In a saturated social media environment, you may be struggling to build meaningful relationships with your clients or customers, create brand loyalty or make your followers feel super special. Well, I have two words for you… Facebook groups!
As a small business owner, it can be challenging to find enough hours in the week to dedicate to your online marketing, and without a clear content strategy, engagement can dwindle over time. But, did you know, and this is straight from the horse’s mouth, that Facebook’s algorithms prioritise content from groups that users frequently engage with?!
Private communities are huge right now, with consumers wanting to connect with like-minded people and engage directly with brands they know and love. This unique opportunity to connect and create a community aligned with your brand can’t be overlooked.
Here are my top 5 tips for getting your content seen and making the most out of your Facebook group.
1. Establish your community mission!
To create a welcoming space for your members, it’s essential to set your community mission! Dig deep with this to find out within yourself what the collective mission is. Notice I don’t say your mission. A Facebook group in my opinion shouldn’t be about you. It’s about the sense of community. To help you get started, I recommend spending time thinking about your goals. What do you want to achieve
with your Facebook group? How do you want your members to engage and post? What do you want your members to ask from your group? You can then make your community and connection aims nice and clear in your group description, so everyone knows what the community is all about. It needs to be clear about what it is and who it is for.
2. Kick start conversations
If someone joins your group, they’re interested in your community ethos and want to hear from you! To get your members talking and interacting, and create a community that people return to time after time, they’ll need a helping hand from you.
Creating regular content can be daunting but there are ways to make life easier. Many groups choose regular topics such as Motivation Monday, Top Tip Tuesday, Wednesday Wisdom or Friday Fun. This helps to give things a little structure but don’t be too rigid about your format or things could become stale quickly. Remember to mix things up a little!
To maximise engagement, post when your members are most active, you can see this information in your group engagement stats when you have over 100 members in the group. Research articles show that the best times to post are between 9am and 1pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. The lowest engagement is on a Saturday.
3. Listen but don’t talk too much
It’s tempting to involve yourself in every single conversation. On the one hand, it shows that you’re actively listening but give your members room to chat without you peering over their shoulder all the time! This creates the friendships within the group that keeps people coming back as it’s not just revolving around one person. A great group feels like home on the internet for members. So people need to feel comfortable in the group.
A private group has the potential to add real value to your clients or customers, so create the perfect environment but let them have their freedom to shape it too.
4. Avoid the hard sell
You may be wondering how a Facebook group differs from a regular page. Think of your business page as a tool for direct marketing and broadcasting what you’re up to, like your shop window, and your private group as a space for conversations, getting to really know your community and subtle advertising through value-driven content.
If you’ve promotions or blogs to share, instead of just posting the links, add context and education with helpful tips. Explain why you’re sharing them and how your members can benefit from the information.
Consider the “look” of your group. An eye-catching cover photo and top-notch group info such as relevant keywords, the benefits of your group and the all-important call-to-action will promote and sell your group for you. It will also make it crystal-clear to your members what they can get out of being in your group.
5. Experiment with your content
Experiment with the format of your content to keep things fresh and exciting, and to help you plan future content:
User-generated content, such as asking members to upload photos or videos is excellent for getting to know your audience better
Facebook Live is a fantastic way for your members to find out more about YOU and your authority on how you can help. For top tips on going live on social media, take a look at my previous blog.
Polls are great for gathering all-important business information to help inform your content planning, blogs and offers.
Everyone loves a little light-hearted fun with gifs and memes!
Power up your Facebook group!
If you’re ready to take your Facebook group from Dead to Dedicated Fans and Clients!, check out the Facebook G.R.O.U.P.S™ Membership where you will learn my unique G.R.O.U.P.S™ system. You can see the info here.
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