There are a few potential reasons why your group post may not be shareable. Here are some quick answers to common questions people have about this issue:
You don’t have permission to share the post
The most likely reason your group post isn’t shareable is because you don’t have permission to share posts in that group. Group administrators can restrict post sharing permissions to certain member roles or turn off post sharing entirely.
To check if you have permission to share posts, go to the group settings and look for the “Post sharing” option. If it’s disabled or your member role isn’t allowed to share, you won’t be able to share posts from that group.
The post author disabled sharing
Even if post sharing is enabled for your role, the author of the original post may have disabled sharing on that specific post. When writing a post in a group, there is usually a “Disable post sharing” option.
If the author has disabled sharing, you won’t be able to share their post no matter your role in the group. You’d need to reach out to the post author directly to request they enable sharing.
The post contains sensitive or copyrighted material
Group administrators may impose sharing restrictions on posts that contain sensitive, private, or copyrighted material. For example, posts with confidential company information or copyrighted images may not be shareable.
If you try to share a post and get an error saying sharing is disabled, it’s likely due to the post containing non-shareable material.
The post is too old
Some online communities impose time limits on sharing old content. For example, you may only be able to share posts made within the last 30 days.
Try sharing a more recent post from the same group. If that works, then the post you’re trying to share is likely too old to share.
You’ve reached a sharing limit
To prevent spam, some communities limit how many posts you can share per day or week. You may have hit your personal sharing limit.
Check the group settings to see if there are any sharing limits imposed. If so, you’ll have to wait until the limit resets before sharing additional posts.
The post URL is incorrect
Double check that the post URL or link you’re trying to share is correct. If there is a typo in the URL or the post has been deleted, you may get errors trying to share it.
Try navigating directly to the post and grabbing a new link to share.
There’s a technical issue
In rare cases, a technical glitch may be blocking post sharing. There could be a wider platform issue preventing sharing, or an error with that specific post.
Try sharing other posts from the same group. If they work but the one post still won’t share, it’s likely a technical issue. Report the problem to the group administrator.
You’re using an unsupported sharing method
Make sure you are using a sharing method supported by the platform. For example, some sites may not support sharing posts directly to social media and require using a link instead.
Check the platform or group FAQ for details on supported sharing options. Some may be disabled or configured to only work under certain conditions.
Conclusion
In summary, common reasons a group post may not be shareable include:
- You lack permission to share in that group
- The post author disabled sharing
- The post contains sensitive or copyrighted material
- The post is too old
- You hit a sharing limit
- The post URL is incorrect
- A technical issue is preventing sharing
- You’re trying to use an unsupported sharing method
Check the specific group settings, post permissions, sharing limits, and URL to identify the cause. If it appears to be a technical problem, report it to the group administrator for assistance.
Explanation of common group post sharing options
When you are allowed to share a post from a group, there are typically several sharing methods available. Here are some details on common group post sharing options:
Copy Link
Most platforms allow copying the direct URL to the post. You can then paste this link to share it elsewhere, such as in an email or text message.
Share to News Feed
If the platform has a news feed or social network component, there may be an option to directly share the post to your profile feed.
Share to Stories
For platforms with ephemeral story features, you may be able to share a group post to your public story.
Send in Message
Some platforms let you share the post as a message to individual users or groups of users on the platform.
Share to Social
Many platforms offer integrations with major social networks to share directly to sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
Share via Email
Typically there will be a way to generate an email with the post content and link to send to others.
Share to Groups
You may have the option to share the post to additional groups you are a member of within the platform.
Direct Message Sharing
Some platforms allow sharing the post directly to another user via direct/private message.
Embed Post
For blogs or sites that support embeds, you may be able to embed or iframe the post to display it elsewhere.
Benefits of sharing group content
Sharing posts from your group has a number of potential benefits, including:
- Increasing engagement – Sharing great content to additional audiences can increase reaction, commentary, and overall engagement.
- Driving new membership – If you share posts to external sites, it can drive awareness and new signups for your group.
- Promoting influencers – Sharing posts from top influencers in your group helps promote their personal brands.
- Starting conversations – Cross-posting content to other communities can spark new conversations.
- Entertaining followers – Sharing fun, inspirational, or informative content keeps your followers entertained.
However, it’s important to balance sharing with posting original content as well. Over-sharing other people’s posts without contributing your own thoughts can damage your reputation.
Best practices for sharing group content
To get the most out of sharing your group’s posts, keep these tips in mind:
- Only share high-quality content that’s relevant to your audience.
- Give proper credit back to the post author and community.
- Add your own thoughtful comments to go with the content you share.
- Ask the author for permission before cross-posting their content externally.
- Follow the group’s rules and restrictions around post sharing.
- Don’t overdo it – excessive sharing looks like spam.
- Monitor engagement and only share content that gets response.
Strategies for sharing group content more effectively
To maximize the impact of sharing your group’s content, here are some effective strategies to try:
Choose the best times
Pay attention to when your followers are most active online and share posts during those high traffic windows. Early morning and early evening tend to be good engagement times.
Vary your sources
Don’t just share content from the top influencers. Mix it up by sharing great posts from newer or less known members too.
Leverage hashtags
Using relevant hashtags when sharing posts makes it easy for people interested in those topics to find the content.
Tag other communities
When cross-posting, tag related communities to help drive discussion between different groups.
Comment on reshares
When people reshare content you’ve shared, take the time to comment and thank them for the amplification.
Follow sharing etiquette
Always give credit, get permission if required, and avoid sharing content marked as not shareable.
Common issues to avoid when sharing group posts
While sharing content has many benefits, there are some common pitfalls to avoid:
- Oversharing – Don’t share every single post or your audience will tune out.
- Sharing without context – Give some background on what you’re sharing.
- Sharing too frequently – Space out your posts to avoid looking spammy.
- Sharing off-topic content – Make sure what you share fits your audience’s interests.
- Sharing without commentary – Your own thoughts add value.
- Sharing controversial content – Avoid anything that could offend your audience.
- Sharing without permission – Some content requires approval before sharing.
- Forgetting to give credit – Always attribute content to the original creator.
Evaluating the performance of shared posts
To see if your efforts sharing group content are paying off, carefully evaluate the performance of posts you’ve shared. Here are some key metrics to analyze:
| Metric | Insights |
| Engagement Rate | Measure likes, comments, shares, clicks etc. per post. |
| Click-Through-Rate | Analyze traffic driven back to the group. |
| Reshare Rate | Track how often followers reshare your posts. |
| Negative Feedback | Monitor comments or reactions indicating disinterest. |
| Follower Growth | See if sharing is attracting new followers over time. |
| Influencer Reach | See which creator’s posts generate the most response. |
Review this data regularly and tweak your sharing strategy based on what performs well and what doesn’t connect with your audience.
Tools to help manage group content sharing
Managing a content sharing strategy takes time, but these tools can help make it easier:
- Hootsuite – Social media management platform with scheduling and analytics.
- MeetEdgar – Lets you reuse content with automatically varied scheduling.
- Buffer – Popular social media publishing and analytics tool.
- Linktree – Create a custom profile link page to share posts.
- ClickToTweet – Generates tweetable quotes from content to share.
- SharedCount – Provides share counts for URLs across social platforms.
Alternatives to sharing group content
If sharing group posts isn’t yielding results for you, here are a few alternative strategies:
Go live video
Broadcast livestreams sharing your thoughts on your group and interacting with your audience.
Create original content
Produce your own content like videos, podcasts, and blog posts related to the group.
Host AMAs
Run “Ask Me Anything” sessions with special guests from your community.
Send newsletters
Curate and distribute recaps of top group discussions via email or SMS.
Launch a spin-off group
Create a new niche community focused on specific popular topics from your main group.
The key is providing value beyond just resharing content. Experiment to see which approaches best resonate with your audience.
Increasing group engagement through sharing
While group post sharing has risks like annoying followers if overdone, when done strategically it can dramatically boost engagement. Here are some proven ways sharing builds involvement:
- Exposes new members – Sharing content outside the group raises awareness of the community to potential new members.
- Provides “snapshots” – Sharing showcases the best discussions, so followers can easily stay updated without reading everything.
- Drives participation – Questions, polls, and comments included in shared posts motivate people to respond.
- Sparks new topics – Cross-posted content gets new audiences weighing in, which can organically lead to fresh offshoot discussions.
- Highlights influencers – Sharing stand-out contributions from top members encourages them to stay active.
The bottom line is sharing quality content pruned from your community keeps both existing and potential new members engaged. Just be strategic with what, when, and how often you share to maximize results.
Conclusion
Sharing group content expands your community’s reach and provides value to new audiences. But it takes skill balancing promotion with over-sharing and carefully evaluating performance data to perfect the approach. Employ best practices around attribution, frequency, context, and permission to effectively leverage your group’s content without annoying followers. With a thoughtful sharing strategy, you can turn members into evangelists and significantly grow community excitement and participation.