Our local community Facebook page…

[JoelleLane]

…has started to offer paid advertising.

Does anyone know where the income will go from this?

You’re going to need to ask the admin

Thanks! I'm not sure that the one admin person will respond.

There is an issue with admin promoting one company again and again and turning off comments. I actually thought it was a scam and queried it. Admin informed me that this was a paid advertiser, even though the group terms are no advertising. There is however a website with details to pay for an advert.

Set me wondering about an established group of 35k, with no advertising, taken on by new admin, rules changed and payments taken.

Curious really as to where the money goes.

Funding the website for one!

Thanks. There is only this one advertiser at the minute!

Ask the question on the group. Make sure everyone is aware.

Fascinating and never heard of this before. One does wonder whether the admin is enjoying an additional income stream.
Does the payment website give any information? (Does it have a privacy policy, legal address etc you can find?)

I've tried but admin decline the post.

@JoelleLane I've tried but admin decline the post

That sounds very dodgy. I found some rules about fb advertising that say group members must be made aware it's happening in the group rules.

Assuming this isn't paid FB ads through their proper platform, report this to Facebook, it's actually against their TOS to do this (it's also against their TOS to charge for access to a FB group but some chancers still try it).

Interesting! Thank you.

I think the group were informed that paid advertising was to happen as part of the page.

When I queried adverts through trying to post, initially my comment was deleted and comments turned off by admin. When I tried to post, suggesting I was worried about a scam, admin messaged me directly telling me these are paid for adverts.
Kind of playing the game, I asked how I could pay to advertise and was sent the link for another website which is where I would pay for the advert.

I suppose, given admin ‘hold’ on this, I was thinking, this person volunteered to be admin on a well established community page and now has a ‘business’ with an advertising revenue as she has access to 33k people.

Just seems off.

The plot thickens…the group ‘about’ has changed in the last day from ‘no advertising’ to ‘advertising is not allowed unless a membership is bought’ - which is the website provided.

There's a huge FB group in my work community - started off innocently enough then exploded during covid (our industry was badly affected and no one had anything else to do!)

Since then it's been professionally 'monetised' and is very open about memberships and what you get for your cash. There's a separate website and it's become very much a brand / company in its own right

But then the owners have worked bloody hard on it, it brings massive value to everyone on there so no one bats an eyelid.

Sounds like this CF has designs on something similar but in a very shady way!

Likely! @FusionChefGeoff

Seems a bit underhand.

Of course, if there is anything up for discussion in the community, it takes place on that very page. Except admin is in control of declining posts.

Not sure how to let others know or question this.

Not a HR one by any chance?!

Start your own community group.

@BlueFlagPinkFlag no its not HR - seems like it's quite a common format then!

Well, there's your answer then.

Must be!

Why would I do that when the existing one has 33k followers?

After all of the above, now any post I make us left pending and not approved.

Blocked without being blocked…🤔

No idea how to do anything about it.

Basically set up your own page for free no adverts allowed

We have one advertising is allowed one day a week local businesses only at certain times of the year you can "pay" to be the banner photo the money goes to charity the rest of the time it's a local photo sometimes they have competitors to vote on the next banner photo

I don't want to set up my own though. I am part of a 33k local community just aggrieved that there is one business that is allowed daily adverts and since me genuinely asking if this was a scam, I am unable to post as admin are ignoring me.

Can't challenge as admin are in control.

I've looked at FB TOC but can't find anything clear to report on.