During the 2020 annual Communities Summit Facebook revealed 1.8 billion people participate in Facebook Groups every month. This stunningly unprecedented number constitutes over half of Facebook’s monthly users. Since Facebook Groups are reporting higher engagement rates than Facebook Pages, Groups are considered the new gold mine for social media marketing. Including Facebook Groups in a social media marketing strategy is extremely beneficial. But marketers must be creative and tactful in exactly how they are integrated. Facebook Groups are a place where like-minded people come together to be a part of a meaningful community and discuss common interests. This provides businesses and brands with an opportunity to use this significant tool to increase their reach and gain invaluable customer insight. Below are 5 ways to leverage Facebook Groups.
Showcase Customer Appreciation
Whether you are a small business or a national brand, the reason you create a Facebook Group is to engage with your customers. Making them feel exceptional and appreciated is an important strategic move when trying to gain their trust. Gaining trust, developing brand advocates and getting honest feedback should be the focus of your Facebook Group.
Small Business: Create a 10% off discount code for Facebook Group members, soft-launch new products or services, create feel-good appreciation posts
Brand: Repost UGC (user generated content) from Facebook Group members, encourage constructive product feedback, provide timely responses and recognize members for constructive interaction/participation
Promote Specific Content
Since Facebook Groups are member-centric, content should be a blend of their collective interests and include your business or brand offerings. Group success is determined by the type of discussions and the engagement it receives from members. In order to keep member engagement high, their preferences should be the center of what is published. This is why you have to keep an eye on content with the highest and lowest engagement rate and create content plans accordingly. Your content should always have variety and avoid redundancy. It is also important to not hard-sell to members but rather creatively inform them about new products or services.
Small Business: Provide a tip on how to make better use of your software
Brand: Create a behind-the-scenes video to share in the Facebook Group about new product development
Discuss Industry Trends and Current Events
In order to keep Facebook Group members engaged, content should not always be about your business or brand. Content should be diverse. News and the latest happenings that are specifically related to your industry should be discussed in the group to evoke conversations. The goal of sharing diverse content is to strengthen the bond between your business/brand and members while positioning your organization as a trusted-source.
Small Business: Create a list of reputable news outlets or personalities and share their content in the Facebook Group
Brand: Generate content (articles, videos, infographic) that can be shared in the Facebook Group that discusses industry trends
Provide Value for Your Customers
The main reason you created a Facebook Group is probably because your customers already engage or have expressed interest in online discussions about your business or brand. Members’ opinions are enormously important. First off, these opinions enable you to improve products by finding issues that sometimes you cannot observe and rectify on your own. It is possible these issues are subtle, but you need to prioritize a solution because it is a concern to your customers. These discussions make your members feel heard which establishes a connection and grows trust between your organization and customers.
Small Business: Periodically create surveys or ask general questions to members about your services
Brand: Ask members to participate in a focus group or beta test new products
More Authentic Conversations and Connections
In general, perfectly curated social media content has become outdated. Netizens are seeking out more authentic content. 86 percent of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding what brands they like and support. Authenticity is your path in order to make the Facebook Group more successful. Do not control the group, but rather steer it and let the conversations and discussions flow naturally and organically. Otherwise, the members will feel that they are restricted and lose interest in the group. That does not mean that you leave the group without rules.
Small Business: Encourage members to have conversations about your local community
Brand: Humanize your brand by adding employees as Facebook Group Moderators
Facebook Groups, when used strategically, are considered a treasure to businesses and brands. They surpass Facebook Pages when it comes to engagement, they humanize and add authenticity to your business and brand, and allow you to create/ refine products and services.