Facebook is hosting its 2021 Communities Summit today, where it brings together group admins from across the platform to help them connect, share insights, and learn about upcoming features to help improve group engagement.
And as part of the event, Facebook has announced a slew of new groups tools – here’s an overview of all the new options being added to further streamline and improve its community offerings.

• First off, Facebook’s adding new custom color and post background options for groups, as well as specific font styles made available by admins. 
•  Admins will now be able to choose new color and format options for post, 
• In addition to this, Admins will also now be able to select the emoji defaults that users respond with in their group. That won’t restrict emoji use, as such, but it will enable admins to put specific focus on certain emoji images, which relate to their group. So the ‘Avocado Lover & Growers’ group might want to set the avocado emoji as a default for example, or others will have their own response emojis that see more thematic use.
• Admins will also now be able to utilize feature sets to select preset collections of post formats and badges, while Facebook’s also adding an automated greeting message option, enabling group managers to outline key rules and guidelines for new members.
• Welcome posts are also getting a redesign, providing more opportunity for connection with new group members, while Facebook’s also increasing the tagging limit for welcome posts to 500, so that admins can connect with more newcomers at once.

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• In terms of in-community engagement, Facebook has officially announced its new Community Awards, which enable group members to allocate ‘Insightful’, ‘Uplifting’ or ‘Fun’ markers to posts and comments that they find valuable in the group. So more than just being a basic engagement prompt, the awards also improve post/comment visibility, which could be a simple way to better surface the most relevant conversations and replies, and improve interaction by highlighting these contributions.
• Some groups have seen the Community Awards prompt pop-up over the past couple of months, but Facebook is now expanding it to all, providing another engagement option to consider. And maybe, by putting more focus on the best content, that could be another way to model group engagement, and encourage the best contributors to keep posting.
• Facebook’s also testing a new sub-groups option within groups that will enable admins to separate elements of group discussion into more specific categories.
• That’ll make it easier for each user to find the discussions of most relevance to them – so if you’re into card collecting, for example, the group could be separated into sports cards, Pokemon, MTG, etc. In some ways, it seems like if you’re adding a sub-group, maybe you should just start a new, more dedicated space for each segment, but there is also benefit to being part of a broader community, and having the capacity to interact with each element. Interestingly, admins will also be able to make their sub-groups a separate paid element.​ That could provide another avenue for monetization with your most dedicated group members – while also building the FOMO factor for those on the outside of this more intimate community segment.
• Another new engagement element will be Community Chats, coming to both Facebook and Messenger, providing an immediate, interactive connection option in groups, while recurring events will also facilitate regular meet-ups and discussions, via audio, video or text, in your groups. 
• A new ‘Columns’ option for longer-form posts will also provide another connective consideration.
• Facebook’s also adding a new option for admins to pin group announcements, and choose the order in which they show up in a new ‘Featured’ section at the top of their group, while ‘Community Chats’ will facilitate better coordination between admins and moderators specifically.

Also interesting:
“To help make your groups more accessible to those in the broader community, we will be testing the option for admins to extend community access to those without an existing Facebook account, enabling them to participate in a single group.”

• So non-Facebook users on Facebook. Along with the addition of separate Work accounts, alleviating the need to use a personal profile, it’s interesting to see Facebook easing back on this requirement just a little, though it’ll be interesting to see whether this has any ad targeting ramifications.
• Additional group monetization and fund-raising options are also on the way, with community fundraisers to highlight charitable causes, and merchandise displays to highlight group-related, and created, products.

 

• The options add to Facebook’s expanding toolset of monetization options for creators, and considering the amount of time group admins spend managing their groups, it’s another important aspect of focus for The Social Network’s ongoing growth plans.
• Finally, Facebook’s also building a new, combined Group and Page experience that will better enable managers of both to integrate their efforts.

“For admins of Facebook Groups, the new experience will allow them to use an official voice when interacting with their community. 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. This new experience is in early testing over the next year, before it becomes more broadly available.”
Groups remain a critical element of Facebook’s success – in fact, it’s likely the key aspect that keeps many users coming back, particularly considering recent insights which show that Facebook engagement has been in decline in many aspects over the past few years.
Facebook Groups, at 1.8 billion monthly active users, are a central social element for many people around the world, and as local news publications shutter, due to impacts on advertising, groups are also becoming an even more crucial tool for staying in touch with happenings in your area, and maintaining connection with neighbors and friends.
It’s one of the more powerful, and beneficial aspects of Facebook’s platform – and while groups can also amplify more harmful movements, and bring dangerously like-minded collectives of people into contact, the broader good of such connection is also clear.
Facebook can do more to protect against the former, but the latter is central to parent company Meta’s ongoing mission.
Indeed, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had this to say on the metaverse as part of his speech to the Communities Summit:
“Groups and communities on Facebook are going to be an important part of [the metaverse] vision. Nothing beats being together. But when we can't be together in person, the metaverse will help get us even closer to feeling that sense of an in-person connection.So, we're focused on building bridges from our apps on 2D screens into more immersive virtual experiences. Facebook, and your groups, are going to be central to this.”
It might be eying the future, but Meta needs to maintain the bonds of existing communities to maximize its vision.
Groups remain central to this, and these new tools will provide more options on this front.   

The twitter algorithm favors videos. What must you do get more reach and viewership are these small tweaks. Watch below

Visual social networks pull ahead in popularity. Millenials are loyal Facebook users and there are no signs of that changing. However, both sides of the digital native generation embrace visual-first social networks, (especially
Instagram and YouTube) and they want brands to do the same. Brands have yet to find the sweet spot on TikTok, but those that lay the groundwork now and start testing content on that platform could have an edge with Gen Z.

​EXPLORE CREATIVE  STORYTELLING.

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​Fifty percent of Gen Z consumers say they’re more likely to buy from a brand over a competitor when that brand demonstrates an understanding of what they want and need.

Prioritizing visual channels alone won’t guarantee that Gen Z will engage with your brand. To earn their recognition as best in class on social, brands must create memorable content. What makes content memorable is in the eye of the scroller, but one surefire way for a brand to stand out is by showing how well they know their audience. Half of Gen Z consumers (50%) say they’re more likely to buy from a brand over a competitor when that brand demonstrates an understanding of what they want and need.

Creating an outbound content tagging system is an effective way to track which content themes, messages, formats and other factors resonate most with current and potential customers. Tagging inbound messages also helps your brand collect feedback, identify FAQs and pinpoint other insights that can shape a more targeted content strategy.

MILLENNIALS WANT TO BUY FROM CULTURALLY RELEVANT BRANDS 
As Millennials consider which businesses to support, 53% say brands that create culturally relevant content have the edge over competitors. But what exactly does cultural relevance mean to Millennials?

Businesses that keep a finger on the pulse of culture at large can spot trends before they crest and uncover new perspectives that inspire more relevant content.

Listen to the voice of culture to share relevant messages and ensure your content is considerate of sensitive current events. 

DIGITAL NATIVES TRUST THEIR PEERS
When digital natives need customer service from a business, social media is their first stop. Once they get there, their expectations are high.
The case for integrating social into your business’s overall customer service strategy has never been stronger—41% of Gen Z and Millennials alike say they would buy from a brand that delivers timely, responsive customer service over a competitor. On the other hand, poor customer service is the number one reason digital natives will unfollow a brand on social.

STRONG SOCIAL CUSTOMER SERVICE INSPIRES LOYALTY
When digital natives need customer service from a business, social media is their first stop. Once they get there, their expectations are high.
The case for integrating social into your business’s overall customer service strategy has never been stronger—41% of Gen Z and Millennials alike say they would buy from a brand that delivers timely, responsive customer service over a competitor. On the other hand, poor customer service is the number one reason digital natives will unfollow a brand on social.

KEEP LISTENING TO THE AUDIENCES

Amid ongoing discussion about  Facebook’s approach to content moderation, and amplification via its platforms,and amplification via its platforms, The Social Network has today launched two new ads which call for more Government regulation of the tech sector, while also seeking to humanize the people behind Facebook’s decision-making process.

As you can see in this example, Facebook has today published two new profile videos of staff that are working on its content moderation challenges.
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The clips first show each employee holding images of their families, then provide a quick overview of their work, and their views on regulation.
As per ‘Rochelle’ in the above clip:
“You should be able to understand who has your data and how they use it. Federal legislation can give our platforms and other platforms guidelines so we can have a consistent approach.”

The pandemic is going to have a huge impact on the worker expectations.
In April, the number of workers who quit their job in a single month broke an all-time U.S. record. Economists called it the “Great Resignation. In July, even more people left their job. In August, quitters set yet another record. That Great Resignation? It just keeps getting greater. Nearly 7 percent of employees in the “accommodations and food services” sector left their job in August.
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That means one in 14 hotel clerks, restaurant servers, and barbacks said sayonara in a single month. Thanks to several pandemic-relief checks, a rent moratorium, and student-loan forgiveness, everybody, particularly if they are young and have a low income, has more freedom to quit jobs they hate and hop to something else. Tthis level of quitting is really an expression of optimism that says, We can do better. For the far smaller number of employers and bosses—who in pre-pandemic times were much more comfortable—this economy must feel like leaping from the frying pan of economic chaos, only to land in the fires of Manager Hell. Job openings are sky-high. Many positions are going unfilled for months. Meanwhile, supply chains are breaking down because of a hydra of bottlenecks. America’s epidemic of bad behavior, from Trader Joe’s tirades to a poor Cape Cod restaurant that had to close briefly in the hope that its clientele would calm down after a few days in the time-out box. Cabin-fevered and filled with rage, American customers have poured into the late-pandemic economy with abandon, like the unfurling of so many angry pinched hoses. I don’t blame thousands of servers and clerks for deciding that suffering nonstop rudeness should never be a job requirement.Meanwhile, the basic terms of employment are undergoing a Great Reset. The pandemic thrust many families into a homebound lifestyle reminiscent of the 19th-century agrarian economy—but this time with screens galore and online delivery. More families today work at home, cook at home, care for kids at home, entertain themselves at home, and even school their kids at home. The writer Aaron M. Renn has called this the rise of the DIY family, and it represents a new vision of work-life balance that is still coming into focus. By eliminating the office as a physical presence in many (but not all!) families’ lives, the pandemic may have downgraded work as the centerpiece of their identity. In fact, the share of Americans who say they plan to work beyond the age of 62 has fallen to its lowest number since the Federal Reserve Bank of New York started asking the question, in 2014. Workism isn’t going away; for many, remote work will collapse the boundary between work and life that was once delineated by the daily commute. But this is a time of broad reconsideration. what we have instead: a great pushing-outward. Migration to the suburbs accelerated. More people are quitting their job to start something new. Before the pandemic, the office served for many as the last physical community left, especially as church attendance and association membership declined. But now even our office relationships are being dispersed. The Great Resignation is speeding up, and it’s created a centrifugal moment in American economic history.