Communities give you and your audience a shared space to connect, learn, and grow. To keep things safe and productive, you'll need some ground rules in place.
Understanding Member Roles
Think of a community group as a team, with four key roles:
- Owner: Assigned to the group creator, this is the highest permission level. Only the Owner can deactivate or delete the group.
- Admin: Can add or remove members and assign Admin status to others, bringing in more help within the group.
- Moderator: Think of them as referees. They make sure everyone plays by the rules and keep the group a friendly place.
- Contributor: The everyday members who chat, share, and learn together. They can post and engage with the group.
Role Permissions
The permission level goes from Owner to Contributor.
RoleCreate PostsModerate PostsManage MembersDelete GroupOwner✅✅✅✅Admin✅✅✅❎Moderator✅✅❎❎Contributor✅❎❎❎
Inviting Members to the Group
To invite people to your group, you can add their details in the "Invite via Email" (1) section, or copy the group link and send it via SMS or email (2).
Modifying Member Roles and Access Control
Owners and Admins can control what each member can do. To change someone's role, follow these steps:
Go to the "Members" section in the group, find the person you want to change, and click on the three dots next to their name.
Select Change Role and choose the new role you want them to have.
Managing Courses
If you need to remove/grant access to a Course within the Group, click "Manage Courses" to open the list.
To remove access from a Course, click the red x icon.
Click Grant Courses to give access.
Check the box next to the Courses you want to include, then click Grant to save your changes.
Removing and Banning Members
As your group grows, you may come across members who need to be removed. Owners and Admins can remove or ban someone if needed. Removing someone revokes their membership, but they can rejoin in the future. Banning is permanent, as they will not be able to join the group again. To do so:
Go to the "Members" section in the group. Find the person you want to remove and click on the three dots next to their name.
Choose "Remove" or "Ban" from the group.
Changing Member Email/Phone Visibility
Members can click their profile picture in the top right to access their View or Edit Profile area.
From there, they can open the Social Media tab to choose whether their Email/Phone is visible to others.
Migrating Members from Existing Communities
If a group moves to a new location, here's how to handle the transition:
- Create a new group in the new place.
- Make sure it looks the same as the old one, so people recognise it.
- Send messages to your old group members, letting them know about the move.
- Make a welcoming post in the new group to introduce it and explain how things work.
FAQs
Q: Can I set up an automated invitation for new clients added to my CRM?
A: Yes, you can add the action "Grant Group Access" to any workflow to give your clients access to any group.
Q: I have a large list of potential members. Is there a way to invite them all at once?
A: You can invite multiple members at once by sending out a bulk email or SMS with the group URL included.
Q: Can members invite others to the group, or is this feature exclusive to admins and owners?
A: Members can share the group URL with others, which works as an informal invite. Admins and Owners can remove anyone they don't want in the group, and with Private groups, they can refuse join requests altogether.
Q: I sent an invitation, but the member hasn't joined yet. Can I resend the invitation?
A: Yes. It may have been missed, or they just haven't had a chance to join yet. Simply resend the group URL to give them another opportunity.
Q: Can I personalise the invitation sent to potential members?
A: When inviting someone directly from within Communities, the message can't be modified. If you invite someone via SMS or email, you can personalise it, just make sure to keep the group URL in the message.
Q: What happens when an invited member tries to join the group?
A: When someone clicks the group URL, they're taken to the group where they can request to join. Public Groups admit them automatically upon signing up. For Private Groups, admins can accept requests in the "Members" section.