As an admin of a Facebook group, you have the ability to manage and respond to pending posts from members who are waiting for approval to join the group. This includes reviewing and approving or denying join requests, as well as managing pending posts that members have submitted which require admin approval before being published to the group.
Viewing Pending Posts
To view pending posts from members in your Facebook group, follow these steps:
- Go to your Facebook group and click on the Groups tab at the top of the page.
- On the left side of the page, click on More to expand the menu.
- Select Pending Posts.
This will take you to the Pending Posts section where you can see all posts, comments, and other content that is awaiting admin approval. The number in brackets next to Pending Posts indicates how many pending items there currently are.
Approving or Denying Pending Member Questions
When members ask to join your Facebook group, their request will show up as pending and require admin approval. To approve or deny join requests:
- Go to the Pending Posts section.
- Click on the Join Requests tab.
- Review the list of pending member requests.
- For each member, click on either Approve or Delete next to their name to accept or deny their request to join the group.
Additionally, members may submit questions or other posts in the group that require admin approval before being published. To manage these pending posts:
- Go to the Pending Posts section.
- Click on the Posts tab.
- Review the list of pending posts.
- For each post, you have the option to Approve, Delete, or Mark as Spam. Click the appropriate button based on whether you want to publish the post, reject it, or mark it as spam.
Once you make a decision on a pending post, the member who submitted it will receive a notification letting them know if their post was approved or denied.
Editing Pending Member Questions
In some cases, you may want to edit a member’s pending question before approving it for the group. For example, you may want to remove any inappropriate content or make minor edits to improve the post. Here are the steps to edit a pending question:
- In the Pending Posts section, click on the Posts tab.
- Locate the pending question you want to edit and click on the dropdown arrow to the right of the post.
- Select Edit Post.
- Make any desired changes to the post content.
- Once finished, click Approve at the bottom to publish the edited question to the group.
The member will still see their original question text in their notifications, but your edited version will now be visible in the group. Use this option cautiously and only make edits that improve clarity or remove problematic content.
Best Practices for Managing Pending Posts
Here are some tips to effectively manage pending member questions and other posts in your Facebook group:
- Check pending posts daily – Don’t let requests pile up unattended.
- Reply to join requests – Let new members know you approved their request.
- Deny spam requests – Delete any suspicious-looking join requests.
- Review carefully – Read all posts thoroughly before approving.
- Edit sparingly – Only edit content when necessary.
- Provide feedback – If denying a post, explain why to the member.
- Stay patient and polite in responses.
- Stick to group rules – Ensure all approved posts meet guidelines.
Automatically Approving Posts from Trusted Members
If you have members who frequently make valuable contributions, you can save yourself time by automatically approving their posts. To set this up:
- Go to Admin Tools > Member Management
- Find the member you want to approve automatically
- Check the box next to their name in the Auto Approve column
Once enabled, this member’s posts will bypass pending approval and be published right away. Use this only for very active and trusted members.
Using Moderation for Large Facebook Groups
For large Facebook groups, manually approving every pending post can become unmanageable. In these cases, it helps to set up a team of moderators to share the approval workload.
As the group admin, you can add other members as moderators to help with tasks like:
- Reviewing pending posts and member requests
- Deleting spam comments
- Ban members who violate rules
- Editing or removing inappropriate content
- Responding to flags and reports
To add a moderator:
- Go to Admin Tools > Member Management
- Find the member you want to make a moderator
- Check the box next to Moderator in the Role column
Take the time to train moderators on your approval criteria and group rules. Together your team can stay on top of pending posts even in a very active group.
Using Facebook Group Insights
Facebook offers insights about activity in your group, including data on pending and declined posts. Here’s how to access this information:
- Go to your group and click on Insights at the top
- View the Overview section for a summary of new members, posts, and moderation activity
- Check Pending and Declined Posts to analyze trends and metrics
- Use the data to guide your approval decisions and group rules
Analyzing your pending and declined posts regularly can help identify problem areas to address and ensure your moderation policies align with the health of your community.
Conclusion
By actively managing pending member questions and posts, responding thoughtfully, setting clear expectations, and leveraging moderators and insights, you can keep your Facebook group an engaging and useful community. Checking the pending section daily and exercising fair, consistent judgement will lead to a group that provides value for both members and admins.