Soapbox Engage Blog

Facebook remains the top player among social media platforms. Having a presence on Facebook is practically a necessity for nonprofits and organizations. In addition to being a powerful fundraising resource, Facebook can be a strategic tool to cultivate a close-knit and supportive community for people in your network.

Overall, Facebook offers many benefits to charities and nonprofits, but there are lots of options and settings to choose from. Two big questions when starting out are, "What's the difference between Facebook Pages and Facebook Groups?" and "Which option is best for nonprofits?"

While the answer to the second question might not be cut and dry for every nonprofit, we'll help you understand the features of Facebook Groups and Pages. We'll also explore some factors to consider when choosing one for your organization.

Table of Contents

1. Facebook Pages for nonprofits
2. Pros and cons of Facebook Pages for nonprofits
3. Facebook Groups for nonprofits
4. Pros and cons of Facebook Groups for nonprofits
5. Facebook Messenger Rooms for nonprofits

Facebook Page and Facebook Group Basics for Nonprofits

Let's start by understanding the basics of Facebook Groups and Facebook Pages. They were created for different purposes and offer various benefits and disadvantages.

Facebook Pages for nonprofits

Facebook Pages were designed so businesses, public figures, and organizations could build a Facebook presence and connect with their followers. You can think of a Facebook Page as a profile page for your nonprofit. Everyone can find and view it.

When someone likes or follows your Facebook Page, they will begin to see updates and notifications from your organization's page in their News Feed.

A Facebook Page is different from a typical Facebook profile that you probably created for yourself. Multiple people can manage a Page, and anyone can like or follow a Page. Additionally, it's possible to promote and monetize a post from a Facebook Page (which is not the case with posts from a traditional profile).

Key features of Facebook Pages that will interest nonprofits include:

• An optional reviews feature where supporters and other people can leave reviews about your nonprofit
• Messaging features that allow followers to message and chat with the page's administrators
• A verification function that confirms the legitimacy of a page (similar to Twitter's "verified" status)
• Profile information that can include a description of your nonprofit, contact information, hours, and other details
• Groups can be linked to the page

Pros and cons of Facebook Pages for nonprofits

While there are clear pros and cons to creating a Facebook Page for your nonprofit, there are some key factors to consider.

Add a donate button and advertisements to your Facebook Page: Most nonprofits benefit from the professional look of a Facebook Page. It's also convenient to have one space to share essential information about your organization. Facebook Pages are also the only place you can create advertisements on Facebook. Perhaps even more relevant, you can add a Donate button to a Facebook Page.

Use Facebook Stories: While Facebook is constantly changing its algorithm, currently, it's prioritizing Facebook Stories. This is a newer feature for content creators. Stories are fullscreen, short-form videos that have all kinds of creative, customizable overlays so you can record and quickly edit a short video.

Stories only stay up for 24 hrs, so they're great for time-sensitive updates or surprise content. You can also import existing photos and videos into your Facebook Story.

Imagine recording a short Story promoting your next fundraising event that starts in 24 hrs. People will be able to view that story and register for the event, but then it will disappear and not clutter your page.

Difficult to cultivate community with a Facebook Page: One disadvantage to Facebook Pages for nonprofits is that it's difficult for followers to connect and engage with you because the only way to connect is by commenting. This makes it challenging to have meaningful interactions or exchange ideas on Facebook Pages compared to Facebook Groups.

Posting regularly is sort of a "must" with Facebook Pages: Have you ever visited a business Facebook Page and noticed the last post was months or years ago? You're now wondering if they're even still in business! Their Page is a ghost town, and you're pretty sure a digital tumbleweed just blew by.

That "abandoned Page" look can be a real detractor for nonprofits who want to maintain a professional and active profile. That means your team will need to create a plan to post regularly to your Facebook Page and keep it looking alive and well.

Facebook Groups for nonprofits

Facebook Groups are designed for people to connect around a shared interest. A vital feature of a Group is that you can customize the privacy settings depending on who you would like to be able to see and join the Group.

When someone joins a Group, they will begin seeing content from that Group in their News Feed. Groups tend to serve as a hub for discussion, sharing information, or connecting with people around a shared interest or project.

There are three privacy settings for Facebook Groups: Public, Closed, and Secret. Anyone can find and request to join a public group. Non-members can see who is in the group and what they're posting.

Anyone can find a closed group on Facebook, but only members can see other Group members or any posts and comments.

The most private setting is "secret." You cannot request to join a secret Facebook group unless a current member invites you. Only members can see content within the group.

An organization might have multiple Facebook Groups for different segments of its community. For example, a nonprofit might create a private Facebook Group exclusively for their current volunteers to connect and exchange information and ideas and another Group for donors or other key groups.

Key features of a Facebook Group that will interest nonprofits include

:

• The ability to set group "rules" and moderating features for group administrators
• A built-in calendar for group events
• Optional surveys for people requesting to join the Group (as a security feature)

This might be obvious, but it's worth clarifying that you need to have a personal profile on Facebook to set up or help manage both Facebook Pages and Groups. However, unlike with a Facebook Page, your personal profile will be visible to members of your Facebook Group. People will be able to find your personal Facebook profile.

Pros and cons of Facebook Groups for nonprofits

Here are some potential pros and cons to consider before setting up a Facebook Group for your nonprofit:

Anyone can post and share in a Facebook Group: It's both a benefit and a potential risk that anyone in your group can post and share content with the group. While it can be a relief to not be the sole creator, there's always a risk when keeping an "open forum," especially on social media.

It can require some work and attention to moderate the group and ensure everyone follows the group guidelines and the discussions are on-topic and respectful. However, the potential for meaningful interaction and community is high!

Help Group members connect and find resources: Facebook Groups tend to be far more social and interactive. They're great places to cultivate an exchange of ideas, share resources and information, and collaborate or connect over a common interest.

While the advantage is cultivating a vibrant community with a valuable exchange of ideas, the potential downside is that the group won't be very useful to anyone if people aren't engaged and active. However, with a bit of effort on your part, you can build valuable relationships with your followers, volunteers, and donors via Facebook Groups.

Groups' privacy settings may limit who sees information: While groups are an excellent place for people to interact and connect, it's not the best way to advertise, share information, or promote events to anyone outside the group. Depending on what privacy settings you select, people might not even be able to see posts or content in your group.

Facebook Messenger Rooms for nonprofits

Facebook Messenger Rooms is Facebook's answer to Zoom, Skype, and other popular video conference options. It's a video chat room where you can connect with multiple people via a video call.

Rooms offer most of the same features as the more popular services. The critical difference is that participants won't need to download or install any apps depending on your room settings. Their target audience seems to be more personal than organizations or corporations. It's probably not a feature many nonprofits will regularly use since Zoom and Skype have more stable video conferencing platforms. Still, it's worth noting their existence.

Any of these Facebook features can be valuable tools for your nonprofit. The key is to know each option's strengths and potential weaknesses, so you can choose accordingly and use each one wisely.

Now that you're cultivating a vibrant community on Facebook, here are three more resources to keep your fundraising efforts going full steam ahead.

• 4 Ways to Use Digital Ads to Promote Your Nonprofit: One of the digital marketing strategies that nonprofits have yet to take full advantage of is advertising. This guide combats some of the common hesitancies that nonprofits have toward digital ads and presents ways that nonprofits can use digital advertising to advance their mission and raise more money.
• 6 Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Mistakes to Avoid: Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns have practically become a staple in the nonprofit fundraising strategy "playbook." We can thank the rise of social media for the shift toward this type of fundraising. Check out this blog for six common mistakes to avoid when planning a successful peer-to-peer fundraising campaign.
• 5 Benefits of Recurring Giving Programs for Nonprofits: Online fundraising systems make recurring giving convenient and accessible for nonprofits and donors. In fact, they're practically a necessity to cultivate more stable year-round revenue streams. This blog explores some of the top benefits of recurring giving programs for nonprofits.