Facebook Groups can now have dedicated topic 'experts'

Facebook is working on a new way to highlight authoritative information within Groups. The platform is starting to roll out a new “expert” label for group members who have expertise in an area related to the group’s interests.

With the change, which Facebook says is available to “select” Groups, an admin can invite a group member to be a group “expert.” If the person accepts, then they’ll get a badge next to their name similar to the way group moderators and admins are identified.

Notably, being a group “expert” doesn’t grant you extra control of group features, or higher visibility within a group. Instead, Facebook is billing it as a way for group admins to highlight members who are likely to have helpful insights to share with the rest of the group. Experts can also host question and answer sessions or live audio rooms.

Separately, Facebook is also testing a feature that would allow group admins to proactively find expert voices for their group. That test, which is starting with groups related to fitness and gaming, allows individuals to identify themselves as experts in a particular topic. In these cases, group admins will be able to search for experts who aren’t already members of their group and invite them to join. The experts will also have the ability to automatically invite “recently engaged Page followers” to join any group in which they join as an expert.

Experts is the latest of several changes to Facebook Groups in recent months. The company has also taken steps to get moderators to shoulder more responsibility in ensuring group members follow Facebook’s rules, and introduced new tools to limit toxic conversations. While dedicated “experts” won’t directly impact these efforts, the addition of more knowledgeable voices could free up time for group admins.