7 fantastic alternatives for Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups were the most popular way to engage with your customers to build brand trust as well as grow your business. But the problem is that you don't own your group--Facebook does.

Let's see why more and the content creators are searching for other alternatives for Facebook Groups, and which ones made our top seven list.

What are the reasons online creators are looking for alternative options for Facebook Groups?

With 2,934 active users every month, and 1,8 billion who are using groups on a monthly basis, Facebook is certainly a fantastic way to reach out to your audience.

But, even though Facebook Groups used to be an excellent way to bring your company closer to customers, recent scandals about privacy concerns of users, with an array of issues are causing a lot of frustration and may even affected business owners who rely on Facebook.

This is causing many to seek alternatives in Facebook Groups.

What exactly are these problems, you ask?

First, although Facebook Groups are quick to create, the you can only customize them in a limited way. Everything from the font to the interface to the manner your users interact with you is controlled by Facebook which means you've no say in the matter.

This takes us to the next part: your Facebook Group isn't owned or managed by the group's owner or manager--it's the Facebook's. It means you'll not be able to share certain types of content or engage with members in the way that you'd prefer. It also means you're counting on Facebook to keep their platform up and running well, but that's not always the scenario. May we remind you of the Facebook outage of 2021?

One of the biggest drawbacks of Facebook Groups is visibility and monetization. In the event that you do not upgrade your ad budget, posts that are not paid for get around 2.2 per cent of viewers. To put it another way, if your Facebook Group has 1,000 followers but only 22 will see your posts!

Facebook's algorithm also prioritizes posts from family and friends over posts from businesses. This makes it much more difficult to attract viewers with your posts amazing as it might be.

Additionally, running the management of a Facebook Group can be hard work. Apart from dealing with unpleasantness from trolls and spam accounts It isn't possible to customize your administrative controls, meaning that you'll need to utilize Facebook's features to let users into, share and manage.

Which Facebook Group alternative is best for a creator's needs?

It is a question that you must answer by yourself, as what is effective for other businesses might be a bad fit for yours. However, we created this guide to offer solid information for making the best decision for your needs.

Here are the main things to look out for in deciding on an alternative to Facebook Groups:

  Features  

Are you able to customize the system? Does it have a simple interface? Do you have the ability to setup everything in a short time and efficiently? Are you satisfied with how it works with your other company?

If you're choosing a platform it is important to ensure that it has the right attributes for you and your brand. The details will be explored in the next section as we examine specific platforms below.

  Platform Interface  

Do you feel comfortable with the user interface? Are you comfortable setting it up, customizing, and using it? Are you at a loss or overwhelmed by it? If so is the case, do you have great assistance options to assist you in getting familiar with the platform and help you troubleshoot? If the platform you're using is unclear and you aren't getting assistance, it's best to explore alternatives.

  User experience  

The online community is thriving when people are engaged in a meaningful way, and it's extremely important to consider the experience your users will enjoy when using your platform.

What do you think it looks at from a users perspective? Does it seem easy to navigate and interact with?

If it is difficult to understand, chances are that your neighbors will as well.

Test it by observing your target audience's point perspective and determine if it's something they're satisfied with, or if it can be improved.

  Budget  

Certain Facebook Group alternatives are more costly than others, and you should choose an option that's within your budget.

Higher cost doesn't mean better--check the above factors before choosing one platform over one.

What you don't want to do is end up with an expensive platform , whose user interface and experience is complicated to understand.

What are the best online community alternatives to Facebook Groups?

There are a variety of options on the market that let you build your own community outside of Facebook Today, we bring you the top seven best alternatives to Facebook Groups.

Let's dig in!

1. DISCORD

It was originally a gaming platform for players has evolved into the most popular social-networking platform.

Discord comes with a number of amazing features to nurture your online community that isn't on Facebook, such as private and secure public channels, private channels, custom-made bots for interaction with members, direct messaging between members and admins, audio and video calls, as well as custom-designed permissions that differentiate between admins and users.

It is also possible to download and use it for free, or upgrade for $99.99 per year for more features.

The process of the process of setting up an Discord community isn't an easy processand you'll find yourself faced with a steep learning curve which could hinder your community building process.

Your Discord server is also able to coexist alongside the other online communities using this service, which means that you'll need to ensure you stand out so people are able to interact with the content you post instead of opponents.

When it comes to branding, Discord employs a black and white theme that may or not work with your brand aesthetic. Unfortunately, this can't be altered.

Additionally, you aren't able to charge users to gain accessibility to the Discord server. If you want to do this, you need to set up a paypal page for each user separately.

In the end, Discord is a great alternative to Facebook communities, with better functionality and features. But if the goal is to monetize your audience and grow your company, Discord might not provide the features you need.

  2. REDDIT

More than 50 million users who are active on Reddit every day, the site is an enormous contender when it comes to building an online community that isn't Facebook.

Reddit has a forum-like design that allows each topic to be allocated to a specific category, referred to as the subreddit.

One of the best things concerning Reddit is that it's completely cost-free, and you can set up the subreddit with a restricted or public subreddit and it's straightforward to create and use .

Similar to Discord the platform isn't equipped with the ability to customize your branding as well as monetization options for users. Like Facebook, you don't fully own the subreddit you have created.

It is possible for your subreddit to be removed if the platform's administrators think you--or any of your members--have broken guidelines by making comments or postings.

The number of subreddits that are on the platform is very significant, which means that making content that engages your audience can become an effort.

While the platform is totally free, you need to pay for an advertising-free version.

Reddit is an excellent option to build a completely open online community. However, like Discord, it's not the most effective option for those trying to make money from your community online.

  3. MIGHTY Networks

Mighty Networks allows you to establish an online community as well as sell your courses in the same location.

Through this tool, you'll be able to make free or paid community for your followers, use customized branding, create a mobile app, as well as create private zones that allow your users to connect with each other.

Mighty Networks also allows for live streams, group and private chat messaging, and the ability to have unlimited moderators and members.

The platform does not provide a no-cost plan and transaction fees are charged on top of the monthly fee.

If you're after online course capabilities, then you'll need enroll in the Business Plansfor $119/month, and If you're in need of additional equipment, such as payment processing email marketing, an effective website builder, or a landing page maker--you might have be paying extra for them.

Mighty Networks plans--and the transaction fees attached--are their Free Trial ($0/month with 5% transaction fee), Community Plan ($39/month and 3% transaction cost), Business Plan ($119/month with a 2percent transaction cost), and Mighty Pro (custom pricing).

This platform is a great tool to create an online community, but it's important to take note of the transaction costs since they could quickly add up in the event that your community grows.

  4. TRIBE.SO

Tribe is a community-building online tool intended to be utilized either on businesses' websites or via phone applications.

One of the advantages of Tribe is that you are able to decide to create a private or private community, and integrate it with various other applications (such as Slack, Google Analytics, or Intercom among some) as well as adapt it to match the aesthetics of your company. Plus, you get a great variety of tools for managing your community.

Tribe lets members share content with different category tags.

It is possible to join Tribe at no cost for the first 100 members.

Once you've completed that, you'll have the option to pick from their Plus Plan($59/month) that allows up to 2,500 members , and extend your selection of applications and apps; or the Premium Plan($299/month), which allows you to remove the Tribe branding and increase membership up to 25,000 members.

The biggest issue is Tribe does not allow direct messaging, making it difficult for administrators as well as members to get in touch with each members.

And like the above options, Tribe doesn't offer any options for paying members to your online community or selling digital items to members.

The monetization tools Tribe offers will require you to solve this issue and create payments that are not part of the platform. Yikes! Yet another tool to be added to your arsenal of tech tools.

Tribe is a great choice for established businesses that wish to increase their reach in the online community because it focuses on building loyalty to brands.

It's just not efficient in connecting you with your audience and can hamper your efforts to build a community, especially in the beginning, especially if you're new to the business.

  5. PODIA

Podia can be described as an online marketplace for creators and a great alternative to Facebook Groups.

With Podia, you can control your interactions with members, provide free or paid subscriptions, as well as sell digital products.

Podia can also be used to support direct messaging as well as website development and marketing via email, which makes it easier to create connections and link your business to your community online.

Because Podia integrates payment systems it isn't necessary worry about the need to create them in a separate manner. This allows you to make money from your blog and make the most of your online community.

Since you are able to create your site in Podia starting from scratch, you get a 100 percent customizable platform, which can match the brand's image.

With Podia You can avail their free plan, although they charge an 8.8% charge on transactions that are made through their platform.

Paid plans don't charge you a transaction fee and currently comprise plans like the Mover Plan ($39/month), Shaker Plan ($75/month), and Earthquaker Plan ($166/month).

If you want to unlock webinars and affiliate support, you need to move to Shaker Plan.

Another downfall of Podia is that it has a standard template that has limited customization options which means you'll need to invest an enormous amount of time creating resources from scratch.

Podia doesn't offer an overview of the progress users are making with your courses either--you can check users' progress individually, which is mega time-consuming--making it harder for you to see at a glance whether your audience is engaging with your training.

If you require assistance in training so that you can get the most from Podia, keep in mind that you'll only have one Q&A session every week, which could not be enough aid you to set up your online community to harness all its potential.

  6. HIVEBRITE

Hivebrite is a community-building website which permits a huge variety of people to join it.

The platform offers a the highest level of personalization and live feeds. It also gives you different access rights for members, paid or free memberships, and the option to enable additional features as your group grows and changes.

Over 500 companies are currently using Hivebrite, and their customer support has been described to be excellent.

But, Hivebrite doesn't display its prices on its website but reportedly starts at $500/month. To find out more specific pricing information along with other details you have to sign up for a demo.

Hivebrite is an excellent option for big-budget enterprises to create an online community they can profit from, but due to its expense and complexity of the technology this might not be a great choice for independent creators and smaller companies.

  7.

allows you to create secure groups, private or public, make the platform more customizable to fit the brand's image, and set up paid memberships. And since its recent acquisition of the most popular community platform Vibely and Vibely's community platform, the company will soon offer live call-ins, competitions, leaderboards, accountability tools, real-time chat, and more!

Y ou can tie your company to an internet-based communitythanks to 's custom web-based website tool and domain. These allow you to add background videos, sales pages, or pop-up forms among other elements.

consolidates all of the different integrations you need for the creation, growth, and monetize a successful online community. It will save you money while setting you up to quickly increase your revenue.

The monthly cost you pay covers everything you need to run your business and manage your online presence, which means it's not necessary to use several platforms in order to manage and grow your company.

Offers three payment plans:

• The Basic plan($119/month) comes with one website that can sell as many as three items with three pipelines. You get an unlimited number of landing pages, as well as marketing emails. Additionally, you are able to have 1,000 active members.
• The Growth Plan($159/month) comes with a site that sells up to 15 items and pipelines and expands the number of active users up to 10,000. It also lets you establish 10 administrators and remove the's logo.
• The Pro Plan($319/month) includes three websites, which can offer as many as 100 items and pipelines, you can have up to 20,000 active users, and 25 admin users.

is an excellent alternative is a great alternative to Facebook Groups for community owners, course creators, and coaches. It's also a cost-effective way to run your business, as it only requires an annual fee of an entire suite of software for business growth.

What is the most effective alternative for Facebook Groups?

Community forums are a great way for you to consolidate your brand identity, share targeted content for your audience and show your customers and prospects that you're interested in what they have to say.

Be aware of your target customers' needs and preferences can help you build an effective strategy to promote your brand. They're a gateway into the mind of your prospects and customers, which allows you to connect your product and information with your target audience more precisely.

It is your own personal decision as to what you want and need from an online community-building tool, but getting familiar with the options can help be sure you are making an educated choice.

However, the majority of online business owners appreciate having a full package of instruments to build and monetize a community all together and at no hidden fees.

The package includes a variety of business software in one neat package and a wide range of resources, such as template templates for products and free webinars for making your experience even easier.

The best thing? It's free to try it for no cost for 14 dayss to decide whether it's the perfect option for you.

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