Facebook events allow users to create and manage events, invite guests, and connect with other attendees. One common question that comes up is whether guests who were invited to an event can then invite other people themselves. Here is a quick overview of how event invites work on Facebook.
Can guests invite friends to a Facebook event?
Yes, guests who were invited to a Facebook event by the event host can invite friends of their own to the event. When a user is invited to an event, they have the option to invite friends in their network to the event as well. This allows guests to help promote the event and spread the word to more potential attendees.
How guests can invite friends
There are a few ways guests can invite friends to a Facebook event:
- On the event page, guests will see an “Invite Friends” button near the top. Clicking this brings up a dialog box where they can select friends to invite.
- Guests can invite friends when responding to the event invitation. There is an “Invite Friends” option they can select when choosing “Going” or “Interested.”
- Guests can post the event to their own News Feed to promote it to friends. The post contains an “Invite” button their friends can click to be added to the event.
- Similarly, guests can share the event in Facebook Groups they are members of to get the word out.
Things to note
Here are some important things to keep in mind about guests inviting friends:
- Guests can invite an unlimited number of friends. There is no limit unless the event host has specified one.
- Invites sent by guests are regular invites, the same as if the event host invited them. They don’t appear differently to invited friends.
- The event host can see who invited who in the event admin panel. This allows tracking how invites spread.
- Invites can spread quickly! A popular event can go viral fast as guests invite their friends.
Can guests invite friends that the host doesn’t know?
Definitely. There is no restriction on who a guest can invite from their friend list. They can invite friends who are completely unknown to the event host.
Pros of guests inviting anyone
- Allows for viral event promotion if guests have a large network to leverage.
- Makes it easy for guests to bring the friends they want without limitation.
- Gets more potential attendees to the event and increases exposure.
Cons of guests inviting anyone
- Guest list can grow rapidly beyond what the host expected.
- Less control over who is coming to the event.
- Friends of friends may not be the target audience.
Can the event host limit who guests can invite?
Event hosts do have some options to limit who guests can invite and prevent unchecked growth:
- Guest list: The host can enable a guest list and individually approve each invite. This gives them full control.
- Limit number of invites: The host can set a total invite limit for guests to restrict numbers.
- Restrict to mutual friends: Guests can only invite mutual friends of themselves and the host.
- Turn off guest invites: Completely disable the ability for guests to invite anyone.
Using combinations of these settings allows a host to find the right balance for their event. A viral open invite or a highly restrictive invite-only event are both possible.
Do invited guests get notifications?
When a guest is invited to the event by another attendee, they will receive a notification letting them know they’ve been invited.
- On Facebook web, a notification will appear in the top bar and News Feed.
- On mobile, they will receive a push notification and see it in the notifications tab.
- An email notification may also be sent depending on their notification settings.
This helps ensure invited friends are aware of the event invitation so they see it and can respond.
Responding to event invitations
When a guest receives an event invitation from another attendee, they have the same options to respond:
- “Going” – They plan to attend the event.
- “Interested” – They are interested but not sure yet if they can go.
- “Can’t Go” – They won’t be able to attend.
- Ignore – They can also just not respond.
Choosing “Going” or “Interested” will signal to the event host and other guests that they plan to attend or may attend.
Can event guests see who is invited or going?
Event guests have visibility into who else is invited and attending the event:
- On the event page, guests can see the full guest list showing who is Going, Interested, and Invited.
- The host can choose to hide the guest list if desired.
- Guests can also see which friends have been invited when they go to invite friends.
- Friends who respond with Going/Interested are visible to all guests.
This allows guests to see who plans to attend the event and might influence their decision to go as well.
Can guests invite friends on the Facebook mobile app?
Guests can absolutely invite their friends from the Facebook mobile apps for iOS and Android. The functionality is the same as on desktop. Here’s how to invite friends on mobile:
From the event page
- Tap the event name to open the event page.
- Tap the Invite button near the top.
- Select the friends you want to invite.
- Tap “Send” to send the invites.
When responding to invite
- Open the notification for the event invite.
- Tap Going or Interested.
- Tap “Invite Friends” on the next screen.
- Select friends to invite and tap “Send.”
The mobile apps make it easy to quickly invite friends from anywhere when receiving an event invite notification.
Can cancelled invites be sent again?
If an event host cancels an invite that was previously sent, the person who had the invite cancelled will not receive another notification if they are re-invited. This prevents spamming someone’s notifications by repeatedly cancelling and re-inviting.
However, the event host or a guest can still manually re-send an event invite to someone who had an earlier invite cancelled. The invitee will have to respond again confirming if they plan to attend or not.
Conclusion
In summary:
- Guests can invite friends to Facebook events they are invited to
- There is no limit on who guests can invite by default
- Event hosts can restrict invites or turn off invite abilities for guests
- Invited friends get notifications and can view who else is attending
- Inviting is available on both desktop and the mobile apps
Allowing guests to invite friends is a powerful viral event promotion tool, but hosts should consider limiting abilities if they want more control over the final guest list. Setting the right invite preferences can help strike the perfect balance.
| Event Type | Recommended Settings |
|---|---|
| Private family event | Turn off guest invites completely and individually approve each guest |
| Public local event | Limit total invites to 500 and only allow mutual friend invites |
| Big networking event | Set high invite limit and let guests invite anyone |
| Company party | Enable guest list and only approve employees’ plus ones |
Facebook events provide robust invite settings to accommodate different hosting scenarios. Understanding how invites work empowers hosts to plan successful events with the right attendees.