If you’re part of any Facebook groups then you’ll know that they can be huge, thriving communities of engaged and likeminded people.
Now that’s an audience you want to tap into, right?
On the flip side, I’m sure we’ve all joined Facebook groups that looked great from the outside but for one reason or another they just didn’t stand the test of time.
So, if you’re thinking about leveraging the power of Facebook groups to help you achieve your goals then this is certainly an episode you’ll want to listen to!
This week we’re joined by the wonderful Bella Vasta who shared her top strategies for growth and engagement within your Facebook group…
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- The way I love to break this down is to think about the front yard of your house.
- Your Facebook page is like your front yard. Would you put a pool in the front yard? Probably not.
- But what you would do is have it nicely landscaped with maybe some seasonal decorations to make it look nice and give the world an impression of you.
- Now, a Facebook group is more like your back yard.
- You would invite people into your back yard, you would host people and have gatherings.
- This is where the real relationship building happens.
- I actually think it’s ok to start your group off small, because you need something to start with and I don’t really think it comes down to numbers.
- The first tip is to add in a link to your Facebook group to your email signature.
- Another one is to simply email your list telling them about your group and asking them to join. You need to include the value and regular benefits in the email so that people have plenty of reasons to join.
- Next you can draw attention to your group by adding a link to it on your Facebook page, you can change the action button to go straight there or mention it in your cover image.
- Another tip is to create a vanity URL to your group that you can share on your other social media channels. It means you can mention it on your Instagram stories and it’s a link that people will actually remember.
- Just like any other social media platform, you need to have a strategy and your strategy will really depend on if your group is top of the funnel or bottom of the funnel.
- A top of the funnel group would be just getting as many people as possible in there, it’s free, and the goal of the group is to capture as many people as you can and get them to go somewhere else.
- A bottom of the funnel group would be when someone has bought a product from you and it’s almost like a support group.
- So, one thing that I love doing in my group is challenges. The challenges mean you gain a certain amount of points over time and you keep tally and at the end of the month you can send the winners gifts and prizes.
- Challenges really help people in the group bond and it helps to really build a community.
- Another thing you could do to grow your group is to take your content from your page and share it into the group and ask people for their thoughts. Don’t be afraid to be a little controversial either.
- If you have a social learning group, then you can use units in your group. The cool thing about this is that when new people join the group there is so much reference material for them to get value from straight away.
- Another important thing is to pay attention to your group insights. Look at when people are most active in your group and make sure that you post at those times and also call out people who are contributing lots of value and give them praise for that.
- One of the most powerful group tools is the questions you ask when someone wants to join your group.
- The way people answer these questions can give you content for days.
- One that I really love is ‘what’s your biggest challenge in
subject area’. That right there is going to tell you what your people want to hear. - You’ll start to see common themes appearing which means that you can start regularly posting content around those common themes each week.
- The next question should be asking for people’s email addresses. Tell them that by giving you their email address they’ll receive regular updates and catch ups.
- The third question could be something more specific to your goal. So, you could ask them for their website and something specific that will help you reach your group goal.
- I always like it if the group name is all about your audience. I don’t want to join a ‘Mr. Clean’ group, but I would definitely want to join ‘Cleaning Hacks For Moms’.
- The name needs to tie into your topic and speak to your audience.
- When making
decision about the branding and content for your group you need to ask yourself – Why do you have your group? What are you giving people? What are value are people getting from it?
- When you’re starting out the group, you’re going to be doing a lot of the talking and engaging. So, don’t just leave generic comments or like posts, instead ask questions and pull more information out of them.
- It also comes down to the know, like and trust thing. If you’re not showing up daily and giving a variety of different content people will become less engaged.
- You have to be serving your group and asking them what they need and how they’re doing.
A book that you would recommend…
They Ask You Answer by Marcus Sheridan
What is your top success habit?
Planning. You have to know where you’re going and you need to have a goal that you’re working towards.
Who do you look up to?
I really try to surround myself with a lot of people that I want to be like because I think that it’s really important to always be learning.
What are your favourite apps right now?
I live on Asana and Slack. I use Voxer a lot for both business and personal.
Here’s the big one…who do you like more, Rob or Kennedy?
I like you both!
Finally, where can folks go to find out more about you?
You can go to bellavasta.com and what I would really love is if you just friend me on Facebook and told me that you heard me on this podcast. I believe that everything is about relationships and I would love to learn from you!
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