Facebook groups are the perfect community-building platform for like-minded individuals. Corporations, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and solopreneurs – all come to Facebook with the hopes of growing their community. The benefits of incorporating content marketing and engagement in this platform are outstanding since the platform attracts a vast crowd.
Facebook is more than your typical social media application. The platform is well known for their community-based groups, which many do not even know about, let alone consider as a marketing tool. The goal of these groups is to keep conversations focused on a particular topic of interest. They are a place where people can come together to collaborate, learn, and teach others. There are many groups available for you to join and while most are open to the public others are for closed for private members. Start by looking under the Explore tab on Facebook than scroll down to the Groups section. Search groups that are near your location, business type, trending, or technology related.
When you listen to the community members within each of these groups, you will notice they are an excellent source to generate some pretty fantastic content ideas. Before you join any groups, we will give you some helpful tips on choosing which Facebook group is the right one for you and your business.
Joining The Right Groups
We know it’s easy to join many groups because there are so many to choose from; however, we recommend starting with 2-3 groups that fall into your area of expertise. You may find yourself feeling overwhelmed when joining too many groups. The members of these groups are there to learn. Be polite and helpful without trying to make a sale. So how do you find the perfect group?
Groups Within Your Niche
It’s essential to have a well-defined niche or buyer persona when searching for groups. A niche group will ensure you discover the needs of your target audience; this will help you understand who will enjoy the services and products your business offers. Write down your client’s demographics. These should include gender, age, location, salary, and marital status. Add any other descriptive characteristics you may feel are relevant to include. Once you have defined your list, you can search for any Facebook groups that fall under that umbrella.
Remember, Facebook has unique search engine capabilities and the popularity of the platform helps millions of businesses get found. So, start by typing your niche market name into the search bar within the Facebook app. There will be a few categories such as top suggestions, local groups, and more suggestions. Facebook suggests groups you might like to join, based on previous pages you’ve liked, groups your friends are members of, similar groups you are a member of, and groups that are near you.
Groups Your Audience is In
When viewing the list of groups, you can get a feel for how active a group based on how many users are in the group. Click on the group name, and you will see a summary in the “about this group section.” This area describes what you can expect to read, hear, and learn in the group and it’s often a great place to start to get a gist and feel for the group’s dynamics. Before you join take a look at the members of the group by clicking on their profile pages, then assess their demographics and once you have a solid foundation of knowing who you are talking to then go ahead and join.
As you scroll down, you’ll see a set of rules, often written by group admins. These are very important to follow because when you have a large group of people joining in on a conversation, it’s easy to get off topic. Once you have joined introduce yourself by giving a summary of your business, who is in your niche market, what solutions to problems your business solves (this is key!) and include a link to your website (if allowed). The purpose of joining these groups is to engage daily to get a feel for the types of content and questions group members are asking.
Track Group Content
Not all groups have the same amount of engagement. Many are very active it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the number of posts coming through every day. On the flip side, other groups have not gained any attraction, which makes content gathering very difficult. Tracking posted content will help your understanding of the culture within each group; so when it’s your turn to ask questions or post content you know precisely how to do so in a way that will generate the best content up front.
Paying Attention to Questions Asked
Upon joining a new group, it would be beneficial for you to listen to the conversations taking place. An engaging group open dialogue and conversation promotes strong engagement – and these are the groups you want to spend the most time in. Scrolling through posts and comments will help you gather a range of information to a target your audience. Taking part in discussions and answering questions, will help you to build your expertise, in turn, this will draw Facebook users to your brand and will grow your network.
Start by searching within the group for keywords or hashtags that are relevant to your niche. You will find questions that may need your expertise and the solutions that your business offers. Without throwing in your sales pitch, help others by answering their questions. If the group rules allow for sharing business links, attach a link to a blog post you may have already written. If it is not permitted to promote outside material then kindly share your link via direct message.
Asking the Right Questions
Wording your questions the right way to encourage engagement can be tricky, but it is doable. There is an art to researching and asking the right questions. The goal here is to get feedback to generate the content necessary for users both in the group and outside of the group to help drive your inbound marketing objectives.
You can ask questions that are very general that will offer many ideas you can expand on, or you get very specific. Start with something like, “What is your biggest struggle you face when…? What would you like to accomplish in the next 90 days?” Take a look at the comments on many posts; you’ll often find hidden questions that someone may be afraid to come right out and ask. Most of the work has already been done for you; it is up to you to utilize this for your benefit. Use this content to build your editorial calendar and schedule your posts accordingly.
Conclusion
Everyone develops writer’s block at some point or runs out of ideas for content to share with their audience. What you must realize is that Facebook has a following of individuals who are eager to learn and offer their expertise and in turn help you do the same via valuable content. If you allow the platform to work for you, it will! Forget organic reach, and all of the algorithm changes; Facebook is a great tool and platform, and you should utilize it often.
Using Facebook groups to generate content is one of those best-kept industry secrets, and it is time that you join the content creation glory. Ultimately, the bonus of using Facebook groups means your content is validated, and there is a demand for it. The key to developing must-read content is knowing where your audience is hanging out. Building relationships with them outside of Facebook will then will prove you can provide value; which is a win-win for all!