Best alternatives to Facebook Groups in 2024

Many businesses are worried about depending too much on Facebook, a constantly changing platform with an ever-changing privacy policy. In the long run, it is definitely better for companies to build their own work community. This can adapt to their needs and allow team managers to have full control over the content, privacy and house rules.

Switching to an alternative of Facebook Groups is a good way to secure the longevity of one’s employee group.

Illustration of people leaving Facebook Groups

What is Facebook Groups and Facebook Workplace

Facebook Groups and Facebook Workplace are the top platform for work teams. Facebook Groups is free to use, and Facebook Workplace is pretty affordable for small teams.

Both Facebook Groups and Workplace allow users to create and join groups, and to communicate with other group members. The main community features are group chats and the ability to post updates and comments.

Both Facebook Groups and Facebook Workplace have a News Feed feature for users to see updates and activity. Group members can collaborate and share information with one another: upload various types of content, such as photos, videos, and documents.

Facebook Groups is geared towards personal use and communities. Facebook Workplace caters for professional use and team communication within organizations. But many professional companies still use the free option of Facebook Groups.

Why you should use a Facebook Groups alternative?

Creating a Facebook group might seem like a good idea for teamwork management at first. But the platform itself can be a source of too many distractions for work. From notifications to ads, Facebook constantly communicates all kinds of other messages to your team.

Facebook also prioritizes content based on user engagement, not message importance. This can easily bury work messages under more exciting posts.

An alternative platform with no ads or irrelevant content can create a much better space for communication and team engagement. Successful team management means getting clear messages delivered, receiving quick replies, and keeping everyone actively engaged with their work.

Need more reasons to upgrade from Facebook groups to an actual team management solution? Here are some:

A decreasing number of users

Young workers (and even some older ones!) are abandoning Facebook in favor of other social networks. A clunky and crowded newsfeed, privacy issues, and accelerating censorship are some of the reasons why they are uninstalling the app.

When onboarding new employees, you want to make them feel part of the team as soon as possible. This might not be easy if they are reluctant to log in to the platform.

Limited targeting

As already mentioned, the Facebook algorithm may limit posts to appear only under the groups newsfeed. This means that managers cannot really make sure urgent updates are delivered on time.

Every user can see and read what is posted in the group, limiting what kind of tasks and discussions could be held. Some group members might share personal information or have private conversations that are visible to the entire group. This can lead to privacy breaches or identity theft.

A custom work community can provide better methods to target messages. They can create more flexible custom audiences (because frontline employees need different updates than the office). They can also allow recipients to customize their notifications (email, push notifications, SMS).

No real data

There is very little you can do to gain a relevant overview of your team activity. Yes, Facebook Workplace will give you some generic data about user engagement. But if you need some real metrics, you need to create alternative processes to capture the data.

Facebook does not have relevant features to track tasks, shifts or tickets for your team. There is also no way to have an overview of active issues or open threads.

You’re not in charge

On Facebook you will need to abide by their constantly changing community rules. Even private groups can easily get shut down due to member disagreements. It just takes a few events of members reporting other members to flag the group. As the standards are in a vague wording, it’s sometimes even impossible to understand where your group violated their rules.

In a custom work community you can establish your own rules, and decide how to enforce them. This way you can build a company culture that matches your values, not Facebook values.

Top alternatives to Facebook Groups and Facebook Workplace

When looking for Facebook alternatives, most managers look for the ability to own your data and segment workers.

Here is our list of our favorite alternatives to Facebook Groups and Facebook Workplace. They can make your team’s work easier while keeping your information both safe and accessible.

The list is based on the following principles.

  • Managers are able to engage and communicate with their team members
  • Easy onboarding
  • Acitivities are transparent and easy to report.

Zelos Team Management

Zelos Team Management is a great option if you’re coordinating a mobile team with a task- or shift-based workflow. It delivers quick self-signup, with easy onboarding and thorough reporting.

Zelos is great for service providers, volunteer organizations, and field service companies. It’s instant to sign up, free to use with small volumes, and you can easily upgrade the package in self-service.

Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is a private app for creating a digital community. The interface is very user-friendly, and many of the features are similar to Facebook, for example user feed and events. They also have great features for creating employee trainings as online courses.

There is a 2-week free trial that lets you test the app before signing a contract. But their subscription is quite affordable even for small companies.

Circle

Circle provides a clean and intuitive interface that makes it easy for members to navigate and participate in discussions. Managers can customize the environment branding, member permissions, and privacy settings. The feature lineup includes everything important – direct messaging, live events, polls, training courses and member directories.

You can try out the app with a 2-week free trial, and then subscribe to a fixed monthly or annual contract.

Discord

Discord is an open-source software where managers can build forums and chat rooms. By being open-source, it is constantly releasing new integrations, plugins and features.

It is free to use, but you may need to have the technical skills to host and maintain the service.

Slack

Slack is a secure, cloud-based chatting app that is convenient to use both on desktops and mobile devices. Managers can organize groups via channels. It integrates with many third-party applications, so you can automate a lot of things without having advanced technical skills.

Because Slack is so focused on live messaging, it can underperform for admins who need to follow up on items. But it’s a great alternative to Facebook due to its user-friendly interface and familiar thread-based structure.

Connecteam

Connecteam is the industry-leading team management tool with many alternatives. It allows managers to communicate with every single employee and simplify day-to-day management.

Some of its features include checklists, forms, and job dispatches. Employees can communicate directly and use the app anywhere at any time.

Switching away from Facebook Groups and Workplace

You should accept the fact that it will take time and constant use to successfully move to a new platform. It is important to prepare and customize the environment before onboarding your team members. You should also schedule a daily routine that keeps your work community organized. Listen to worker feedback and build the environment according to your own needs.

Facebook is a great social network and advertising platform, but it should be considered as such. It is not a work community builder or a team management tool. By starting and promoting your own work community, you can ensure to keep the focus on achieving team goals.

The tools we mentioned above can all be userd (or at least tried) for free. The paid features will of course further boost the community capabilities.

It’s time to take a leap of faith and transcend the limitations of Facebook groups. Embrace a devoted community platform, and you’re not just creating a space for like-minded individuals. You are forging a path towards a deeper sense of belonging and purpose. Say goodbye to the noise and distractions, and unlock the true potential of your work community!