Facebook is adding ‘new’ features to groups, including Reels – short videos similar to TikTok’s verticals videos.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, announced the new features for Facebook Groups at its sixth Communities Summit this week. “Most people on Facebook are members of at least 15 active groups, and there are more than 100 million group joins every day,” says meta.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. It seems to be the trend with tech companies. If it works, copy it, then compete.
You’ll be able to add filters, custom audio, and text to Facebook’s Reels. Facebook and Instagram both belong to Meta – it makes sense for them to resemble each other, but we were hoping for a bit more, maybe something different, on at least one of the platforms.
Read More: TikTok takes a page out of Instagram’s book with Photo Mode launch
Power to the groups and more power to admins
Meta says the new features for Facebook Groups will make it easier for group admins to manage their groups.
Some group admins will be able to flag content to be removed. They’ll be able to flag content to Facebook that may be deemed as bullying and harassment.
“We use a variety of criteria to define a group’s eligibility for this feature, including that the group admin must not have been the admin of a group we’ve previously removed,” Facebook says.
Group admins and members will be able to share their content, including events and meet-ups, to Instagram stories. “This feature can help you showcase your community more broadly,” says Meta.
Facebook is also testing updates to Group profiles. If all goes well, you’ll be able to customise the “About Me” section. Meta says this could help group members learn more about one another. So they can post content that doesn’t rub anyone the wrong way, probably. You might also get the ability to indicate if you’re open to messaging or not.
