Building and maintaining communities: Facebook group vs. forum community

Cedric

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Does anyone have any experience with building and maintaining online communities on Facebook compared to forums? Do you find it easier to manage a Facebook group or a traditional forum community?

Personally, I've found that setting up a Facebook group is pretty straightforward. You can get started quickly and the built-in features are handy. They have improved lots throughout the years. However, I'm wondering if anyone has had trouble with the limitations Facebook imposes, like the lack of customization and control over the design and functionality. On the other hand, forums seem to offer a lot more control and customization, but they can be more challenging to set up and maintain.

When it comes to engagement, do you think Facebook's algorithm helps or hinders interaction compared to a forum's setup? I've noticed that sometimes posts in Facebook groups can get buried, while forums seem to keep discussions more organized and visible. Let's not forget the fact that Facebook often holds more trolls than forums, where it's easier to manage.

So that brings us to moderation - another big factor. How do you find moderating a Facebook group compared to a forum? The tools and strategies can be quite different, especially when it comes to handling spam and ensuring quality discussions.

Visibility and reach are crucial too. Facebook groups benefit from Facebook's massive user base, but forums can be optimized for search engines. Which do you think has the edge in reaching and growing an audience organically?

Monetization is another angle I'd love to hear about. Have you had more success monetizing a Facebook group or a forum? What strategies have worked for you?

Lastly, I'm interested in hearing about your experiences with long-term community growth and sustainability. Which platform has been more effective in keeping your members engaged over time?

Looking forward to your thoughts! 🙂
 
I have a Facebook group, in fact it was quite large at one time too since it was based around a very popular Youtuber named Dan Bell. The moderation tools are great, and the validation tools are easy to use. I don't like the lack of organization in a group that a traditional forum has though, and I don't like the lack of customization you can do with a group. I had a forum alongside the group for a while, but out of the thousands of members in the group only 18 or 19 of those members joined the forum. I ended up closing the forum because I figure if no one was interested in it, then there's no reason to keep it online. Things have quiet down in the group though, but it's mainly because Dan had stopped uploading videos as much as he used to.
 
I have multiple Facebook groups with over several thousand members. One has nearly 45K members.

FB groups are easier to build. That's because your userbase and audience is already using the platform and joining is simple.

Once your group gets large enough, Facebook will often reach out and help you get bigger. They got me a spot on my local news station, and we got thousands more members.

It's easy and enticing to grow on FB groups.

However...

Facebook is rented space. If something happens to your group or groups in general, you are forced to deal with changes. If you lose your group and FB determines you can't get it back, that's it. It's gone. You agreed to this in the terms of membership on the platform.

My XenForo forums are different. I have the database access. I own the content and userbase and I can move it as I please.

I do enjoy running both, though.
 
If you are trying to generate sales, Facebook groups can be highly beneficial but I do not see serious discussion happening on social media communities, for serious discussions forums are better. Having your own forum will give you control over your community compared to a social media community
 
I didn't know you could monetize a Facebook group, how does that work?

I've never had my own Facebook group that's gotten popular, but I do know how to use the tools. I find that the spam tools are nice and even though a lot of the group tools are buried in the system, they're effective.

Facebook makes it easier to grow faster than forums, depending on genre.
 
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