How to Welcome New Members to a Facebook Group (Guide)

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So, you’ve gotten 1,000 new members into your Facebook group. Congratulations!

Have you said “hello” yet?

While it may be impossible to go one by one and welcome new members to your Facebook group, creating a post that welcomes everyone at the same time is a great way to make sure they feel seen.

It also encourages them to engage with the group right away. After that first interaction, they’ll feel much less hesitant to make and engage with future posts.

If you’re unsure about how to welcome new members to your Facebook group, this article will walk you through the steps one by one, as well as some best practices.

How to Create a Facebook Group Welcome Post

Creating a welcome post for your Facebook group is really simple, even if most people seem to overlook it. It’s basically the same as making any post in your group—you just have to know where to look.

First, click the Members button underneath the header image on your Facebook group. You should see a list of new members to your group, with an option directly below that to write a post.

*Note: You must be the Facebook group admin to create a welcome post. Regular members can’t go around welcoming everyone on your behalf.

Start by clicking the “Write Welcome Post” in the “Members” tab
Start by clicking the “Write Welcome Post” in the “Members” tab

Once you click the “Write Welcome Post” button, a post will pop up with all those new members tagged. You can leave it as is and keep everyone tagged, or you can edit it only to welcome those members that you want.

Write your welcome post and add media
Write your welcome post and add media

From there, all you have to do is customize the post, click “Post,” and it’s done.

How to Schedule Your Welcome Post

In some cases, you may want to schedule your post to go live at a later time than right when you compose it.

This is particularly handy for brands with international audiences. If the majority of your audience lives in a different time zone, you should set it to go live when they’re more likely to be available.

Alternatively, your schedule may not allow you to return to the group every single week, so scheduling ahead of time ensures these types of posts are in place.

According to most recent Facebook group statistics, top groups have an engagement rate of more than 80%. If you want your group to succeed, you’ll have to get your group as close to that as possible. Posting at the right time helps achieve more group interaction.

To schedule your post, follow the steps above to create the initial welcome post. Then, click on the calendar at the bottom right corner of the screen. Select the date you want the post to be active and click schedule. It’s as easy as that.

Click the calendar button to select your schedule time
Click the calendar button to select your schedule time

Tips for Making Your Facebook Group Welcome Post More Effective

The standard Facebook welcome post isn’t bad, but it’s not very personal. With a little creativity, you can make it something that people will really appreciate.

If you really want your welcome message to get as much engagement as possible, here are a few more tips to keep in mind.

1. Make It Engaging

If you want your welcome post to create engagement, then it needs to be…engaging! Ditch the formal, professional jargon (unless your group is made up of professionals) and speak directly to the audience member.

Ask them to share their “why” for joining the group or what they’re hoping to gain from the community. Appoint Facebook group members to respond to these posts. They can be moderators or just more veteran group members—either way, make sure they make an effort to engage.

Pro Tip: If you want to have your members engaged from the get-go, you can have them answer Facebook Group membership questions. Not only will this have them more involved, but it can also help you generate leads.

Remember to keep the language inclusive and welcoming. The welcome post should make members feel excited to be there and reassure them that they made the right choice in joining.

2. Invite Other Facebook Group Members to Comment

A welcome post is a two-way street. When you tag the new group members and ask them to introduce themselves, make sure that someone is responding to those comments. A single “Welcome!” or “Glad to have you!” can go a long way – even the biggest Facebook groups find ways to keep their members engaged from the get-go.

If you spot someone who has an especially compelling comment on your welcome post, ask a follow-up question and engage further. With any luck, you’ll have a string of comments that continue down the post and generate lively discussion.

3. Pin the Post

While some Facebook welcome posts will inevitably find their way down the feed, doomed to be lost forever, consider pinning them to the top for at least that week. Those first few days after a post is live are critical to Facebook’s algorithm, so make sure you give your welcome post the best chance to be seen by the audience by pinning it near the top.

The group in the photo below, for instance, has a welcome post that is almost irresistible. The moderators ask every new member to share the music they’re currently listening to, which not only is personal and current but also invites comments from everyone else.

It’s always a good idea to ask a specific question to inspire engagement
It’s always a good idea to ask a specific question to inspire engagement

4. Include Rich Media

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then gifs and emojis are easily worth at least a hundred.

It can be tempting to load your welcome post up with a bunch of words of welcome, but a gif can usually communicate that emotion just as well. Plus, it has the added quality of being relatable—chances are, your audience has seen your gif or emoji in other places and will now associate it with your brand.

This tip applies doubly if your brand revolves around a celebrity of some kind. The group below is made up of fans of Bradley Rose—a London-based Peloton instructor known for lively rides and witty banter. The moderators wisely chose to include a gif of him in their welcome post.

Including relevant media can help increase interaction on the welcome post
Including relevant media can help increase interaction on the welcome post

5. Give Your New Members Something Valuable

Take your welcome post to the next level by giving your new Facebook group members something they can take home. Something that they’ll use elsewhere and remember you and your group as the place that they got it.

The possibilities here really are endless:

  • A training course
  • White papers
  • Tool access (free trial or “freemium” version)
  • eBook
  • YouTube videos

When considering what type of assets you could give your audience for free, think about the unique challenges that your group members have in common. What problems are they trying to solve?

This doesn’t have to come at a great cost, either. Take some of the existing material that you don’t mind giving away and package it together in a way that beginners can use. It’ll be a great way to win your audience’s appreciation right off the bat.

If your goal is to make money from your Facebook group, you could also use these small giveaways as gateways to upsell later on. Once people get a taste of your material, there’s a good chance they’ll be more willing to buy your main products later on.

Facebook Welcome Post Examples for Inspiration

Looking for a few posts that you can use as inspiration for your own? Check out these examples below!

1. Growth and Monetization for Facebook Group Admins

Welcome to the new Community Leaders! ❤️We would love to know more about you, your community and tell a little bit about your journey and struggles/achievements! Would be great if you do it as a separate post and tag it as #intropost. You can write, record a video, image – however you like to tell your story! 📸

Scroll down or search for #intropost in the group to see other members’ inspiring journeys in their intro posts!

Let’s welcome our new members

Source: Growth and Monetisation for Facebook Group Admins

2. Book Club Favorites

Hi everyone and — Welcome to our new members!!!

Book Club Favorites is a community for all the things book lovers love. 📚💕 We are here to keep the conversation about great book club reads going 24/7. Each month, we highlight picks, and at the end of the month, we’ll host a Facebook Live book club discussion. We’ll announce our picks here and we hope you read along with us!

But that means it’s also where you can share what YOU are reading! 🙌 We love to see our members discussing all things bookish — so tell everyone what you’re reading, share your reviews, and ask for recommendations! Drop in photos and post when you need a new rec.

This month (October 2019), the Book Club Favorites pick is THE LIBRARY BOOK by Susan Orlean, and our Facebook Live chat is on 10/24 at 5pm ET. Next month, we’re reading MRS. FLETCHER by Tom Perrotta, and that Facebook Live chat will be on 11/19 at 3pm ET. So pick up a copy, read along with us, and tune in to the conversation!

As you’re discussing with us and fellow members, please remember to always be kind, and try to avoid spoilers when possible 😊

So, go forth and read!

(Please note: we do not allow self-promoting brands/products in order to gain followers).

Source: Book Club Favorites

3. Ninja Speedi Recipes

Welcome to Ninja Speedi Recipes!

Let’s all create a kind and welcoming environment for all of us to learn and help others. We look forward to seeing your creations (just make sure to post your full recipe!) and thanks so much for joining!!

Let’s welcome our new members:

Source: Ninja Speedi Recipes

Conclusion

A Facebook group welcome post is easy to do and a great way to encourage people to interact with your group with as little friction as possible. It also helps break the ice and makes people feel welcome almost immediately.

A lot of Facebook group administrators will simply overlook the importance of a welcome message, so taking a few minutes to set yours up will set you apart from the crowd and make new members feel welcome!

We hope you found this guide useful. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.

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