Is a Facebook group right for your business?

You most likely have a Facebook page for your business and you probably belong to several Facebook groups, either for personal or business interests.  If you’re wondering when or if you should create a group for your business I’ll help break it down for you.

Facebook groups are yet another way to create awareness and promote your business.

A group is made up of like-minded people and organizations that come together to discuss and share ideas around common interests. Often, a group has rules to keep interaction focused on the group’s purpose.

There are three privacy settings and it’s important to think about this before creating your group.

Public groups are groups anyone can join and be accepted immediately. These groups are free and are usually large. These groups can be found by anyone through the discover page.

Closed groups have an administrator who looks at all requests to join, deciding whether to accept or deny entry into the group. They’re typically smaller than public groups, often to make the group easier to moderate and maintain a safe place for people to chat with each other. People create closed groups to reduce spam and random individuals’ posts.

Secret groups are strictly private and don’t appear on the Discover page. The owner of a secret group usually will invite specific people to join.

Pros

• Very targeted and receptive audience.
• Encourages discussion and engagement.
• Gives you the opportunity to position yourself as an expert in your field.
• Helps you develop relationships with your customers and prospects.
• It gives you the opportunity to be more personal. You are the face behind the group, not a company name and logo.
• In a group, you have the ability to pin a post to the top. This is a great place to put a call to action and guarantee you draw eyeballs to it.
• You can receive immediate feedback either by asking the right question or by conducting a poll.

Cons

• A group takes a bigger time commitment than a business page so be prepared to monitor frequently throughout the day and that includes weekends, evenings and holidays.
• People are more comfortable in a group setting so be prepared to deal with negative posts or comments.

Tips

• Link your Facebook group to your business page, click here for directions.
• Create a set of rules or guidelines for your group to keep things focused on the main topic.
• Engage frequently with group members, comment on their posts and ask questions.
• There is a setting in groups that allows you to approve all members posts.  I highly recommend this feature as it reduces the amount of spam and clutter on your group wall.
• Never add someone to your group without asking them first.
• Hire a social media manager professional to manage all of your channels including the group.  Learn more here.
• Click here for a step by step guide to creating a group.
  
  

Do you think joining or creating a Facebook group would help you find a targeted and engaged audience? It may seem like more work than a business page but if you love what you do it can also be more rewarding.  Please share your thoughts in the comments.

ps – I have decided that a Facebook group is right for my business so I invite you to join me!  Click here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/themarketingstation/.