{"id":33872,"date":"2020-10-09T12:31:24","date_gmt":"2020-10-09T11:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clickintelligence.co\/?p=33872"},"modified":"2023-03-01T11:14:01","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T11:14:01","slug":"beginners-guide-to-growing-a-facebook-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-uk.clickintelligence.com\/us\/beginners-guide-to-growing-a-facebook-group\/","title":{"rendered":"Beginners Guide to Growing a Facebook Group"},"content":{"rendered":"

Announcement<\/strong>: Facebook marketing is dead.<\/p>\n

No, not really!<\/p>\n

It can seem that way though, and with Facebook\u2019s continued efforts to remove business pages from users\u2019 timelines and feeds, how on earth can you market on Facebook without spending a fortune on advertising?<\/p>\n

The answer is, in groups. Keep reading to find out how to make a Facebook group successful.<\/p>\n

The Secret Sauce<\/h2>\n

Facebook groups have taken a bit of a hit over the years. At first, they were a fun ironic community with names such as \u201cPeople Who Like Hot Sauce\u201d. People would join, and very quickly, the community would die out.<\/p>\n

After a few years, groups seemed to be dying, then that very famous algorithm update of 2018 hit, and suddenly pages traffic took a nosedive, much to the dismay of many small businesses.<\/p>\n

Now what? In 2020 and beyond, groups have seen a bit of a resurgence, and that\u2019s because Facebook has taken group privacy and spam control seriously (finally!).<\/p>\n

Users will happily join all kinds of groups to suit their interests \u2014 whether it\u2019s Bushcrafting in Idaho or the British Manchester Terrier Fan Club, Tent Camping in The US, or the Handmaids Tale Spoilers Group \u2014 there are groups for literally every activity and interest you can imagine!<\/p>\n

Why Should Businesses Use Facebook Groups?<\/h2>\n

So, why are groups important to business and how is it possible to create a successful Facebook group? Facebook groups have a unique appeal to businesses: you will ALWAYS have a target market to sell to.<\/p>\n

Think about it: if you love canning food, you\u2019re likely to join a few food canning groups, preserving groups, homesteading groups, etc. This way you can find out all about canning food from the group members, get a few recipes, tips, as well as share in the success of your food canning efforts and other people\u2019s food canning efforts.<\/p>\n

This is great because it builds a sense of community and it means that people can share freely on a topic that interests them without bombarding the rest of their friends with content that wouldn\u2019t be of interest. So, if you\u2019re wondering how to have a successful Facebook group, creating a community can go a long way.<\/p>\n

For businesses, this presents a unique opportunity to market to a really interested, ready-to-convert niche audience of leads. So, why don\u2019t all businesses have a Facebook group and sell to them?<\/p>\n

The answer is that it\u2019s not that easy, and more importantly, your audience doesn\u2019t want you selling to them all the time. Your core goal may be to swell your group of food canners all the jars, lids, papers, stickers, and recipe books you can, but if that\u2019s all your group is doing, then it will fail.<\/p>\n

In short: you need to build a community for your users.<\/p>\n

How To Build a Facebook Group<\/h2>\n

Running a successful Facebook group is about more than just posting content. We\u2019ve seen a few groups set up by businesses that post once a day religiously but without any engagement at all, and this isn\u2019t helping anyone.<\/p>\n

The main thing to remember is that successful Facebook groups are not set up to sell! This seems counter intuitive but think about your sales funnel: Awareness -> Interest -> Decision -> Action. Your Facebook group should aim to help your user with awareness and interest and naturally promote decision and action.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take Food Photography as an example.<\/p>\n

Your business page, \u2018Incredible Ingestion Food Photography\u2019, sets up a group called \u201cIncredible Ingestion: Food Photography Lovers\u201d. This appeals to many people because it\u2019s a group about food photography. You can promote it as somewhere to learn, somewhere to improve your food photography, and somewhere to share your success with other like-minded people. Being more generic and learning based in your group name is the best way to attract members to your Facebook group.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t sound much like selling, does it?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the kicker: You have a second group: Incredible Ingestion Food Photography Academy. This is an invite-only group where you will sell your online course, your in-person workshop, coaching, and all other things that you do relating to teaching food photography.<\/p>\n

How To Advertise Your Facebook Group<\/h2>\n

At this point, you may be wondering can you promote Facebook groups? O, can Facebook groups run ads? The answer is yes. \u00a0Advertising your Facebook group<\/a> can be done in a number of ways. You may choose to run Facebook ads<\/a> to grow your group, you may decide to mention it on your own business page and run ads from there, or you may use other methods both online and in person.<\/p>\n

Need a quick answer for \u2018how to get people to join your Facebook group\u2019? The points below may help.<\/p>\n