How To Work In Facebook Groups
There are presently many alternatives for publishing in a Facebook group, including the ability to schedule messages ahead of time.
To make a post, go to your group’s discussion tab and choose the “What’s on your mind” option.
You may then add text, pictures, videos, gifs, and tags to the post. At this moment, you may publish the content right away. You can also save it for later by clicking the little calendar icon next to the “Post” button.
When you click the calendar, you can choose the day and hour when you want the post to go live. This enables you to plan ahead of time while still guaranteeing that you never miss a peak posting period.
You may also schedule posts (and check material on the calendar) by going to the group’s navigation tab on the left side and selecting “Scheduled Posts.” You may generate new material and schedule when it will be published here.
You can also schedule posts to Facebook groups using third-party management tools to make things even simpler for busy social managers who are attempting to manage several networks. Hootsuite is my favorite platform for organic group-focused content.
This makes managing your content schedule across all social platforms, including your Facebook group, simpler. You can see an example of how this works here:
Here’s how to connect your Facebook group or page to your Hootsuite profile.
How to Use Facebook Groups for Business in a Variety of Ways
We’ve spoken about the benefits of Facebook groups for companies, but the benefits you see will be completely dependent on how you utilize the group and what function it’s intended to serve.
Let’s look at some of the most important ways companies may utilize groups to enhance their brand.
As a Customer Service Community,
Customer service is a significant difference between rivals right now, with 96 percent of customers worldwide citing customer service as an essential influencing element when deciding which businesses to buy from.
Using your organization to provide better service to consumers who become members is an excellent option. People may report problems that the support staff hasn’t been able to resolve yet, and they can also get help with concerns that aren’t related to technological malfunctions or product issues.
Advertisers, for example, may ask questions about ad strategy – from targeting to creative design and execution – in our AdEspresso University Facebook group to get the most out of their ad campaigns.
This is a fantastic value package that provides personalized assistance on a personal level – something that AdEspresso clients alone have access to.
As a venue for fans to interact with one another
Building a community entails more than simply improved one-on-one interactions between you and your consumers. It may also mean making it easier for your consumers to interact with one another! The more of a feeling of community your organization can offer, the more valuable it will become, and loyalty will grow across the board.
For example, my kickboxing studio is a community. We don’t simply come for the boxing and fitness. It’s a collection of individuals that are now rallying behind one another. And, believe it or not, you can utilize your groups to foster the same sense of inclusion and community.
Purple Carrot’s ensemble exemplifies this well. By encouraging members to post their meals and queries, the group has taken on a life of its own in a positive manner, and individuals are eager to weigh in to offer suggestions for vegan goods and culinary techniques. It has the sense of a genuine community.
As a Platform for Receiving Feedback
Receiving honest feedback from consumers who are engaged in your business enough to join your group is very important. All companies should seek honest consumer feedback to see where they can improve and what more your target audience may need.
You may utilize your group to solicit input on everything from how they feel about a product to what they would want to see from you in the future. There’s also the opportunity to inquire about what kind of material they’d want to see and if they’re satisfied with the current brand policies.
If you ask specific questions, you will get immediate, practical response.
As a Lead Conversion Incentive
You may have observed a recent trend in recent years in which companies provide access to an exclusive group (typically led by experts) for people who become consumers or members to particular programs or product bundles. Here’s when Facebook group marketing comes in handy. The company is marketed by the group, but the group may itself be marketed to attract new consumers.
As of now, Facebook does not enable you to sell membership to groups other than subscription groups (which only certain brands are eligible for, and which you can learn about here). You cannot put up a landing page on your website and charge $100 for group access alone. If they find out, they have the power to shut you down.
However, you may use the exclusive group as a benefit of being a client. That is completely OK. And by emphasizing the group’s advantages and the access they’ll have to a helpful, informed community as well as your own team, you’ll have a strong motivation to drive conversions.
As a Method of Recruiting Beta Testers, Brand Ambassadors, and Affiliates
When we launch a new product, a new feature of our SaaS, or even enter a new market, it’s helpful to get input from individuals who are acquainted with our brand. You may utilize your group to locate beta testers who are ready to give feedback, and you can be certain that they are an accurate representative of your target demographic.
You can also utilize groups to discover brand ambassadors to assist you promote your company via word-of-mouth marketing. So-called “raving fans” (rather than “happy customers”) are frequently eager to sing your praises from the rooftops, particularly if you’re prepared to include them in a case study or on social media, or if you’re willing to throw in some affiliate commissions.
6 Facebook Group Marketing Tips and Features
Are you interested in marketing on Facebook groups to promote your company and get all of the benefits? These six pointers will assist you in doing just that.
- Establish a clear code of conduct
It is beneficial for those who use Facebook groups for business or marketing to create group rules. These can be included in the description, but it’s a good idea to create up to ten formal rules using one of Facebook’s newest group features that enables you to really dictate regulations.
The group’s rules will then be put in the About part of your description, where they will be simple to read and notice. This can be located on the left navigation bar under the “Group Rules” area that only administrators have access to.
- Common policies of business-run Facebook groups include:
There will be no obvious self-promotion unless it has been approved by the administrators or moderators beforehand.
Terms of service such as “you only have access to this Facebook Group as long as you are a subscription member.”
Respect other members and don’t be rude or overly emotional (given the present political environment, I’ve heard several groups state “no-politics”).
Don’t share any information from this group, including screenshots or advice, outside of it.
Membership is only available if [enter criteria here].
- 3. Make Announcements to Keep Everyone Informed
Group administrators may make “announcements” that appear at the top of members’ feeds and are highlighted in their own unique tab. These may be used to communicate new group rules, major events in your company, and anything else that you want people to be aware of. These should not be used to replace all postings, but rather to increase the exposure of high-priority material.
- 4. Post Welcome Posts on a Regular Basis
This isn’t appropriate for all organizations, so you’ll have to determine whether it’s right for you. Socially-driven (as opposed to business-to-business) groups, on the other hand, may benefit from regular welcome postings in which new members are introduced to the group and asked to contribute something about themselves.
This is a fantastic approach to get new members to put their toes in the water and begin to create that feeling of community.
- Participate Consistently
You wish to interact with group members on a regular basis. This is critical because if you are not, people will soon lose interest. Answer their questions, even if others have already addressed them. Like posts and comment on them.
That being said, depending on the group you’re running, you don’t need to be too present since you want to allow people space to form connections with one another.
A decent rule of thumb is to be highly engaged if individuals are joining for access to professional views (such as from an ad expert, a financial adviser, or a nutritionist). You don’t have to engage with every post if it’s a group maintained by a dog trainer for individuals to set up playdates and discuss their favorite toys.
- 6. Make Use of Moderation Features to Your Advantage
Group moderation features will be your greatest friend, particularly as your group increases in size. Alerts for keywords and moderation, in particular, may be helpful.
Some postings will be more urgent than others. One that references “downtime” for a SaaS brand should be reported straight away, since it may indicate a problem your staff isn’t even aware of. We also highly advise you to mark any contentious terms, as well as those connected with disinformation or disputes (including, obviously, hate speech). This may help you get ahead of a heated debate and stop it before it starts.
Final Thoughts
Facebook live videos are very popular and get a lot of attention. They let your members to connect with you directly and ask questions that you can respond to in real time. It’s great for creating community and relationships inside Facebook groups.
For the greatest outcomes, publicize your live event ahead of time and encourage people to submit quests.
