Community Building
Yes, Facebook Groups are all about building a strong community around a certain brand, cause, activity or a person. Simple as that!
Facebook Groups Basics
Visit Facebook Help Center to learn more useful basic steps about Facebook Groups.
The World of Groups
One billion people have already joined in Facebook Groups. That is a huge number, with countless possibilities of networking. Facebook has underlined several times that 10% of these people belong to “very meaningful”—communities that “quickly become the most important part of someone’s experience on Facebook.”
Facebook has made it easier for Facebook Page owners to create and link a group with a page, aiming to strengthen brand’s followers interaction. In other words, Facebook is providing for free an opportunity to build a kind of loyalty program within a group. This is how:
- True interaction with followers
- Focused promo actions
- Rewards
- Free value info
- Previews
- Bonus for active followers
- Create a powerful ecosystem
- Solid interaction and connection
- Feedback from real people
- A/B Testing before launching something new
Trust & Solid Connections
Connection and true interaction with real people and followers can benefit both sides. In one end people/followers grow a feeling of trust and in the other end brands remain on the same page with reality.
The 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals that people tend to trust more someone that is close to themselves regarding any company information than any source which is related directly to a company’s or brand’s CEO.
How to create a Facebook Group
- Create a group
- Set a name for your group
- Invite new members
- Select the privacy level
- Personalize your group
- Add a cover photo, location, tags
- Start posting
- Create a calendar
Step 1: Create a group
Let’s see together how to create a new Facebook Group, set a name for your group, add members, select privacy settings and upload a cover photo.
Step 2: Group Privacy Settings
When you create a group, you can choose 3 privacy settings: Public, Closed and Secret. The table below shows who can join these groups and what people can see about them. You can visit the Facebook Help Center about Group Privacy Settings here>>
How to edit Facebook Group Settings
After you create your Facebook Group, you should edit the following sections:
Description – Tags – Location – Group type – Admin rights – Posts rights – Privacy settings – Linked other groups – Linked pages
Useful Tips
You can create as many groups as you like. But it would be wise to have one main Facebook Page & Group that will act as the parent of the following groups. For example, we have created a main group with the name IDEADECO with general info about Digital Marketing News. And for each service we provide, there is a dedicated Facebook Group such as Facebook Groups, Email Marketing, Content Marketing, Linkedin etc.
The main IDEADECO Facebook group is here. Feel free to join us:
The Facebook Tips Group is here. Feel free to join us:
Facebook Groups Guide
- When you invite new members, try to keep in mind that people inside your group are humans with real lives and they don’t want to be disturbed over silly topics or spams. Respect others if you want to be respected. Share only valuable and trustworthy content.
- Invitations should be personal and customized. And always choose quality over quantity. It is much better to have a group of 50 high-level professionals than a low-quality-network of 50.000 members.
- Keep your posts relevant to the topic and set a gentle posting flow. For Social Media groups, twice a week is perfect. If there are 50 members and they are all active with 2 posts per week, that equals to 100 posts/notifications.
- Pin the most important post of the group at the top. That may vary from time to time. Usually, admins prefer to pin the group’s rules.
- Facebook groups are excellent for networking opportunities and this can also be scalable to infinity with the addition of linked groups. Choose wisely the groups you recommend to your members.
- To stay in the loop spend some time in navigating throughout similar groups and make it a habit to check your group’s insights.
- Ask your members if they can suggest any interesting new or secret group that it is suitable to be linked to yours.
Business Facebook Group Strategy
You have a popular Facebook Page brand and you also keep an active Facebook group. And what else? What do you do with that?
Depending on the Industry or the Market your brand belongs, Facebook Groups can support your Digital Marketing Strategy in different ways. Here are the most important ones:
- Grow your networking
- Communicate with your followers
- Turn haters into fans
- Establish new products or services
- Drive traffic to your website
- Grow your mailing list
- Offer to your community
- Focus on trials and previews
- Run polls and A/B promo testing
- Stay active in discussions
- Generate business leads
- Find inspiration
- Offer AMA sessions
- Offer video tutorials
- Provide tips and how-to guides
- Ask for feedback
- Showcase your expertise
- Find pro help from your community
- Find great sources for new posts ideas
- Post career opportunities
- Remember to Engage consistently
- Upload documents that may help your members
- Spot your next ambassadors
The most important tip is to make time for your Facebook Groups and stick to your schedule as close as possible. It is an ongoing process without limitations or boundaries.
You are invited to Join IDEADECO Facebook page
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