The social network announced the upcoming updates to Groups during the Facebook Communities Summit on Thursday. The new features are primarily aimed at group admins, but members of Groups will notice the differences, as well. The new features include customizable colors, backgrounds, and fonts, community awards that members can give out to others, community fundraisers that live in a group to raise money for a cause, Community Chats in Messenger, reoccurring events, and more. Facebook also announced a new test rolling out that would create subgroups within the main group. This feature would allow admins to form smaller groups within a group for specific topics or members of a particular region. Admins also can raise money in a group in various ways. For example, paid subgroups will allow admins to offer exclusive access to more content or unique experiences like coaching and networking. Another way to make money within a Facebook Group is through a shop that lets admins create and sell group merchandise. In addition, Facebook said that it’s testing a new consumer experience that would bring Pages and Groups together in one place over the next year. “For admins of Facebook Groups, the new experience will allow them to use an official voice when interacting with their community,” Tom Alison, head of the Facebook app, wrote in Thursday’s announcement. “For admins of Facebook Pages, the new experience will help them build community in a single space for members to participate and engage. Admins of Pages will also be able to take advantage of the moderation tools that Groups have today.” According to Sprout Social, over 1.4 billion people use Facebook Groups every month, and 26% of users’ primary Group is built around a hobby. These stats could point to why Facebook is focusing on its Groups, especially since CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the new Meta brand “builds technologies that help people connect, find communities, and grow businesses.”
