How to create a private community with Facebook Groups

A private community is a great way to facilitate communication among your members. Hosting the community with Facebook Groups can be a convenient option for members who are already on Facebook.

Create your private community

Follow the steps below to set up and grant access to your Facebook Group:

1. Create a private Facebook Group and be sure to enable manual approval. This ensures non-members don't have access to your group.
2. In your MemberSpace account, click Products.

3. If you'll be adding Facebook Group access to a new product, click Add Product.

   
   

   

   
   

   Otherwise, Edit an existing product. Then, skip to Step 5 below.

   
   

   

   
   
4. Choose Community from the product type dropdown, and fill out the product details.

5. Click An external link > give your link a title (e.g. Facebook Group) > enter your complete Facebook Group URL.

   
   

   

   
   

6. Be sure the toggle under Member Menu is turned ON.

   
   

   

7. If you'll simply be granting community access to members on existing plans, select the plan(s) under Which plans grant access to this product?.

   
   

   If you need to create a new plan, skip this step.

8. Click Add Now (if creating a new product) or Update Now (if editing an existing one) at the bottom.

9. Next, go to Pricing > Create Plan. If you're only granting access to existing plans, skip the remaining steps.

   
   

   

   
   

10. Decide how you'd like to charge members for access to your community.

    
    

    

11. Then, give the plan a name, decide how much you'd like to charge (if applicable), and configure the remaining settings for the plan.
12. Click Create this plan at the bottom.

Now, when someone signs up for a plan that grants access to your private community, they can click the link in your Member Menu to join the Facebook Group. From there, you will approve their request on Facebook to officially permit them into your Facebook Group.

When someone cancels their MemberSpace plan, you'll need to manually remove them from your Facebook Group.

What if I'm not using the Member Menu?

If you aren't using your Member Menu, there are a few other ways to share your private Facebook Group link with your members:

• Include the Facebook link in your Welcome Email — members receive the link immediately after joining a plan
• Add the Facebook link to a members-only page — members can access the link via one of their secret members-only pages
• Manually add new members to Facebook — when a member joins, manually add them to Facebook or send them the invite link

While each option requires a small amount of manual work, the first two are a bit more automated.

Include the Facebook Group link in your Welcome Email

Follow the steps below to add your community link to your members' Welcome Email:

1. In your MemberSpace account click Customize > Notification Emails.

   
   

   

   
   

2. If all of your plans should grant access to your Facebook Group, simply scroll to the bottom > click Welcome Email (default for all plans) > add the Facebook Group link to the email body > click Save Now.

   
   

   

   
   

   If only certain plans should grant access to your Facebook Group, click Add Welcome Email per Plan at the top > select a plan from the dropdown > add the Facebook Group link to the email body > click Save Now. Repeat this for additional plans, as needed.

   
   

   

   
   

Now, when someone signs up for a plan that grants access to your private community, they'll receive a Welcome Email that contains the link to join. From there, you will approve their request on Facebook to officially permit them into your Facebook Group.

When someone cancels their MemberSpace plan, you'll need to manually remove them from your Facebook Group.

Add the Facebook Group link to a members-only page

Follow the steps below to add your community link to a members-only page:

1. Add the link to join your Facebook Group to a secret members-only page on your website. This can be any existing page (e.g. member dashboard), or it can be a new page specific to your community.
2. If you added the Facebook Group link to a new public page on your website, be sure to protect that page within a new product or an existing one.
3. If creating a new product, don't forget to select the plan(s) that should grant access to your private Facebook Group.

Now, when someone signs up for a plan that grants access to the private members-only page, they'll be able to visit that page and click the Facebook Group link to join your community. From there, you will approve their request on Facebook to officially permit them into your Facebook Group.

When someone cancels their MemberSpace plan, you'll need to manually remove them from your Facebook Group.

Manually add members to Facebook

Your final option is to manually add new members to your Facebook Group. 

When someone signs up for a plan that grants access to your community, you will either manually invite them from within the Facebook Group or send them the link to join. From there, you will approve their request on Facebook to officially permit them into your Facebook Group.

When someone cancels their MemberSpace plan, you'll need to manually remove them from your Facebook Group.