Facebook announced a new feature yesterday that will improve the experience for group users. Facebook Group administrators can now designate members as "Group Experts," who will receive a badge indicating high expertise in the group's topic.
Like The Verge reported, the "Group Expert" badge will appear in posts, comments, and the Q&A section. Experts can be invited by the group owner or by the admins. The invited user must accept the nomination to receive the badge; they can also decline the nomination. There will be new tools to help admins identify potential experts in a group. The company plans to further promote the Groups feature, which allows users to join a community around specific topics and interact with others via an alternative timeline. Facebook also believes that "Group Experts" will help in the fight against fake news.
Facebook Group Expert: More Growth Opportunities
Facebook is testing ways to make it easier for admins to find these experts by asking specific users, currently in gaming and fitness, to add what games or activities they're knowledgeable about. Group admins can search these topics to find their new group experts. This tactic also serves as a growth driver for groups, as the new experts can invite followers who have recently interacted with their main page to join the group as well.
The feature has been tested for several weeks, including in our own Apfelpatient Stammtisch groupAccording to the announcement, Facebook now seems to be gradually expanding the feature to all groups. (Photo by Unsplash / Timothy Hales Bennett)
