THE BIG IDEA: Facebook Groups
Facebook groups have revolutionized the Facebook platform over the past year and chances are, you are apart of one.
WHAT IS A FACEBOOK GROUP?
A Facebook group is typically a private (but sometimes public) group of individuals who share a common interest.
Anyone can set up and manage a Facebook group — they are free to create, free to join and you can be apart of as many as your heart desires.
Groups can be public or private, meaning that people have to request to join. A moderator (mod) can set up a series of questions the person has to answer and the responses are reviewed by the mod. The mod can then let the person in or deny their request.
The moderator can set up rules that if someone breaks, the mod can remove them from the group.
When joining a Group, whether private or public, your Facebook friends might see that you've joined it
Some Groups are secret and can't be searched for, in which case a qualifying Group member has to invite you
A group can have several admins.
Groups can be deleted, removing all of the members.
SHOULD I SET UP A FACEBOOK GROUP FOR MY BLOG/BUSINESS?
It depends. If your blog/biz has a strong following, I would say go for it! They key for Facebook group success is to create a place that like minded people can come together. Here are a few group examples: for people who like to discuss pop culture, for people trying to get into a specific graduate program, for people who like to travel internationally on the cheap, for people who listen to a certain podcast, for people who shop at a particular store, for people who live in a particular neighborhood, for people who collect something, for moms with kids at a certain age, for people who work a particular kind of job, etc…
As you can see there are groups for anything and everything!
HOW DOES IT WORK?
If you are looking to start a Facebook group, start by… creating one!
Go on to Facebook from your computer (I don’t think it works as well on mobile if at all). Go to create and choose Group.
Next, you will name your group, invite people, choose the level of privacy and create! Once the group is created you will be able to set up the nitty gritty such as the questions people need to answer in order to gain access, and invite more people not via email.
Some ideas to help grow an engaging group:
Share the news! Tell people who you think would fall into your target audience about your awesome new group. Post about it on your Facebook page, you Instagram stories, include in your email signature, share it in your weekly newsletter, heck make a sign for near your cash register! Just get the word out!
Have weekly prompts that will encourage conversation. Make sure these prompts are related to your group so the dignity of the group is held. For example, if you have a group for people who shop at a local boutique, a prompt could be…. What’s your favorite fall trend? What is the best item you scored from your boutique? What their favorite item of clothing in their closet?
Host the occasional giveaway! Running with the example of a boutique, have people comment on a post and invite a friend to be entered for a giveaway!
What is your favorite Facebook group that you are in? Did this post inspire you to create a Facebook page, let me know, I’d love to join :)