your thoughts on this matter.
Thank you. I hope I have been helpful to you. I love my Facebook Groups.
Great advice! Facebook groups have great potential to help us grow our blogs, reach new readers and network with other bloggers, but only if we use them properly. It’s about respect – for the group creators and for the other members.
This is such a true statement. Respect is a big deal. And Facebook groups are so important for our success.
I love the idea of trying to help people understand how to be a good group citizen. Though you would think that the kindness would come naturally to participants, sometimes people seem to need the reminder. Thanks for sharing awesome advice.