Alexis Kestler
We already posted about rising of Facebook groups, and how to do it, so this time we will concentrate on developing your group community. Read carefully.
We already posted about rising of Facebook Groups (you can find the post HERE), and how to do it, so this time we will concentrate on developing your group community. If you wondered how to build such a group that will support your business, read carefully.
What kind of community do you want to establish?
Before everything, you need to take a close look at what kind of business you have, what kind of group have you created, and then determine what kind of community you would like to have around it. Your Facebook group will work the same way as in the real-life: you have favorite places to visit (like cinema, shops, gym, etc.) and you will get along better with some people than with others. You will need to set up the environment that you want to maintain in your group, and that will affect what kind of people you will attract. And, of course, what kind of conversations will happen.
Create connection
You need to make people who join your group feel like they belong there. Even if you think that your group is for business and trying to hold conversations around your theme, that doesn’t work anymore. If you want a loyal community, people who will come back every day, then you need to work on that feeling of belongingness. The best idea to achieve that is to show understanding. If the outside world does not understand people in your group, you have to show them that you (and other members) do.
For example, let’s say your business niche is pets. One of your members has a sick dog and that makes him/her feel sad. By getting support from you and other people in the group, it will make them feel they are not the only one in this situation, and find understanding.
Set rules
Setting rules is one of the first things you will do when creating your group. There are suggested Facebook’s rules, and those can serve well as templates, but don’t rely on them completely because every group is different. Facebook will give you examples, such as “be kind and courteous”, “no hate speech or bullying”, “respect everyone’s privacy” etc., and those should be included for sure. But you need to come up with some of your own as well.
As we said, every group is different and you need to think this through. But there are some things you should also consider involving in your group, to encourage meaningful conversations:
- If your group is not about self-help or motivation, don’t allow such posts. (Like motivational quotes.) People don’t engage with such content, and your goal is to encourage them to comment and share.
- Also, teaching posts are not a big win. People don’t join groups to be lectured, but to have conversations.
- Don’t allow other members to prompt their topics, because it’ll get you too far away from your business and the energy you are trying to set up.
Ask ordinary questions
People in your community want to feel like their opinion matters. If you ask them simple questions, you will not just allow them to express their opinion, but also you will create engagement. And that’s what you want, right?
When you create those questions, keep them simple. Most people nowadays use their smartphones for almost every activity, especially Facebook. That means they don’t have enough time to answer complicated questions. There are a few types of questions you could ask:
- Ask for feedback or guidance. This kind of question includes your community in your private or business decisions. This can be beneficial for both sides. You will give your members a voice, but also get answered to the stuff you need help with.
- Request for an opinion. Opinion questions allow your audience to say what they like, their favorites, recommendations, or even their wish lists. Again, just be sure to ask ordinary questions, so they can be answered quickly.
- Allow promotions. Even it is not smart to allow promotions in your group generally, now and then you can allow it in a special post. You can even set a certain day in a week when this kind of content will be approved.
Be a leader in your community
And by being a leader, we don’t mean that you need to be present in your group 24 hours per day, or be the only one to publish posts. (Although, we’ve seen everything…) You need to let your members naturally assign roles within the group, and connect, but also to step in when it’s necessary. If you get too busy you can ask the foremost members to be administrators.
Community is a crucial part of your business and your Facebook group. You need Facebook users to connect with you, but also with each other. This is why groups became important, and why engagement within them is beneficial for your business.
Approve new members carefully, because the quality is more important than quantity. Let us know what you think of these tips.
