Tips to Use Facebook Groups for Marketing Your Business

1. Tips to Use Facebook Groups Facebook Groups for Marketing Your Business Facebook group marketing should be part of every smart marketer’s digital marketing strategy. Here are some tips to use FB groups for digital marketing. Do you know that a Facebook group can increase your organic reach? Recognizing the sheer relevance and impact of social media and utilizing them in your digital marketing efforts is a unique way for businesses to reach their potential customers in a new and engaging way. With over 2.5 billion users, Facebook continues to be one of the largest social media platforms essential for your marketing efforts. While many brands have set up their own pages and even run Facebook ads or boosted posts, not many have explored or even taken the time to comprehend the wealth of marketing opportunities available to them through Facebook Groups. In fact, about 1.4 billion people use Facebook groups with a total of over 10 million Facebook Groups in existence (as of 2019) – therefore it is highly likely that your buyer persona is engaging in a group. How Can Facebook Groups Help Your Marketing Strategies? Facebook Group marketing is going to grow in 2020 and beyond. For starters, FB engagement is increasing despite rumblings about the platform’s frequently changing algorithm. According to recent data from the Sprout Social Index, about 40 percent of marketers view private communities as a top social trend to prioritize in 2020. Facebook group marketing should be part of every smart marketer’s digital marketing strategy. Although organic reach might be on the downturn for most businesses, Groups are a brilliant way to reach customers without being confined by the platform’s algorithm. They offset Facebook’s recent algorithm changes by helping to generate engagement and increase organic reach. They can foster a stronger sense of community around your brand and increase customer satisfaction and sales with word-of-mouth recommendations. Benefits of Creating FB Groups Facebook groups have become an integral part of every marketer’s digital marketing strategy. Participating constructively in other group’s conversations by posting relevant comments and insightful remarks can bring in amazing engagement. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of creating a group on Facebook – •Facebook algorithm favors groups – By creating a group, you can make the FB algorithm work for you and get higher visibility on your posts. For instance, if your group members

2. interact with your content (likes, shares, comments, posts, or tags) on a regular basis, Facebook will consider you at par with friends/family. The platform will prioritize your content while deciding on the feed display sequence. Consequently, your posts will be displayed higher up in your members’ feeds. When compared to paid FB ads, group marketing costs less and gives considerable (if not better) returns. •Groups provide a direct line to your audience –According to data from the Sprout Social Index, nearly half of consumers join private communities so they can engage with brands directly. For instance, if someone joins your group, they are interested in your content. In a sense, Group members have the potential to be your most loyal customers. •Group members are qualified prospects –Facebook groups can be your direct path to reach out to potential customers. Generally, people opt to join groups with which they have an affinity. They are receptive to the content and ready to engage. However, with a bit of nurturing, brands can convert them into royal customers. This kind of targeted marketing can generate high return on investment. •Groups strengthen brand-customer relationships - Facebook group marketing allows you to connect with your customers on a more direct and personal level. Via groups, brands can serve customers promptly by answering their queries, gathering feedback, and providing after-sales service. By monitoring conversations going on in your member communities, you can identify main points and challenges that your customers normally face. This could enable you to come up with on-point content that will delight customers. Building FB groups to Get Maximum Results – Tips How do you ensure that you are making the most out of your Group to engage with your audience? No marketing effort will bear fruitful results if it is not governed by a proper strategy. Whether you are starting a new community from scratch or managing a community on behalf of a client, here listed are some best practices and hacks that you can emulate while starting your group – •Set some clear and basic rules –One of the most important parts of creating a Facebook group is establishing rules in a clear and crystal way. Establishing basic rules will prevent your group from attracting irrelevant leads or be a centre for pointless, spammy posts. To facilitate high-quality dialogue, it is important to clearly convey your expectations to members via rules. Rules can help prevent member conflicts and general disorganization. For starters, ask yourself - what are your goals, what do you expect members to post and what are your guidelines for members to interact. Detailed rules go hand in hand with meaningful, high-quality conversations. This also cuts down on general questions as you can

3. point members to your established rules. Encourage members to read others’ posts or comments to see if their questions have been previously answered. Facebook allows up to 10 group rules. Here are some FB suggestions for group rules – ✓Encourage positive comments, feedback and conversations ✓Take a firm stance on bullying and hate speech ✓Respect the privacy of fellow members ✓Report inappropriate behavior promptly ✓Outlaw spam and irrelevant links ✓No purely promotional posts ✓No link dropping unless a post categorically asks for it ✓Interact positively with your community •Prioritize discussions on a daily basis– The more you can make your group members interact, the better. This not only encourages more activity from your group itself, but also increases the likelihood that your posts will appear in your members’ feeds. Sticking to a consistent content calendar requires strong commitment from the part of admins and members. Coming up with themed discussions on a weekly or monthly basis will give more results. For instance, many Groups post a “Motivation Monday” thread or a weekly post where members are encouraged to share content or stories. This gives your visitors something to look forward to while also sticking to a consistent content calendar. •Opt for a Private Group – Private groups are normally created by businesses. With public groups, one of the major problems is that posts and members are open for scrutiny by the public. Private groups, on the other hand allow only members to access the content. Aspiring members are required to fill out a form and admins scrutinize their answers before allowing them in. By maintaining privacy, you can keep the discussions focused thereby preventing miscreants or trollers at bay. Members also value the sanctity of the group. Only group admins can change a group’s privacy, and they can only do so once every 28 days. However, groups with more than 5,000 members cannot change their privacy from private to public. •Make your FB Group know that you are listening - Keep a close eye on your FB group notifications and replies (especially in discussion-related posts that you created yourself). The group members will more than likely be glad to carry on the conversation, but replying shows that you are actively listening to what they have to say. This is especially important if they have tagged you for a reply.

4. •Avoid link-dropping and direct selling – No person joins a group to be spammed with links and sales messages. Beyond discouraging both in your Group rules, make sure to provide context to any sort of link or sales message that you post yourself. For instance, if you are promoting a blog post or product in your group, try to explain the context why you are posting the link or promotional message. •Optimize your group content for maximum engagement - To grab maximum eyeballs, you should post during optimal times. Research proves that the best times to post on Facebook are during weekday mornings and afternoons. You can use social listening tools to gauge the times your members are most active. Make sure that your group info is complete and up-to- date. Try to include relevant keywords that your potential audience might be using when searching for your group. Your group description should include benefits, have a prominent call-to-action and your cover picture should be captivating. Covering these basics would make your group more enticing and discoverable to prospective members. •Experiment with interesting content formats - In order to keep your content from getting stale and stagnant, experiment with different content formats. You can get great content ideas by using social media management tools or by doing a basic Google search. Contests and giveaways are great ways to spur activity in groups. Therefore, consider posting user- generated content (asking members to upload photos or video), FB live and native FB video, FB live Q& A sessions, interactive content (polls), images (gifs, memes and info graphics) and podcasts. Collaborate with some influential group members to share their trade secrets and answer member queries. This way you can widen your reach and also get engagement.

5. •Keep the spotlight on members – One of the top golden rules to remember in FB group marketing is to get your members talking. The more excitedly your members post in your group, the better your group will look to the Facebook engine. Welcome new group members and encourage them to introduce themselves and actively take part in the group discussions by acknowledging their achievements and contributions. Tag members in relevant threads and encourage healthy discussions in the community. Be an active listener and try to pick up valuable points from the discussions to promote your content or product. •Make sure your admins are up to the task–It is important to check whether the group admins appointed are up to the task. Admins should be capable enough to respond to the questions from members as swiftly as possible. •Promote your group beyond FB –Do not expect followers to flood your Facebook Group unprompted. You won’t get traction from day one. Be ready to promote it in your newsletters, email signatures, other social media channel accounts, and websites. If you have a mailing list, email newsletter, send a mail announcing the launch of your new group. Make it easy for people to join the group by providing a CTA in the email. Have a button on your website that takes people directly to the membership form. Facebook groups provide a great platform for businesses to nurture communities and engage their customers one-on-one. Businesses are using FB groups to generate sales, gather qualified leads and foster customer relationships. They are a brilliant way to beat the Facebook algorithm. As private communities continue to grow in 2020 and beyond, mastering the above-mentioned FB group marketing tips can help maximize your community engagement. If done tactically, FB group marketing can deliver great returns. The best trick is to understand your audience, their individual needs and expectations. Opting for social media optimization services from a reliable expert can help strategize the right plan and techniques to increase the visibility, traffic and exposure of your business website on social media platforms. (800) 941-5527 www.medresponsive.com