Do I Need a Facebook Group
By Siân Morgan-Owen, The Admin Genie UK
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links for which I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase. I only recommend products I love.
Do I need a Facebook group?
Short answer is…depends on what you want to achieve.
But what’s the blimming difference between a Group and a Page?
A Facebook Page is a basically a profile page for a business. If you think of your Facebook business page as a noticeboard, or a shop window or even a free advertisement newspaper. This is where people can see what you do or have to offer. It’s where you can get your product or service message across.
A Facebook Group is more about building a community of people with the same common interest. A place where people can have discussions and ask questions, and you can position yourself as the expert in your field.
If your business page is the advertisement paper, then your group is the garden fence that people talk over. Or inside your shop where people can come in and talk about what’s in your window.
You want your group to be filled with people with the pain points you are aiming to fix.
What would I use a Group for?
You could have a Facebook group that forms part of your sales funnel, if you are planning on selling online memberships, courses etc. Your group becomes a pool of people that are interested in what you do and have to offer.
Or you could have a Facebook group that is part of your membership/course. So when they sign up they get access to a “members only” group. This is a great way to form an accountability group if you are doing ‘live’ group courses.
If I create a Group will it run itself?
If you want a group but think all you have to do is create it, pop in the odd post and people will engage and interact themselves…NOT A CHANCE!
If you think that you create a group and pop into the group once a week and schedule all the posts…NOT A CHANCE!
You will need to be present and show up DAILY, at least until it’s established.
PERSISTENT + CONSISTENT = ENGAGEMENT
You need to post daily, and probably weekends (dependant on who your Ideal Customer is), because peoples social media interaction times vary and you want to maximise your reach and engagement. It’s OK to schedule these posts however you MUST interact with the comments that are made and monitor it. If people think they can post what they want, when they want, they will. If that’s not what you want for your group then you will need to police it.
Facebook Group Tips
- Create a name that says what you do. I’ve learnt this personally with my own group Ladypreneurs Together and the name keeps changing and evolving as I pin down what my groups focus is. It’s still a working progress. So try and get yours right from the off.
- Change your web address URL When you first create a group the web address will be something like www.facebook.com/1234512345. You can customise this in your group settings.
- Make your group private and visible. Private – You want to build trust within your group so members know what they post is only visible to the people in the group creates a safe space. Visible – you want people to be able to find you in searches.
- Create a group banner that has your photo in it. That way you are telling people it’s your group, you are the expert in your group.
- Add joining questions (you’re currently allowed three). This is a great opportunity to ensure members will fit your group criteria by finding out their pain points. It’s also a good opportunity to capture their email addresses for your email list. Obviously they don’t have to give you their email address but if they don’t answer the other two questions then ask yourself ‘will they bother to engage if they can’t even fill in a couple of simple questions?’ Facebook will remind them for a couple of days to fill the questions in, you could also message them a reminder or you could just decline them. Also make sure you capture this information because once you accept them this info is gone forever. Screen shot it or pay for specialist software like ‘Group Leads.’
- Make all posts and comments as you and not your linked business page. That way when people comment and ‘you’ respond as ‘you’ people know (because your photo is in the banner also) that they are getting you and your expertise.
- Make sure you put a link to your group in your ‘personal’ profile and make sure this section of your personal profile is set to ‘public’.
- If people leave your group then don’t stress about it. They no longer have the same pain point and are therefore not your ideal customer.
- Welcome new members. It’s a great way for them to introduce themselves and for you to give an overview of group rules or specialist days.
Conclusion
If you want to build awareness and an audience then a Facebook Page will do. However, if you want to build a community then a Facebook Group is a better option. But be prepared to put in the time and effort to make it work for you. It’s not easy and very much a labour of love to start with.
If you’ve not yet joined my Facebook group Ladypreneurs Together – Digitally Dazzling then please pop along and join us.
We’re an online community of women supporting each other to launch and grow our businesses.
Join us if you’re a female business owner, looking for support with visibility, standing out, growing your audience through social media, engagement, digital assets, lead/sales funnels and much more.
I can honestly say they are the most supportive and empowering group of women you’ve ever met.
