Top Fan Badge – Facebook Group & Page Badges Explained

If you’re a part of any larger Facebook groups or pages, you’ve probably wondered: “What are Facebook badges?” You see the top fan badge, as well as some other badges, next to different people’s names all the time. But do you know what they really mean and what their purpose is?

In this article, we will share some useful info on the purpose of different Facebook badges, such as the top fan badge. Keep in mind that Facebook group badges differ from Facebook page badges. Let’s take a look at Facebook groups first.

Facebook Group Badges

Facebook group badges are not exactly a new thing. They’ve been around for a few years now, and they seem to be serving their purpose of boosting community engagement and growth. Do you know what all the Facebook group badges are?

 

New Member – This badge is awarded to everyone who joins the group. It sticks around for two weeks, after which it disappears. It can make newcomers feel welcome, as well as inform other members that this person is new to the group.

Rising Star – You can only get the rising star badge within your first month in the group. In order to earn this badge, you need to share interesting and, more importantly, engaging content. In other words, what you post and comment needs to spark a reaction in other members.

Conversation Starter – A conversation starter is the author of a post that has incited the most engagement over the past month. This badge is used to acknowledge the members who create engaging content.

Conversation Booster – This badge belongs to members who frequently create highly-engaging content. If other members find your comments useful, you are on the right way to earn this Facebook group badge.

Visual Storyteller – Not everyone is good with words. Some people simply contribute more through visual content, such as pictures or videos. If you’re one of them, you might earn yourself a visual storyteller badge.

Greeter – The Greeter badge belongs to members who readily greet newcomers. They are the people who provide all the useful info and respond to new members’ posts and comments.

Founding Member – This is a highly exclusive badge that belongs only to the very first members. Only those who have joined a group within the first three days of its existence can call themselves the Founding Members.

Link Curator – As the name says, this Facebook group badge is awarded to people who frequently post links to quality external content. If a link you posted is receiving lots of likes and comments, you’re on the right track.

Admin or Moderator – This one is pretty self-explanatory. The owner of the group, along with the team of group admins, have these badges. The purpose of these badges is for other members to know who to turn to if they’re facing any issues in the group.

Group Anniversary – Unlike other Facebook group badges, you don’t really need to be an active member in order to earn this one. It will simply show up next to your name on the day of the anniversary of your joining. This badge only lasts for 24 hours.

Why Are Facebook Group Badges Important

All these Facebook group badges aren’t there only for aesthetic purposes. They are also useful tools for community building and community engagement, as well as community management. Let’s take a closer look.

The main purpose of Facebook group badges – and probably the one Facebook had in mind when creating them – is to increase engagement. Even though these badges don’t necessarily bring any real-life perks, our competitive nature prompts us to try and earn them. Hence, group members will be more active in an effort to do so.

However, these badges are mostly only awarded for quality content (i.e. content that gets lots of likes and comments). In this way, Facebook deters members from spamming the group with posts or comments with no real value.

Aside from increasing engagement and the quality of the content, Facebook group badges have another purpose. They make it easier for mods and admins to manage their groups. Knowing which members are the most active and the biggest contributors is a very useful piece of information when managing a Facebook group.

Top Fan Badge and Other Facebook Page Badges

Now that we’ve gone through Facebook group badges, it’s time to check out the top fan badge and other Facebook page badges. These are not nearly as numerous as Facebook group badges, but we believe that will change soon. 

Top Fan Badge – What It Is and How It Works

The most prominent of Facebook page badges is the Top Fan Badge. But how do you become a top fan on Facebook? More importantly, what is a top fan on Facebook exactly?

In short, the Top Fan badge is awarded to the most active fans on a page. This, however, includes more than just posting and commenting. Reacting to content, and even watching videos on a page count towards the overall activity level.

The Top Fan badge can be toggled on and off, both by the page admins and the top fans themselves. If you are a Top Fan of a Facebook page, you can display or remove the badge from your name in the Community tab of the page. 

Admins, on the other hand, can remove individual badges or completely turn off the feature on their page. If you’re an admin of a page, you can toggle this feature on or off from the Settings menu. Simply click on Facebook badges, and then on Turn on Top Fan Badges. 

If you would like to take away a member’s badge, the process is just as straightforward. Find the fan in the Community section of your page. Then, click the three dots next to their name and choose Remove Top Fan Badge.

What Is The Purpose of Top Fan Badges?

Top Fan badges have similar purposes to Facebook group badges. They boost engagement, as they encourage fans to be active and interact with each other and with the page. However, they serve another, much more important purpose.

The introduction of Top Fan badges brought about a useful community marketing tool. As an admin of a page with this feature, you can share exclusive content with top fans only. Keep in mind that these badges are only available to pages that have 10,000 or more fans. If your page isn’t that big yet, you might want to take some time to learn how to build a community first.

Other Facebook Page Badges

Although the Top Fan badge is the most popular one as far as pages go, it isn’t the only one. Other Facebook page badges include Valued Commenter, Follower, Anniversary Follower, and Milestone Follower.

Valued Commenter – This one is much easier to earn than the Top Fan badge, but it doesn’t have the same exclusivity. It simply recognizes fans who frequently comment on the content of the page.

Anniversary Follower – The Anniversary Follower badge, along with a number, appears above the name of the fan. It indicates the number of years this person has been a fan of the page. This is a useful tool for admins to recognize (and maybe award) their long-term fans. 

Milestone Follower – As an admin of a page, you can set milestones for your fans to achieve. Once they do so, they will receive a milestone follower badge. 

It is important to notice that Facebook page badges are still in the testing phase. We wouldn’t be surprised if they look different and mean something else this time next year. Make sure you stay on top of the game, regardless of the type of community you manage.