Every Facebook group needs amazing engagement in order to really grow and thrive. We’re going to show you exactly how to increase Facebook Group engagement that really helps it grow organically without you really having to do anything!
1. Identify the Members Who Help Manage Your Facebook Group
You’re just one person, so trying to be all the things in your own group isn’t a good way to help it grow. There are different members within your group that want to assume these really great roles. You should let them help you in order to increase engagement. Here are the three kinds of roles that your members will start to take on.
Protectors
First, you’ve got your protectors. These are the members that really wanna make sure that your group stays a safe space, the kind of space that they’ve grown to know and love. This means that they are going to flag and notify you of any content that they don’t believe really falls in line with the culture of your group. This is a great person to have. You naturally have somebody going in and making sure that your group stays awesome.
Validators
Number two is the validator. They are the ones that let everybody know how awesome they are. They are continually telling you that you can do it. They are the motivators and the inspirers. They are the “cry on my shoulder” kind of people. The more of those people you have in your group the more people will be coming back for more!
Connectors
Third is our connectors. Connectors love to tag other members. This means anytime they see a job opportunity, a connection, a collaboration, any possible way for them to drop somebody’s name, they’re going to do it. This creates this feeling, this community and this ecosystem that has all of your members feeling like they’re in it together.
It’s really important to reward your active members, the connectors, validators and protectors. Reach out to them personally and tell them how much you value their contribution into your group. When you show them that their part in helping to build an engaged community is really important to you, then those members will not only stay and continue to do the really important work they’re doing for you. They will be loyal to the end.
2. Establish Boundaries
Now, the only way for your members to really know what part they play in your community and how they should engage is to set good boundaries. The easiest way to establish boundaries is to set up rules within your Facebook group. Now it’s important not to think of these rules as a form of punishment or restriction. Think of them as a way of training and nurturing your group members. When you go and set rules it allows your members to know exactly how to engage.
One of the biggest mistakes that we see is turning on post approval. This means that the admins have to do all the work to review and approve every post that comes into the group. This doesn’t help your audience really learn how to engage. What’s better is to allow everybody to post exactly when they want to and to then use your rules to guide them and teach them what works and what doesn’t within your group.
3. Encourage Post Mirroring
As the leader in your Facebook group, it’s really important that you show your members how they should post. We call this post mirroring. Now a lot of your content is going to be branded, such as your promo content and flash sales. But there is a portion of what you post that should be unbranded. This is the content that your members are going to see and start to mimic. The easiest way is to post questions. Questions are massively engaging, and here are a few kinds of questions that you can ask to get the ball rolling.
Ask for Decision Support
The first one is decision support questions. What are you dealing with right now where you wish that your audience would help you get an answer? Whether it’s the cover of your podcast, whether it’s the name of your next opt-in, or whether it’s the colour of the couch that you are about to buy, your audience wants to provide their thoughts. Let them help you make decisions. This will reinforce that they can ask questions and get support from the group as well.
Ask for Opinions
Next, you can ask for your members’ opinions. What podcasts are they listening to? What is their favourite book that they’re reading? No matter what it is in their life or their business, depending on the topic of your group, you should ask them what they’re doing and what they think. As you’re asking opinion questions your members will then get permission to ask those same kinds of questions of things they’re curious about and want the group to engage with.
Tap Into the Group’s Collective Wisdom
Another great set of questions is to really tap into the wisdom of your Facebook group. You’re gonna have a ton of members that have a vast amount of experience in a lot of different areas of life. If you are trying to figure out how to potty train your child, how to start a new business, how to create a Facebook page, the best way is to ask for members who’ve already gone through that experience and have some wisdom to share. This is a great way for your members to engage and feel valued within your group.
Here’s a pro tip. Don’t do daily or weekly prompts in your group from the beginning. First, create engagement with these really easy, engaging questions and then ask your group what kinds of prompts they’d want. When you allow your group to be a part of how the group is actually built, engagement starts to flourish. And setting really great boundaries and rules within your group not only help it run smoothly, but actually really help it grow.
Now, in order to know what kinds of rules to set and how to leverage Facebook’s awesome Admin Assist to help you run your group, make sure to stay tuned for our next post in the Facebook for Business series!
