As Facebook’s algorithm continues to shift towards favoring engagement, businesses are looking for ways to reach people and build relationships through content that matters to each of their target markets. Advertising is an obvious choice to reach more people, but the Facebook Groups feature can also be of a great benefit to your business if you use it correctly.
Why Facebook Groups?
Facebook Groups are communities of individuals that share a common interest, goal, passion, or appreciate a certain topic of conversation. Groups are organized by topic, which can range from community news to societal issues to business to neighborhood resources, to pop culture interest groups, and just about any other interest group can dream up.
The primary goal of Facebook Groups is to build a community where members can network about topics that matter to them. For business purposes, groups are a much more personal way of interacting with your fans by giving them a platform to chat about their individual experiences. This interaction can go a long way in helping your business develop lasting relationships.
You can also join other Facebook Groups from your personal account. However, keep in mind that groups should not be used as a place to bombard members with information about your business. Take your time by being someone who’s there to genuinely participate in the conversation. (Tramadol) Within groups, many people ask questions about issues or they are looking for advice on a topic or service. This provides a great opportunity for you to demonstrate your expertise in your industry. Through participation in a group, you can establish your authority, and even promote your brand, as long as you stay within the designated rules of the group. If group members have a question, use that opportunity as a time to share a blog post that may help them solve a problem, or mention one of your products or services that cater to that person’s needs.
How to Find Facebook Groups
When you log in to Facebook, you’ll find groups on the left-hand side of the screen under the “Explore” tab. Once you click on groups, you can search for certain topics under the “Discover Groups” feature.
You can search by topic and find groups that may fit into the category of your business or industry. You’ll notice that some groups are public, where you can see all the members’ posts, and others are “closed,” or private, where only members can see the posts in that group.
For closed groups, you will have to ask to join the group, and there may be certain questions you’ll have to answer prior to being accepted into the group. Make sure that you take time to answer the questions appropriately if you want to be active in the discussions of the group. Miss Ink sponsors a group called Miami Small Business Community, which you can check out as an example.
Rules for Joining Groups
Read the description carefully for the groups that you want to join. Some groups have certain rules for posting. It’s important that you follow the rules for each group so that you do not risk being kicked out of the group and losing your credibility within the group.
Additionally, before posting anything to the members, take some time to read the previous posts and study the tone and conversation. You want to make sure that your posts and replies match the tone so that you are fitting into the culture of the group and respected as a member and not seen as a product spammer.
When You Should Create Your Own Group
Creating your own group can give you the chance to create your own community around your product, company, or industry. This option gives you the ability to control the group experience and steer your group topics and conversation in the direction that you would like the conversation to go.
If you choose to create a community around your specific product or service, you give you can give your clients a place where they feel that they have exclusivity for being a part of your company’s extended family. You can offer additional help, services, tips, and tutorials within the group as a special benefit to your members. You should also create an environment where members feel both inspired and encouraged to share their experiences. For example, a school may launch an alumni group, a nonprofit may launch a group about a specific community issue, a retail store may launch a page for a specific type of fashion, or a baby product business may launch a page for new parents.
In your own group, you can be the top authority in your industry. You can offer blog posts and information about best practices that are shared with your captive audience. You’ll also want to engage with members and can use their insight as a community resource for new product or service ideas. This is an effective way to build your own thought leadership platform as long as you always keep it centered around the members.
Creating a Group
Before you create a group, it’s important to come up with a plan of exactly how you will use the group to benefit your business. Decide what types of posts you will allow and establish group rules if you need to.
You will also need to decide whether your group will be public, closed (invitation or acceptance only), or secret (unable to be searched). If your group is closed or secret, you will need to make sure that someone is checking in regularly so that you can accept members into the group. The benefits to closed or secret groups are the element of exclusivity for already existing customers, however, a public group obviously has better visibility to a greater number of people.
Once you have members in your group, encourage them to participate in discussions by offering different types of questions, polls, quizzes, and even themed prompts. The idea is to inspire participation in your group. The more that members feel motivated to engage, the more information you can offer them about your company and product.
Promoting Your Group
Make sure to promote your group to your potential and existing customers. You can do this by adding information about the group to your email blasts, as well as encouraging those who visit your website to check out your group on Facebook by including the link to your website. Make sure you also promote your group through your other social media platforms.
Creating a group on Facebook may seem simple, but there is an important strategy that goes along with attaching your branding to any social media platform. If you need assistance with your online marketing strategy, give us a call at Miss Ink. We can help you with your online presence through content creation and social media strategizing. We look forward to hearing from you!
References:
Cannon, T. (2018, January 29). How to Use Facebook Groups for Business: A Guide for Marketers. Retrieved March 09, 2018, from https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-groups-for-business-how-to-guide-for-marketers/
