One of the most underestimated marketing strategies that are free, effective, and online are highly engaging Facebook Group. They are at the forefront for any businesses that come looking for leads, traffic, and sales. And all it needs to work is a high engagement rate.
A high engagement rate is when people actively share, discuss, respond, and purchase from your website, community, and pages. Oh! And did we mention that engagements and Facebook Groups are Free?
But what is a Facebook group?
Facebook Groups were created to foster meaningful interactions. Think of it as a digital space where anyone can feel safe that they can open up a bit more and be first to learn, hear, or share ideas or thoughts with one another.
People always love to belong says Facebook’s marketing expert Mari Smith. And people join groups on the topics and subjects they are invested in which then drives engagement.
However, how is a Facebook group different from a Facebook Page? Refer to the run down below.
Facebook Page
- You can’t message everyone in your Facebook Pages.
- FB pages can provide you with CTA’s or Call-to-action buttons such as Sign Up, Book Now, Learn More
- You can also boost your Facebook Page and its contents using Facebook ads.
- You can also react and provide likes and comments as your Facebook Page.
- You may also add Apps and Services to your Facebook Page so that your fans can easily order a product, make a booking, get a quote, and more.
Facebook Group
- You can message everyone in your Facebook Groups.
- Your FB page is always public but with your Facebook group. You can set it as private where only members can see and react to your content. Non-members can’t see anything that members share on their timelines.
- You can also publish documents, create polls, and even buy and sell in your Facebook group.
- There are no promotional widgets for Facebook Groups.
- You can create a group chat with your group members.
- Members receive notifications about new posts to the groups.
In summary, Facebook Pages works best as official profiles for entities such as a brand, celebrity, and business.
On the other hand, Facebook Groups are catered to small group communications or for people who share common interests and can freely express their opinions.
READ ALSO: The 15 Ways to Boost Facebook Organic Reach
Why create one?
One benefit of a Facebook group is that it can indirectly promote your business and build loyal followers. Facebook groups are interest-oriented platforms so its members already have an interest in the nature of your posts.
For example, if you are a pet food and accessories shop. Having your own Facebook group would be a great way to create a loyal following for your business.
You can create posts that are relevant to dog care and grooming. It is where you can also develop a community that will look for your advice and where people can share their knowledge in the virtual space.
It is this concept of learning and sharing information that makes Facebook groups a great way to build a loyal community.
15 Secrets of Highly Engaging Facebook Groups
After creating your Facebook Group, you’ll probably start searching for tactics to raise your overall engagement levels. Here are 15 Secrets of Highly Engaging Facebook Groups tactics that you can implement:
1. Have a Central Theme
First, when you create your Facebook Group, you must determine its purpose. Carve out your niche and never try to be everything to everyone.
Understanding your niche will be the focus of how you can make a difference to your social circle. However, your group mustn’t be self-serving. But rather, work on giving what your members need rather than directly selling your own products and services.
Once you can help out and give value to your current following. Everything else will come together.
For example, if you are selling conditioners, are those conditioners for curly-haired women? Dry scalp? Or for split-ends?
Be as specific as possible as people would want to join your group because you are providing solutions to a specific problem.
2. Promote your FB group to the right people
One of the effective strategies for an Engaging Facebook Group that people don’t really understand. Is that you must keep your group private.
Why would you want it to be private? Why can’t you just let anyone join the community?
The reason lies in exclusivity and protection.
When you join a club, business, or corporation. We all know that what happens in the office, stays in the office.
Joining a closed Facebook group creates a sense of exclusivity. If not everyone can join, this can reassure the group and help members to remain respectful and positive to your guidelines.
Don’t forget, internet trolls exist! And it is only by keeping your group closed can you remove degrading content or profiles that affect the quality of the group.
However, make sure that the entrance process is simple. And approve member requests as quickly as possible.
3. Set the rules and enforce by them
Rules are necessary to maintain order. They can help you avoid people who use Facebook groups to market their services without contributing to the value of the group as a whole.
A group filled with unnecessary content will completely ruin its authenticity. Your followers will complain and comment wars will begin.
To avoid the trouble, make sure you remind the group about your rules at least once a month. And if someone breaks a rule. You’ll need to send them a private message. If they continue their infractions, banning them is an option as you need to protect your other members.
4. Monitor Group Conversations
Of course! If you control who comes in, you definitely can control who goes out.
You have to make it your priority to create a safe environment for your group. After you’ve set your rules, you’ll need to monitor the conversations.
Keep in mind that conversation must remain free from negativity. You have to make your group welcoming and safe from bullies or trolls who feel like they can destroy someone on social media while they are hiding behind the safety of their devices.
Remove toxic users and posts directly to keep everything positive. Stick to your own rules and you’ll be able to establish the trust of your members and ultimately get the results you’ll need.
5. Welcome New Members
Although these aren’t an option for large-scale groups. However, for small-scale communities. The first step in being present and engaging is to let members know who and what you are about. Make sure that you are there to help them out when they need you.
You can do this by introducing yourself in a prewritten welcoming message. Don’t forget to mention their names and feel free to post or publish a personalized message to the group.
6. Create a Welcome Video, post, blog or content
After you’ve approved a member’s request to join your group. They will be looking for more information about its contents. In short, they’d want to get to know a little bit more of the community they’ve joined in.
And one of the fastest and most engaging ways to satisfy their curiosity is to pin an introductory video or content.
If you choose a video, it can be as short as 30 seconds. While images need to have the right amount of text in the images.
7. Hire other Admins to help you out
If you are committed to creating a serious group. You are going to need to commit a lot of time and effort to grow it.
You’ll eventually have to recruit help in managing content and posts as your group grows. Moderating content can be time-consuming and stressful. So don’t forget to reward your admins and praise them for their work.
8. Engage with your members regularly
One of the most beautiful sounds a person can hear is the sound of their name. Whether we admit it or not, we all appreciate being the subject of positive commentary and discussion,
With this in mind, never forget to feature someone from your social circle. However, it must remain relevant and inspiring so that it upholds the value of your group.
Best of all, these endorsements are free and will cost you nothing. Think of it as your business friend or client referred you to all of his/her networks. Wouldn’t that give your reputation a boost?
9. Tell your audience how to stay engaged
Sometimes it is actually best that you teach your members how they can stay engaged in the group.
For one, you may direct members to turn on their notifications as they are more likely to stay involved and jump into existing discussions.
But you must also be wary if you have a really active group. Your group member might be irritated at getting too many notifications and turn them off instead.
There may also be times that you’ll want to openly ask people to get involved in specific posts. So if you want to know what they think, then the best way to do so is asking them
You may refer to these guide questions on how you approach them.
- I’d love to hear your feedback. Can you leave a comment and tell me what your thoughts are on these?
- I’ve been curious about this idea for a long time. Can you let me know what you think?
- Can you please share your experience with us?
- Don’t hold back and share your advice with the group.
- What’s your opinion on these changes?
10. Set up a schedule
Another great tactic for a highly engaging Facebook group is to set up a schedule or themes on certain days of the week.
For example, Mondays are usually seen as busy and unmotivated days. You can create and post motivational quotes, contents, and memes to greet and keep your members interested.
Also, having themed days are incredibly helpful as they set the pace and expectations of the group and the members can look forward to your posts each day.
11. Like, Comment and Respond to Others
If you are an admin, you must always remain on your toes. Why? Because in order to see better engagement in your Facebook group. You’ll have to take the initiative to consistently react, comment, and respond to the other members. In this way, people are more comfortable with your posts and do the same actions that you do.
12. Keep the content quality high
We understand that creating original posts can be quite challenging. However, other than reposting and sharing other content. It might be best to repurpose posts.
You don’t need to be a pro designer or creator in order to make this work. You can explore sites like Canva.com to easily create images that are suitable for Facebook.
Remember, when you want to retain and attract new members to the group. You have to diversify your content to keep things interesting.
In summary, post frequently but don’t overwhelm them by posting more than five contents a day. And post diversely to give your members more reason to return to your page and see what’s new.
13. Use Facebook Live Videos
Don’t be camera shy and show your face to your group. Facebook Live videos are an amazing way to reach your target audience and boost your group’s engagement.
Don’t forget to note that setting up live videos and events are all about schedules. Don’t be late and make sure to notify people 3-7 days ahead of time.
To start your own Facebook Live video stream, all you have to do is:
- Install the Facebook Mobile App.
- Be on your Facebook group.
- Click on the button to create a new post.
- Select the Live video for the group icon.
- And smile! Never forget the smile.
Of course, you’ll need to engage authentically when hosting an event! The best conversations arise from sharing who you are and how you are willing to be different.
Show up as a quirky, insightful, interested, and creative individual that you are and watch your comments fill with reactions.
People on social media want to connect to a person, so talk with them and not to them. Do not speak like a salesperson giving a sales pitch. But rather approach people by sharing usable information, tips, and tricks. First, understand their concerns and suggest a solution.
Ask them questions and ask for their opinions. Let them feel like they are an individual and that they are unique and valued.
14. Motivate existing members to promote the group
It’s actually not a terrible idea to use your existing group members to help you attract new ones. As you are simply making the most of your resources.
A referral is a strategy that you shouldn’t take lightly. Although how you can do so will vary depending on your group’s niche.
But, the first step is often about asking people to share your group. Let them know what you want, what you want to achieve, and that you’ll need their help to do it. Although people are more likely to act if they feel like they are contributing to something good.
You may also drop some free gifts and incentives to inspire your members. But before you proceed with other strategies. It is best to keep in mind that it’s not about the number of people you’ve invited but the quality. Many businesses have thrived when they’ve invited the right people to join their social circle.
15. Tap the Power of Facebook Group Insights
Image from Social Media Examiner
Use your Group’s Insights to measure the level of engagement that you have with your members. By using the insights, you can understand how your members like to engage. You can also see the most active members of your group.
With Group Insights, you are able to identify which of your posts receive the best engagement. And when you acquire your data, you’ll be able to see what’s working and manipulate or adapt your strategy accordingly.
READ ALSO: 15 Mindsets of A Successful Online Freelancer
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Image from Haley Marketing
Facebook Groups aren’t about creating a following for you to entice customers to buy from you. But rather, they are created to grow and give value to existing passion and interests.
As the administrator, you curate the group and cultivate their ideas. However, your group will only grow and evolve based on what’s resonating with your members.
You can use challenges such as contents and discussions to guide the direction of your group. But meaningful interactions only stems from your niche or what sets you apart from other people.
And once you’ve established them, only then can you sell!
Remember, communities create themselves. And you need to understand that a sense of belonging is what you need to create a stronger group.
Set the rules and stand by them. Do not deviate from your own statement.
Value your member’s opinions and let them freely share their insights as long as it follows the guidelines. It mustn’t be a place to promote products or services but where like-minded people can share something valuable.
Always give value first. Because if you start by pushing a product or service without letting anyone have the chance to know you, you’ll alienate them. Focus on giving as much value as you possibly can and you’ll win.
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