Are Facebook Groups Still Worth it in 2022?

Facebook Groups are a popular platform for hosting discussion forums, promoting online courses and building niche communities. But more and more people are starting to look for free alternatives to Facebook groups. Curious to know why? Keep reading.

In this post, we’ll explain the main reasons why people are choosing to leave their Facebook groups. We’ll also share some free alternatives to Facebook Groups for those wanting to start an online community or a discussion forum.

Are Facebook Groups still worth it in 2022?

Why People Are Leaving Facebook Groups?

#1: Facebook Groups Are Not Profitable In The Long Term

Running a Facebook group takes a lot of time, especially as groups continue to grow. Eventually, you’ll have to decide whether you start charging a membership fee or continue to invest time in a community that’s not profitable.

Melissa Griffin, who closed her Facebook group of 70,000 users said she struggled to balance the time spent managing the free Facebook group vs engaging with students in her paid memberships programs:

“As our number of paid students increases, I’ve found myself pulled in so many directions to try and help everyone — including members in my free (Facebook) group”

#2: Facebook Deactivates A Lot Of Groups

By 2020, Facebook had deleted over 1mil Facebook groups in an effort to “reduce harmful content and misinformation.” Amongst the targetted groups were groups that were related to political extremism, violence and supporting social activism (such as anti-vaccination).

You may think that your group is safe, but if a community manager approves a post that violates Facebook’s Community Guidelines, Facebook will automatically take down the group.

#3: Lack of Control Over Your Facebook Group and Audience

At the end, when you close your group, move to another platform or if Facebook decides to delete your group you will lose all your audience contact info.

But there’s a way to prevent that: an E-mail list. Start an email list and encourage your Facebook Group members to join so they can get more valuable tips and updates.

This is the only way to feel secure that you still have an audience in case you lose access to your Facebook Group.

Free Alternatives to Facebook Groups To Try in 2022:

Choosing a platform to start an online community can be quite hard. Here are some alternatives to Facebook groups you can consider:

• Disciple - offer membership subscriptions

Disciple gives creators the option to offer paid or free subscriptions and engage members with a range of tools: livestream, email notifications and group chats.

• Reddit - discussion forum

Reddit is an alternative for those looking to create or join niche communities. Reddit users are highly engaged and can upvote content, making it go viral. The platform has fewer content restrictions compared to Facebook.

• Slack - community messaging dashboard

Slack is a free digital workspace where you can invite your team members, send messages and manage tasks.

• Kodalia - free communication tool for groups

Kodalia is a simplified communication tool for groups and online communities. It’s free to start and takes less than 5 min. to onboard your team.

Discover More Free Facebook Groups Alternatives

We’ve compiled a list of 16 alternatives to Facebook groups (both free and paid) in this article in much more detail.