Popular Massachusetts Facebook Group Sparks Debate Over Paid Business Posts

EASTON (WBSM) — The administrator of the Everything Easton, MA Facebook group is making a controversial change to her group, instituting a fee for local businesses to advertise within it.

Marybeth Fitzpatrick said it became necessary because with nearly 14,000 members of her private group, business-related posts were starting to “clog” up the group.

“Businesses had concerns because they felt their business wasn’t being seen or was lost in the thread,” she told WBSM.

How Group Users Are Reacting to the Paid Business Post Model

However, there has been significant pushback among the group members, with many calling it a “money grab” by Fitzpatrick and her moderators. She denies that’s the case, and said the money paid will be put back into the Easton community through various fundraising and charitable efforts.

“I know people don’t like change, so this pushback was expected,” she said. “Most people who are critical are not business owners, so this option wouldn’t apply to them. I have received a lot of positive feedback from actual business owners. I’m hoping to start rolling with it soon.”

Nearly a Decade of Running a Facebook Group

Fitzpatrick started the Everything Easton, MA group in 2017 in order to inform people about what was going on in her town, where she has lived for the past 20 years and is raising two boys. She said the group started with just one person and it grew through word of mouth. She is the only administrator of the group, but now has three moderators to help her run it.

What Do Town-Specific Facebook Groups Offer?

Since the early days of Facebook, there have been town-specific Facebook Groups in which residents can discuss local issues, elected officials can disperse information, and businesses can promote their products and services.

The groups represent the best of what Facebook can be: a way to digitally connect friends and neighbors and be the social media counterpart to the physical community. They can also be the worst of what Facebook can be as well, inundated with bots, AI-generated posts and off-topic bickering if the group goes unmoderated.

Facebook Groups Have Become Key Marketing Tools for Small Businesses

With many businesses struggling in today’s economy, they might have trouble paying for traditional means of advertising, or even running sponsored posts with Meta, Facebook’s parent company. Facebook Groups have long been a direct—and free—way to reach potential customers in their own town. Posts can range from the weekly specials at a local restaurant to a used car dealer’s latest acquisition to ones from side hustles such as lawn mowing, junk removal, odd jobs or airport rides.

“It’s local businesses such as construction, electricians, real estate, restaurants, landscaping, every type you can think of,” Fitzpatrick said.

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“I’ve learned when I post for businesses, which I’ve had in the past, or spotlighted or shouted them out, they’ve received additional business,” she said. “I’m also a business owner and we just closed our business, Fitzpatrick Brothers Auto Body in Dorchester, last year. It had been in business since 1894 at the same location. We sold the land to developers. So I understand what it’s like to own a business and how important advertising and word of mouth is.”

How Everything Easton, MA Has Handled Advertisements Until Now

To allow for advertising in her Facebook Group, she originally tried streamlining it all under a “Saturday Business Post” model.

“The posts are normally just under the Saturday business post, so it’s their business name and profile. They don’t get a chance to have a spotlight to grow their business, and I felt I could help with that.”

The increased number of business-related posts in Everything Easton, MA beyond her regular free Saturday posts led Fitzpatrick to decide something had to be done.

“I am aware of other groups that do it,” she said. “I was very hesitant at first because I’ve always advertised for free for years, and to charge a fee felt a bit weird. I thought if I could offer them a solo spot to highlight their business, that would be beneficial to them, and I could give back to the community.”

How Paid Business Posts Would Work

Fitzpatrick plans to keep the paid-for posts affordable so that small businesses and individuals offering services can afford them.

“The plan for charging is to allow the business to have solo visibility on a weekday and allow them to potentially get more views for their company,” she said. “The pricing will be $10 for one post, $25 for three posts and $40 for five posts on a weekly basis, so as not to bog down the page and keep it structured and clean. Only one business per category, so they can be highlighted.”

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What Easton Businesses Can Expect for Their Money

So what does a business get as a return on their investment? Fitzpatrick said it might not be obvious from just looking at the posts at how they've performed, so she will share analytics with the businesses.

“I make clear there are no promises. I don’t guarantee they'll work,” she said. “I know my page has a huge reach and I’ll share with them the views and clicks, etc.”

Critics Question Whether Facebook Allows the Practice

Many in the Everything Easton, MA group are questioning if a Facebook Group can even charge members a fee. According to online sources, charging for group access is generally allowed, but selling individual posts inside a group gets tricky unless you’re using Meta’s approved monetization features. After all, Meta wants to make sure it’s getting its cut of any revenues.

Also, promising engagement can also be an issue, especially if group administrators are offering certain times or days for a higher price.

“Creators, publishers and third-party providers can only monetize content consumed by their natural, authentic audience,” according to Meta’s rules. “This means creators, publishers and third-party providers may not engage in any behavior that boosts or amplifies followers, views or engagement for the purpose of generating more revenue. This includes manufactured sharing, which is coordinated distribution of content, often for compensation, and high volume crossposting.”

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Fitzpatrick said she plans on following all the guidelines of Facebook.

“It’ll be kept within Meta rules by being transparent about what's a paid advertisement, and structured so as not to be spammy,” she said.

Fitzpatrick Says the Money Will Support the Easton Community

So the big question is: where will the money paid by the businesses go, if Fitzpatrick isn’t planning on keeping the money herself?

“My plan with the funds raised is to give back to the community. I’m a huge fan of that and have always been a supporter and fundraiser for this town: the schools, the kids’ sports teams, etc. and try to help anyway I can,” she said, noting she recently retired from working as a special education paraprofessional in Easton schools. “I really enjoy fundraising. It’s kind of my wheelhouse and I’m pretty good at it. I’ve also donated hundreds to different charities and to the schools with my own money over the years.”

Fitzpatrick said her initial thought is to give to the food pantry in Easton, inspired by her own interactions with school children that don’t have enough to eat.

“I’ve worked with children in the schools who did not have a lot and maybe wanted an extra lunch, but the second lunch you have to pay for, so they couldn’t,” she said. “Or they didn’t bring snacks or water to school for snack time. So I’d bring in snacks and get them water from the teachers lounge for the kids who didn’t have any.”

“I’ve raised over $1,000 for the food pantry before and I think they are a huge valuable asset to our community,” Fitzpatrick said. “So that would be the first place I’d like to support with any amount I can.”