As most businesses focus on how to increase their fan base, buy Facebook likes for their posts, and boost their ads, many ignore the power of Facebook groups. But there are some brands that do create Facebook groups because it allows them to get more personal with their fans or followers— and that becomes their advantage.
Unlike a Facebook page, a Facebook group offer a certain level of intimacy between the group members and the creator. This level of interaction can do wonders for brands who want to increase engagement with their followers in order to promote their brand name.
Creating Facebook groups are easy and definitely effective, but promoting them and getting people to join in is another story. Groups are different from like pages in a sense that group moderators control who join and who shouldn’t. Like pages, on the other hand, allow anyone to follow. While a Like page can bring in the numbers when you post or buy Facebook likes, groups bring in the loyal followers that appreciate the content. This is why it’s a bit harder to drive traffic to groups. But if you successfully increase the numbers in your group, you have more chances of bringing your brand to the mainstream.
The big question is HOW?
Start With a Catchy Name
How do you spread the word that your brand has a group? Why, you start with the name of course. When you create the name of your group, you need to make sure the name already tells your followers its purpose so that there’s no way they would think it’s just a spam. Also, make the name catchy, so people will remember it.
Decorate the Group
Once the name has already attracted people’s attention, you need to give them something worth their interest. First, make sure you’ve got a really nice profile pic. Put the brand name in the profile pic so that you can provide some retention for the fans. Second, you need to put a nice cover photo. Since the cover photo is the first thing that fans will see, you have to make it count.
Start With Friends, Family and Existing Loyal Followers
If you want to spread the word, then start with your close network. Start with your friends, family members, colleagues, and acquaintances. Ask them to also share the group and bring in a few members. If you have a Facebook Like page with a number of loyal fans, you can ask these fans to join your group immediately. As they have already developed a rapport with the brand, they’ll definitely join.
The first few members are crucial because the number of members will determine the first impression of the group to the public. This is why you have to get as many numbers as you can as early as possible. Later on, when you have the numbers, you can start segmenting your audience. This is discussed in the next section below.
Segment Your Audience
One thing that you have to remember about Facebook groups is that the target market of the group may be slightly different as compared to your Facebook page. So, if you’re promoting both, remember that not all of your followers on your Like page will be in your group. In order to segment your audience, determine the purpose of your group. The purpose will determine how you promote the group. The marketing strategy of the group will drive in the right crowd.
If you have just created your group, now is the time to aggressively promote your Like page so that you have more candidates who can join in. Post as much appealing content as you can on your Like page, boost your posts, buy Facebook likes for your page, and buy Facebook likes for your posts to attract other users to follow you and join your group eventually.
Create Appealing Content
Content is the main component of your Facebook group that’s going to keep your fans. You have to create contents or posts that you know your group members will love. Explore some viral stuff as well such as memes. Memes have always been a trend on Facebook, and they’re not dying any time soon. You may also check out viral videos that can potentially grab attention. Just make sure your content is relevant to your group so that you can still stick to your group’s vision.
Other than engaging posts, you may also share promotional posts. If they aren’t getting enough traction, you may buy Facebook likes first so that your posts will look popular and attract more organic likes and reactions.
Engage with Promotions and Such
Make sure that the members interact with the group. The best way is to have promos and contests that can grab the attention of people. For example, if you are a tech brand that sells mobile accessories, you can have a contest and give away a free power bank or other prizes to those who win in the e-raffle. You may also offer cash prizes in your contests as well.
Other than contests, you may also run Facebook promos wherein the first few group members who like the post can get free products. Promos like this can immediately get a lot of traction because people like free stuff.
However, if you see that the promo isn’t getting the traction that you want, then try to buy Facebook likes for your promo post, so you can push the other members to start liking and bring in the hype about the promo or contest. However, don’t buy Facebook likes too often for promos like these; otherwise, people will be discouraged to participate as they think they won’t have a chance to win the free products anymore.
Conclusion
When you manage a group, the key to success is consistency. You must always engage with your group members on a daily basis since you want to develop a deeper rapport with them. Hopefully, your group will get larger by the day, and you’ll realize that you have influenced a lot of fans with your group’s content and posts. When this happens, you’ll be able to further promote the name of your brand and become a brand leader in the world of social media.