Imagine being a sought after thought leader sharing ideas with a community of raving fans who are thrilled to hear from you.
Facebook Groups is a powerful platform for creating a tribe and engaging with them online. If you haven't yet built a Facebook group for your business, it's time to consider adding that to your marketing mix and here's why.
While you have a Facebook page, The ever changing Facebook Algorithm makes it difficult for your followers to see your posts on your business Facebook page. A Facebook page is still an important visibility tool, but it may not provide the daily contact with your followers you need to build a solid relationship.
Facebook Groups on the other hand provide notifications to all members any time there is a new post or a new comment on the post in the group. This encourages deeper participation with your audience. What used to be a one way marketing conversation, now becomes a responsive conversation with your fan base.
Why Facebook Groups Are an Epic Relationship Building Tool
Groups create instant community. - Suddenly your fans now have a voice and a direct connection to you. This drives a whole new level of engagement. Now your followers can go "behind the scenes" with you. They can learn the inside scoop behind what's new. Instead of being marketed to, they are now part a part of your tribe.
Targeted Marketing. - The awesome thing about Facebook groups is that you can attract your ideal clients. They self select if your Facebook group is the right fit for them. When you write a clear description of who it's for what your group is about, and what they can expect, people will eagerly jump on for the chance to connect with like-minded individuals.
Market Insights. Every business owners dreams of being able to hear the conversation that customers have in their head. Facebook groups allow you to get real time insights into your customers challenges, joys, and opportunities for you to better serve them.
Get Instant Feedback. Facebook groups are like having a focus group for your business. You can directly ask your tribe what topics they are interested in, what titles they like best, what locations they'd like to attend events in, what formats they prefer. Find out which logo they prefer or which headshot they like best.
Builds Emotional Connection. An audience is more responsive when you build an emotional connection with them. Facebook groups allow you to sharing advice, direct communication, and regular contact with your Tribe. An engaged tribe believes in you, looks up to you, is excited to follow you.
It's let's the Fans Be the Star. Members get to be in the spotlight as they network, share their expertise, support one another, get instant feedback, ask for tips, tools, resources, and promote their "stuff" when allowed to. It's a thrill to be part of a thriving community where you build friendships and get support and motivation.
Facebook Groups Add value. If you are looking to create more perceived value to your offerings, Facebook Groups are a way to do it. Offer a private Facebook group as an additional benefit of your coaching program. It's also an awesome way to let people who added your event to mix and mingle with you. Plus, a Facebook group gives participants a way to find an accountability buddy that strengthens the learning and implementation.
Tips for Running A Successful Facebook Group
As you may well know, a group without a leader and rules can quickly cause anarchy. Perhaps you have been a member of a group where people were slamming each other. Some people think a group is their invitation to spam and shamelessly promote their business. This can distract from the feeling that the group is a safe and fun place to be. So how do you build a happy peace loving tribe?
Set Boundaries and Rules. State the rules in your group description and post them in a pinned post that new members can see when they arrive. Let members know that there will be no blatant promotion. Ask them to be kind and respectful to other members with no slamming of others in the group. Lovingly reminder members to keep it clean with no foul language or indecent pictures. Sometimes people don't know they are breaking the rules.
Monitor your Facebook Group regularly to make sure members are playing by the rules. As your group grows, you may wish to appoint a couple of moderators to regularly review posts, delete inappropriate posts, enforce the rules and boot out unruly members as needed.
Create structured theme days that encourage people to participate. In addition to everyday posts, you can create special posts such as Mantra Monday, Twitter Tuesday, Freebie Friday. This gives members a way to share their thoughts, ideas, and business information and connect to each other.
Be Vulnerable. Transparency is very appealing to your tribe. Share what's really going on in your life and business. If you have a challenge, lean in on your tribe. Treat them like a trusted group of friends. Share your quirky habits. Show what's going on in your personal life. Don't be afraid to be silly. Give them sneak peaks as to what your working on. They want to know the real you, up close and personal.
Ready to Share the Love with Your Tribe with Facebook Groups
Facebook groups create a sacred place where you can truly engage with your fans, share your spirit, message, and inspire others to be a part of it.
Have you found Facebook groups to be powerful way to build your Tribe? How so? Are there any tips you'd like to add?