So, how can I leverage a Facebook Group for my business? We’re glad you asked. We’re gonna show you things that you need to consider to set up your Facebook Group. Help you determine what kind of Group you should create, and give you the best chance at success.
Chances are, if you’re reading this, you want to know how your Facebook Group can help build a community, how it can reach new customers, how you can help connect with your audience, and get new, and develop new ideas. Just to name a few. But setting up the Group can be a little complicated. We’ll be walking you through step-by-step, so you know exactly what to do. Be sure to stick around until the end, because we’re also gonna be sharing a tip about the biggest mistakes people make!
Facebook Groups vs. Facebook Pages
So you might be trying to kind of figure out the difference between the Pages and the Groups. And there’s a couple of things that you really need to understand. First, it’s that the Pages actually show you what you need to do. And a Group shows you how to do it all. So keep that in mind. A lot of people wonder what kinda content to post on it, and is it an exact mini-me of my Page? And the answer is no. Have you ever thought about having a barbecue in your front yard? Or getting in your bathing suit and going sunbathing in your front yard? Of course not! That would be really weird, right?
Your Page is like your front yard, that means that your Page is your message to the world. It’s not really where people actually engage and hangout. It’s where the solar panel salesman comes and knocks on your door and says, “Hi, would you like to buy solar panels?” It’s not really where you have a lot of interaction with people.
But your backyard is where the party’s at. The backyard is where you have a gate, where you actually accept people in there, much like when you approve people into a Group. Your backyard is also where you want your people to start talking to each other, to engage with each other. They’re not in the backyard to sit there like a seminar and watch you. They’re there to interact and have fun with people and it is your job as the organizer, to make sure that the drinks are flowing and the games are happening, and the music and the Wi-fi is still going on. You are the party planner. Your backyard is your Group.
Facebook Group Types
Okay now, there’s a bunch of different types of Groups that you can actually have. I’m gonna show you the three major ones that you can pick from, and the one that I would pick from.
So, the first one is public and visible. And that basically means that everybody can see the Group. They can see inside of it. They can see what you’re posting, and it comes up on the search engine.
The second one is private and visible. Private and visible means that nobody can actually read inside of the group, but that it is still public so people can search and they can find the Group.
Now, the last one is private and hidden. That means no matter what kind of detective you are, you’re not gonna find the Group. So, it’s kind of like if you have a group that you wanna invite a bunch of people into first, and then put it on lockdown so no one can see it, that’s kind of the way you wanna do it. But if you’re still trying to get people into your Group you definitely do not want that third option.
Personally, we like option two, because there’s no point in having a public group where everybody can actually read what’s going on. There’d be no point in joining it!
The Purpose of Your Facebook Group
So now that you’ve decided what kinda Group you’re gonna set it up to be, we want you to consider why do you have this Group? How is this helping your business? You want to have strategy when it comes to Groups so that you’re not just spinning your wheels for nothing. At the end of the day, it all has to lead back to revenue.
Now, revenue comes in a lot of different ways. And I always like to think about where in the funnel is their Group gonna appear? Is it gonna be top of the funnel where we’re catching a whole bunch of people, no matter who they are, just to kinda get them into our community. Is it gonna be the middle of the funnel, where we start really niching down our community to their likes, their needs, their wants, their educational level maybe. Or at the very bottom, where it’s kind of a by-product of something that you actually get once you purchase something from your company?
Knowing what part of the funnel, and having that idea in your head, is gonna drastically help you understand what your strategy, what your content, what your Group settings and culture and feeling is gonna be like.
Facebook Group Rules
Now, once we find out if it’s public or hidden, and then what part of the funnel it is, we need to make rules. When it comes to rules, Facebook Groups are some place where a lot of the time it takes off and people get excited. And they kinda need those boundaries to know what’s on-limits and what’s off-limits. The good thing about this, is that Facebook has actually helped us with this and they actually suggest some rules, like “be kind and courteous,” or you can create your own rules if you’d like. But you’re gonna wanna pay very close attention to the rules that you establish. Because there will be a time where you’re gonna have to recall on those rules to help moderate the Group. Another really cool feature that Facebook does for you, is if someone violates those community rules, you can actually select which one and it will send them a notice citing the actual one.
Facebook Cover Images
Cinderella can’t go to the ball without a gown. And you should not start a Facebook Group without an awesome cover. The Facebook cover is something that people forget about. They set it and then they never do anything with it again. Remember that your Facebook cover is the one thing that everyone’s gonna see on mobile and on desktop. It is one of the most important pieces of real estate for your Facebook Group. So stay up to date with it. If you have an event coming up, if you have a guest coming on, if you have a theme of the month – you’re gonna want to update that cover. It draws attention, and every single time that you update that cover, you bet your bottom dollar your Facebook Group numbers are getting a notification about it.
Building Facebook Group Membership
Now, you might be wondering, “How do I get those people that are actually on my Page into my group?” So there’s a lot of different ways that I think we kind of forget about, that we have access to. And I’m gonna run you through a quick couple of them.
Link to Your Group Wherever You Can
The first one, anywhere you have that Facebook logo, go ahead and make that link to your Facebook group. If that’s really where you wanna get people to go to. Forget linking ’em to your Page, where only 2 to 4% are gonna actually see what you post. Get them in the backyard where the party’s going! You wanna go ahead and take all of those Facebook icons and make them go directly to the Group to approve or to join your Group. And that would be a top of the funnel kinda Group, the one that just collects everybody.
Send Out An Email
Another way that you can do this is send out an email to all of your subscribers, maybe your email list, all of your fans, your followers, and say “Hey, we’re starting this Facebook Group” or “We have this Facebook Group and here are three reasons on why you should join our Group.”
Add a Note on Your Facebook Page Header
Another major piece of real estate I wanna make sure that you don’t forget, is your actual cover photo or video of your Page. Don’t be afraid to put a little arrow down to “Visit Group”, that little blue button that we see on the front page of our Page.
Your Page and Your Group are Not the Same
Now we really wanna talk about this big mistake that we hope none of you are doing, but some of you might be doing it. Your Facebook Group is not your Page. It’s not even a mini Page. And while it’s okay to share some stuff from your Page into your Group, you really, really wanna make sure that your Group is where the exclusive information is at. Think of it as the “why and how to do things”, where your Page is the “what to do”. People might get excited, like “Oh I could do this!” And then they might go, “But how do I do that? Oh, I should join the Group.” And that’s where the real magic happens. So don’t give it all away on your Page, and don’t take all of your Page and put it into your Group because they’re two different audiences and there’s two different ways to communicate and what to communicate with them.
So, everything we just told you is gonna get your group up and running, but now what? Click here on how to cultivate a Group and get lots of engagement!
