When you join Facebook, you can connect with friends, family, and other people you know. You can also join and follow Groups based on your interests. Groups allow you to connect with people who share your interests, hobbies, background, or real-life connections.
There are many different types of Facebook Groups, including public, private, and secret Groups. When you follow a public or private Group, you can see the posts from that Group in your News Feed. When you follow a secret Group, you have to wait for an admin to approve your request before you can view the posts.
Following a Group doesn’t necessarily mean you are a member. You can follow public Groups without joining them. When you follow a Group, you don’t get the same permissions as members, but you can still see the public posts.
What happens when you follow a Facebook Group
Here are some key things that happen when you follow a Facebook Group:
- The Group’s public posts will appear in your News Feed. This allows you to keep up with the discussion without joining the Group.
- You won’t be able to create posts or comment in the Group. Only members can actively participate.
- You can react to public posts with likes or emojis. However, you can’t see who reacted to a post.
- You won’t get notifications from the Group. You will only see posts that appear in your regular News Feed.
- You can unfollow the Group at any time to stop seeing future posts.
So in summary, following simply lets you passively view the public conversations in a Group without joining. You don’t get full member privileges like posting, commenting, or getting notifications.
How to follow a Facebook Group
Following a Facebook Group is easy and only takes a few steps:
- Go to the Group page you want to follow.
- Click the Follow button near the top right of the page. The button will be labeled Follow for public Groups and Ask to Join for private Groups.
- For public Groups, you will automatically start following. For private Groups, you will need to wait for admin approval.
- Once approved, the Group posts will show up in your News Feed so you can view the public conversations.
You can also find Groups to follow by using the Discover tab or search bar. Facebook may suggest Groups based on your interests and connections.
Simply navigate to a suggested Group, click the Follow/Ask to Join button, and you will be on your way to following the group’s posts.
Differences between following and joining a Group
While following a Group sounds similar to joining, there are some important differences:
| Following | Joining |
|---|---|
| Can view posts in News Feed | Can view posts in News Feed |
| Can’t post or comment | Can post and comment |
| No member notifications | Get notifications from Group |
| No admin approval needed | May need admin approval |
| Can easily unfollow | Need to leave Group |
As you can see, joining a Group involves more commitment and engagement. Following simply lets you monitor conversations without actively participating.
Reasons people follow Groups without joining
There are many reasons why someone may follow a Facebook Group but not officially join, including:
- They want to check it out before deciding to join.
- They only have a casual interest in the Group topic.
- They don’t have time to actively participate in the discussions.
- The Group has restrictive policies for approving new members.
- They don’t want notifications from the Group showing up.
- They have privacy concerns about being listed as a member.
- The Group has reached the maximum membership limit.
By giving people the option to follow, Facebook allows more users to gain value from Groups they are interested in without requiring full participation.
Considerations when following private Groups
When you request to follow a private Group, you have to wait for admin approval. Here are some tips when going through this process:
- Make sure your profile provides enough information for the admin to identify and vet you.
- Introduce yourself in the request so admins understand why you want to follow the Group.
- Be patient as the approval process can take some time depending on how active the admins are.
- If your request is denied, don’t take it personally. Private Groups have to be selective.
- Don’t bombard the admins with repeated requests if you get denied.
Overall, be professional and respectful during the process. Show the admins you will be an engaged follower even if you don’t intend on full participation.
Following secret and closed Groups
Secret and closed Groups have the strictest privacy settings on Facebook. You cannot request to follow these Groups:
- Secret Groups: Only current members can see the Group exists. You have to be added by an existing member.
- Closed Groups: You can see the Group exists but you cannot follow or request to join. Current members have to invite you.
Therefore, following is not an option unless you know someone already in one of these exclusive Groups. Most people will not be able to follow or join due to the private settings.
Unfollowing a Facebook Group
If you decide you no longer want to follow a Group’s posts, you can easily unfollow at any time:
- Go to the Group’s page.
- Click on the Follow button again, which will now say Following.
- Select Unfollow from the dropdown menu.
- Confirm you want to unfollow when prompted.
You will immediately stop seeing future posts from that Group in your News Feed. The Group will not be notified or informed that you unfollowed. It is a seamless process to stop following at any time.
Limits to following Groups
Facebook does limit how many Groups you can follow:
- You can follow up to 6,000 Groups.
- Of that 6,000 Group limit, no more than 2,500 can be public Groups.
- So out of the max 6,000 Groups, at least 3,500 have to be private Groups.
Once you reach the following limit, you will need to unfollow some Groups before you can follow any new ones. Facebook put these limits in place to prevent News Feed congestion.
Group recommendations from Facebook
One way to discover new Groups you may want to follow is through Facebook’s recommendations. Based on factors like:
- Your profile information
- Pages and Groups you already follow
- Posts and content you frequently engage with
- Your friends and connections
Facebook will suggest Groups to follow that relate to your interests and community.
Some ways Facebook may recommend Groups include:
- A dedicated recommendations section in the Groups tab
- Suggestions in your News Feed and notifications
- Notifications when friends follow Groups
- Mentions in related Group discussions
If you see a suggested Group you want to follow, simply click through and use the Follow button. Facebook aims to recommend relevant communities you would genuinely be interested in following.
Finding Groups through search
You don’t have to rely on Facebook’s recommendations to find Groups. You can search for specific Groups related to your hobbies, hometown, college, causes, profession, and more.
Some tips for searching Groups on Facebook:
- Use relevant keywords like “basketball coaching” or “ABC University alumni.”
- Start broad if you don’t find a specific Group, then narrow down.
- Browse the results and look at each Group’s description to evaluate if you want to follow.
- Pay attention to the number of members as larger Groups tend to be more active.
- Test different keyword variations to cover related topics.
Take the time to dive into the search results and browse the different types of Groups available. Facebook has a Group for practically any interest, so search thoroughly for your communities.
Benefits of following Groups
While you don’t get the full perks of membership, there are still useful benefits to following Facebook Groups:
- Get exposure to new topics and interests in your News Feed.
- Keep up with niche communities relevant to your hobbies.
- Discover new trends, products, and developments in industries you care about.
- Monitor discussions without participating yourself.
- Preview Groups before deciding if you want to join.
- Follow popular public figures and influencers.
Following is an easy way to enrich your Facebook experience without overwhelming your notifications. Take advantage of the option when you want a casual, read-only connection to a Group.
Growing your business or brand through Groups
Facebook Groups are powerful tools for growing an audience and brand awareness. As a business owner, some effective ways you can leverage Groups include:
- Create an engaging customer community Group where you share insider info, deals, and content.
- Follow Groups related to your target market and occasionally share useful posts.
- Partner with influencers by contributing useful advice in their Groups.
- Monitor your brand name and keywords across public Groups.
- Publish special content to your company Group that followers can’t get elsewhere.
- Use Groups as a focus group to gather feedback from engaged followers.
The ability to organically reach people without paying for ads makes Groups highly valuable for brands. Just remember to focus on value rather than promotion. Help solve problems for the community to win their trust.
Conclusion
Following Facebook Groups allows you to monitor group conversations without membership commitment. It provides read-only access to public discussions.
You can follow both public and private Groups, but private Groups require admin approval first. There are also restrictions on how many total Groups you can follow.
Use search and recommendations to find Groups that match your interests. Benefits include discovering new topics, previewing Groups, and connecting with influencers in your industry.
Overall, followingGroups is a great way to expand your Facebook community and inject new inspiration into your News Feed. Take advantage of this feature to deepen your connections.