Facebook Groups for Business: Build Your Community

It’s 2016 and the cool millennial kids have pushed Facebook aside for Instagram and Snapchat, but somehow Facebook is still holding onto the throne of the social network kingdom. (I watched the new Game of Thrones episode last night, so had to throw in a subtle pun!)

But with the change in times comes a change in marketing. If you think that creating a Facebook page and running a few paid ads is going to transform your online sales then you’re sadly mistaken! There is more to it than that.

Facebook isn’t just a simple one-dimensional platform. You need to try different ways and techniques to keep engagement high, leads coming in and your business growing. Today I’m going to show you how you can add to your social marketing arsenal with a simple Facebook group.

Now, many of you are probably thinking that a Facebook group sounds boring and dated, but they’re actually really effective! Facebook groups allow you to segment your clients. You can create communities around particular products, improve customer service, provide a networking forum for customers and even drive new sales.

Several months ago, we started our own Startup Active Group it’s growing by the day! Clients are engaging with us and with each other. It’s changed how we interact with our database.

But before I tell you exactly how to build a vibrant Facebook group, I want to go through some of the key benefits…

 

The Benefits of a Facebook Group

Yes, Facebook may no longer be cool but it’s still extremely effective. In fact, recently the main man Zuckerburg stated that Facebook reached over 1 billion active users in a single day – the first time this has ever been reached!

This statement alone is evidence that Facebook is still the powerhouse! But if that wasn’t enough then here are some more reasons how Facebook Groups can benefit your business:

Members get Notifications.

Facebook pages and personal posts rely completely on the Newsfeed algorithm for organic exposure. Facebook Groups send users a notification whenever someone posts to the Group, thus driving traffic to each post.

Facebook does allow members to silence these notifications. However, if your Group is providing valuable content, they won’t.

Build a stronger relationship with your client base.

There are many ways you can benefit from your Facebook group and one of the primary benefits is building relationships. It’s a platform that allows you to speak with clients and members on a one-to-one basis without the whole formality of emails etc. Plus if you post a highly engaging topic then you will notice members building relationships with each other.

Stick with this and before you know it you will have a thriving community in your group!

 

How to build your Facebook group

Step 1 – Create a Group

Creating your Facebook group is simple:

– From your Facebook home page, go to the Groups section on the left side menu and click ‘Create Group’.

– Click + Create New Group at the top of the page. A window will appear, where you’ll be able to add a group name, add members and select the privacy settings for your group.

– Click Create when you’re done.

Once the group is created, you’ll be taken to the group. To get started, click at the top right of the group and select Edit Group Settings. From here you can add a group description, tags, set a group email address and add a group picture.

Now the more important part of this step is creating the context of your group. This is basically what your group is for and about.

Rule number one…unless you’re a brand within yourself (i.e David Beckham) then steer clear of making your group all about you. Because in truth, nobody really cares! Stick to focusing on your clients and your business services for ultimate engagement.

Focus on your clients and your services.

Let me give you an example…

If you own a CrossFit Gym, create a Group focused on exchanging CrossFit tips and upcoming events etc.

If you run a weekly yoga class then give your group value with popular yoga blog posts that you have found online, as well as any upcoming yoga classes you’re running.

Give your group value and you will reap the rewards!

Step 2 – Keep your Group active

Remember, Groups are communities — you need to focus on them and keep them alive. Don’t dive in on promoting yourself and your business until you’ve earned the Group’s trust.

How do you build trust? By delivering value.

Create native content for the Group

Some Facebook groups are just a feed of links to the admin’s blog articles or promotions they have on their next PT groups.

Don’t do that.

Instead, try to create content specifically for the group. Don’t keep trying to constantly drive people to your website. It will dry out any engagement and before you know it, your group will be a ghost town!

Keep it simple and friendly – share pictures, videos, ask questions for your group members to answer. Share transformation pictures etc.

Make it obvious you’re there to help them and being a member of the group is beneficial to them.

Once you have mastered this, you will be able to share a link to your promotion etc. and members will respond.

 

Step 3 – Promote your Group

A Facebook Group can actually grow much faster than your Facebook page, but unlike your page, they do not grow automatically. You need to invest time and energy into driving people to join.

Another great way to promote your group and keep people engaged once in there is by inviting influential people to join too!

If you have any friends or contacts in your particular industry that you believe will add valuable content to your group then invite them.

There is a big rule of thumb here, though. Only invite people – NEVER add people to your group without their permission. The last thing you want to do is piss people off!

 

Step 4 – Promote the Group on your site

You’re promoting your Facebook page on your website so why not add your Facebook group too.

If your website receives a decent amount of traffic then you should see new members joining through this method each week.

We are holding a FREE webinar on Wednesday 11th May on how to generate fresh leads from your website. You can register here. 

 

Step 5 – Use Facebook Ads

It actually took me a while to realise that you could promote your Facebook group within Facebook ads. It doesn’t actually work the same way as promoting your Facebook page but here is how you can get around it:

1. Write a post on your Facebook Page and drop a link to the Group
2. Create a new Ad, select “Boost your posts”
3. Select the post with a link to your Facebook Group

Now obviously, before doing this you need to target a specific audience. It’s pointless creating a Facebook group if you’re going to invite every man and his dog. Start by targeting your group ads to your marketing list – past clients, present clients, anybody who has signed up to your services or downloaded your eBooks etc.

This will push your group to the right audience.

The only downside of this method is that you cannot currently track new group members with analytics. So exact results from your ads will be hard to determine.

This being said, I’d still recommend this method as it can be very beneficial – Facebook ads are a valuable tool.

 

Step 6 – Cross-promote with other Groups

If you’re consistently adding new members, you can pitch other Group admins to exchange cross promotion posts. I’ve had good success using Facebook’s internal search to find similar groups.

It takes a while to find spam-free Groups, but once you do it’s just a matter of tracking down admins, adding them as friends, and sending them a quick pitch.

If you’ve got a different audience base, you can add tremendous value to each other by exposing your Groups to new audiences.

 

Step 7 – No Spam!

One of the biggest dangers to your Group is spam. A Group can turn into a dodgy-looking spam hole in no time at all if you don’t take care of it.

You must set rules within your group and enforce them.

Now, I’m not expecting you to turn all NYPD on your group. You can easily set rules within your Group description section. Or if you are feeling confident enough, create a video that welcomes new members the group, what your group is about and voice any rules you have in place. You can then pin this video to the top of the page to ensure it is the first post that new members see.

Don’t feel like you have to go easy on the members either. If somebody joins and immediately begins spamming your page with links to their website or some dodgy looking website – ban them. No questions asked. You simply don’t have the time to give out warnings, especially when it’s clearly stated in your rules.

As your group begins to grow, it can get quite difficult to monitor on your own. Try to encourage Group members to flag spam if they see it — this will allow you to take appropriate action.

Conclusion

Every day our Startup Active group grows. I’ve also noticed the engagement growing. Members are now creating posts and other members are joining in. It’s turning into a community.

This being said I do believe that our Facebook Group will soon become one of our strongest assets in digital marketing.

If you’re looking to build an active, engaged community around the problems your business solves, a Facebook Group is definitely the way to go!

If you have any questions regarding Facebook Groups then just simply leave me a comment below and I will do my best to help!