How to Make Money With a Facebook Group?

If you think Facebook is old news, think again: even in 2024, 18 years after it was first founded, Facebook is still the most popular social media platform in the world. How popular exactly? Well, it has over 1.62 billion active users: that’s right, around 35% of the entire global population is a Facebook user.

And Facebook is still growing, too. Every single minute, an average of 400 new users sign up to Facebook.

One of Facebook’s most popular features is Facebook Groups, pages that a user or group of users administers for a specific purpose.

In addition to staying informed and finding like-minded people, being active in a Facebook group is also an opportunity for a lucrative side hustle.

There are tons of ways to make money on social media, and Facebook is no exception. So, how can you make money with a Facebook group?

Let’s explore the five best ways.

How to Earn Money With a Facebook Group: Five Different Ways

There are Facebook groups for pretty much anything you can think of, from informative groups about activities in a particular neighborhood or area to hobby and/or fan groups devoted to connecting people across the globe with similar interests.

In terms of making money off of FB, some of the methods I’ll describe in this article assume that you yourself are the founder of your particular Facebook group, whereas others can be applicable and effective if you are just one of the group’s members.

Let’s dive into how you can start earning money from your Facebook group.

1. Growth = Profits

If you are the creator and/or administrator of your Facebook group, one of the keys to monetizing it is to constantly be expanding your group’s membership. 

After all, a larger number of members is the equivalent of a wider customer base and potentially more money in your pocket. So, before you start earning any money, you’ll need to figure out how to attract members to your group.

First of all, make sure that your group’s settings allow new members to join without having to wait for approval (i.e., unless there’s some other reason why you feel it’s prudent to have your group set to private or approve new members). 

Beyond this basic step, there are a few ways to expand your group’s membership:

Create a Targeted Ad for Your Group

Since Facebook doesn’t allow ads for groups, you’ll have to create a page to accompany your group.

Many people think Pages and Groups are the same, but there are actually a few differences, including the ability to “boost” your page – which, in Facebook terms, means to advertise it.

Make sure to link your group to your page (this can be done by navigating to your page, clicking on “Groups,” and hitting “Link your group”), and anyone who visits your page or sees your boosted post will instantly be connected to your group.

Once you’ve linked your group to your page, you can create a boosted post by writing a post, then hitting “Boost Post.” 

Best of all, Facebook will then allow you to target your boosted post based on factors like gender, age, and location. You can also set the duration of your boost, with options ranging from 1-14 days.

This isn’t free, of course, but it gives your page – and thus your group – a much higher chance of reaching your target audience.

Ask Qualifying Questions for Group Membership

I mentioned earlier that it’s generally a good idea to have your group be as open and accessible as possible, and generally speaking, that’s true.

However, groups that are too open can often end up covered in spammy, topically unrelated posts, making legitimate members far less likely to stick around and thus decrease your chances of earning a profit.

Let’s say, for example, that you’ve started a Facebook group dedicated to graphic design. When someone requests to join, you might choose to add qualifying questions such as “Are you a graphic designer?” and “If not, are you looking to hire a graphic designer?”

Setting questions like this allows you to weed out people who are trying to join for unrelated reasons and lets you vet and approve new members before they have the chance to engage with your group’s content. 

This helps maintain the quality of the group, and thus creates a better experience for all of its members who are there for the right reasons.

Join Groups With High Membership and Engagement

If you aren’t the creator of a Facebook group but still want to earn money on Facebook, try to join topically-related groups with high levels of membership activity.

When you search for a topic in Facebook’s search bar, you can narrow your search to “Groups,” and Facebook will turn up a range of results. 

Under each group’s title, you should be able to see how many members the group has, as well as how many posts are shared on average each day.

Try to join a group that has both a large number of members and a high number of average daily posts. After all, advertising your products or services on a group that’s gone dormant isn’t going to get you very far.

2. Advertise Your Products and Services

One of the primary ways that people earn money on Facebook groups is by advertising their skills and services as a freelancer and/or posting ads for the products/merch they’re selling.

This is a great way to earn money on a Facebook group regardless of whether you’re the group’s creator or just one of its members.

When looking for the right group(s) to join, you should also look for groups that allow members to post content advertising their products or services. 

Many groups will require their admins to review and approve posts before they go live, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as your posts follow the community guidelines.

You can create your own posts explaining what you have to offer and/or look for potential clients and customers posting about what they’re looking for.

Many potential clients looking to hire a freelancer will search on social media platforms such as Facebook, and this can be a great way to grow your portfolio and your reputation in your field.

To go back to our graphic design example, joining a popular Facebook group for graphic designers is a great way to connect with others in the field and advertise your own services. 

Best of all, unlike freelancing platforms like Fiverr, you get to keep 100% of the profits you earn when you connect with a client or customer via Facebook – no annoying transaction costs or percentage cuts to worry about.

3. Create a Paid Premium Group

As it turns out, not all Facebook groups are created equal. One way to make money running a Facebook group is to turn it into a premium group and charge a membership fee.

To take your Facebook group to a more exclusive level, first change its settings to “private.”

In order to accept payments from would-be members, you’ll have to set up a payment method. You can do this through a popular payment platform like PayPal, Stripe, or Square.

Then you can choose whether you want to charge a one-time fee to join or a smaller monthly membership fee. 

Facebook doesn’t yet have an in-site payment feature for Groups, so you’ll have to include the link to your PayPal or another payment account in the group info, with clear instructions on how members can sign up.

Of course, if you’re charging for membership, your members are going to expect some above-average content to make it worth the price, so make sure you’re prepared to consistently deliver what they’re expecting.

4. Sell Advertising Space on Your Group

This is another one that requires you to be the founder (or at least one of the admins) of a group.

If that applies to you, then selling advertising space on your group’s homepage is a fantastic way to earn a passive income from running an FB group.

The best way to do this is to put in the time to look for influencers and/or micro-influencers (influencers in your specific niche) who have already partnered with brands and sponsorships, and offer them the chance to place their content on your FB group.

Since selling ad space on your site is a form of affiliate marketing, you need to be veryclear and upfront about the fact that these are paid advertisements. 

In addition to avoiding legal trouble, keeping things transparent and ethical builds trust with your group members and is less likely to drive them away, which is in your best interest in the long run.

5. The Classic Redirect: Send Group Members to Your Website or Other Accounts

While there definitely are ways to earn money on Facebook groups (as I’ve been discussing here), it’s important to note that Facebook groups are likely not going to be the most efficient or lucrative way of earning money on the internet for you.

As such, perhaps the best use of your Facebook group (or group membership) is to redirect your audience to your website and/or your online store, your monetized blog, or your other monetized social media accounts where you sell your skills, services, and/or products.

Let’s say that you’re a master pickle-maker. You sell your pickles on your website, and you want to attract more customers.

Creating a Facebook group dedicated to the art of pickling, or joining a group for pickle lovers (yes, this already exists) is one of the best ways for you to connect with a broader customer base, increase brand awareness, and just have fun with like-minded people from around the world.

If you aren’t the group admin, just ensure that posting branded content or advertisements for your product or site isn’t going against the group’s guidelines.

Of course, all of this means that you should create a website and have active accounts on other social media platforms if you want to earn money online.

If you’re still in the early stages of developing your online presence, you can check out my guides to building a website easily (no coding required) and finding the right niche for your blog.

Summary: Ways to Earn Money With a Facebook Group

Although Facebook Groups may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of making money on social media, the opportunity shouldn’t be overlooked.

Facebook is still the most popular social media platform worldwide, making it a unique place to connect with a truly global customer base. 

Whether you create your own group, join other groups as a member, or both, the methods I’ve outlined here should get you well on your way to earning a little extra cash on the side, building brand awareness, and connecting with new customers.

Happy posting!

References

• How to create a Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/help/167970719931213
• Graphic design Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/graphicdesignerjobforall
• Baking Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/2334573060123397
• Squarespace Pickle Perfection site – https://www.squarespace.com/templates/hester-fluid-demo
• Pickle Lovers Unite FB group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/530212380493430