Automated Posting to Facebook Groups Going Away - Facebook Page Strategy For Businesses

If you’re using third-party social media tools, like Cloud Campaign, to post to Facebook Groups, you must know that Meta is deprecating its API support for posting to Facebook Groups. 

This means that automated posting to Facebook Groups is going away for all third-party social media platforms across the board due to Meta’s new direction.

In this post, we’ll explore what this change means for agencies using SMM tools to post to Facebook Groups as part of their marketing strategy and how to make the transition to Facebook Pages for businesses to ensure a seamless transition for your clients.

Why Is Meta Deprecating API Support For Facebook Groups?

The first question you might have is, “Why in the <insert your favorite expletive here> is automated Facebook Groups posting going away?” 

Heard! We realize this change may be disruptive to agencies or clients relying on this method of posting to drive awareness, leads, and sales through Facebook Groups.

The decision to deprecate API support results from Meta’s desire to create clear distinctions between the roles of Facebook Groups and Pages. Let’s highlight these differences to understand better how to use them effectively.

What Is The Difference Between Facebook Groups and Facebook Pages?

Here’s a breakdown of what each of these features are for.

Facebook Groups are designed as spaces for social conversations around specific topics of interest, like movies or TV shows, music or musicians, activities, or shared interests. 

This is a two-way conversation, meaning that the Group and its users are able to post discussions, ask questions, and share information to create a space for interaction and collaboration.

Facebook Groups can be public, private, or hidden, allowing for full control over membership and making them perfect for fostering community and getting user-generated content.

In contrast, Facebook Pages are designed to represent businesses as digital storefronts. 

This is ideal for businesses, organizations, or public figures to broadcast information to a large audience. 

Pages are a one-way communication channel and are typically public, allowing these entities to share updates, news, events, and promotions with their followers.

Engagement is usually lower on pages, with users primarily liking, commenting, or re-sharing content initially posted on the business Page.

Here’s a table summarizing these key differences for reference:

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Choosing between a Page and a Group depends on your goals. A Page is suitable if you want to spread brand awareness or deliver information. 

If your aim is to cultivate a community and encourage interaction, a Group is the better option. 

However, if you want to continue using Groups due to this higher engagement and user-generated content, just know that you need to manually post to your Groups via Facebook instead of your SMM platform. 

Now that you have a better understanding of these changes and the differences between these features let’s explore how to make the transition to Business Pages if you want to continue automating your social media posting.

Facebook Business Strategy Best Practices For SMMs

Getting the most out of third-party SMM platforms posting to Facebook Pages requires a thoughtful approach to content strategies and budgets and aligning them to your client’s business goals. 

Let’s break this down even further.

Content Strategy For Facebook Business Pages

When developing content strategy, discuss what types of content your client wants to post to their Business Page. Click here to read our post on How to Develop A Social Media Strategy if you need help.

This can include images, videos, links, and text posts, which can still be fully automated using a third-party posting platform. 

We suggest using a variety of post types to keep your content engaging. Read our post on The Most Efficient Social Media Posting Workflows for tips on streamlining a diverse content strategy.

PRO TIP: To help SMMs ensure post accuracy, we created a feature called Pixel Perfect Preview that shows you what each post will look like when posted to Facebook.

Next, you’ll need to decide with your client how often they want to post to their Business Page. 

This is unique for each business, but because the overall engagement tends to be lower, you should pick a cadence that maintains engagement without feeling spammy. 

If you’re using Cloud Campaign, you can use the built-in Insights and Reporting features to gauge post engagement and quickly adjust your automated posting schedules.

You can also use our CSV spreadsheet or Recommendations tool, complete with Canva integration and access to royalty-free Pexel’s stock image library, to create and schedule months worth of content at a time.

How to Create a Content Calendar For Facebook Business Pages

Working with your client to create a Content Calendar to establish what type of content to post on any given day or week is a great way to ensure consistency and build out content pillars. Don’t forget to make room for any relevant observational or holiday posts! 

Check out our guide on Mastering Holiday Posting, and Subscribe to our blog to receive a list of each month’s holidays and observations.

Engagement Strategies For Facebook Business Pages

We’ve pointed out that engagement tends to be lower for Business Pages, so optimizing content for engagement is critical to driving the highest performance for your clients.

There are a number of ways SMMs can do this, but you should always get sign-off from your clients before committing to them.

Running contests and giveaways are fantastic ways to drive engagement, but should be used sparingly. 

Offering limited-time discounts and other incentives also helps, but this approach varies depending on the business and its operating model. 

You can also deploy engaging content strategies, such as “caption this” posts, “name this product,” or requesting customer feedback or opinions on products, services, and even current events.

To obtain valuable user-generated content, ask followers of the page to share their success stories, reviews, or their use of the product, if applicable. This content is excellent for building authenticity and trust with viewers.

As an SMM managing these pages, it’s critical to respond to questions, comments, and feedback (especially any negative feedback) in a timely manner. 

Thankfully, we’ve made it extremely easy to manage social conversations and direct messages in Cloud Campaign with an integrated Social Inbox and Activity Feed. 

These features allow clients and brand managers the ability to respond to comments, mentions, and direct messages all in one centralized location. 

Finally, you can also leverage Facebook Ads to increase the visibility and engagement of the Business Pages you manage. 

While Facebook Advertising is a blog post all on its own (stay tuned!), well-rounded strategies usually encompass a blend of organic and paid marketing efforts. 

Work with your clients to establish relevant and achievable goals and budgets to maximize the efficiency of your ad spend.

Conclusion

We hope this post has helped you navigate these changes to Facebook Groups and easily transition to Business Pages for managing your client's social presence on Facebook. 

If you’re already using Cloud Campaign and have any questions or need additional support in making this transition, reach out to us at customersupport@cloudcampaign.com or contact your Success Manager directly.

Not using Cloud Campaign but want to start automating your social media management? Give us a try for two weeks totally free, and schedule time with our team to see how Cloud Campaign can transform your agency business.