FACEBOOK GROUPS ROCK! WANT YOUR BUSINESS ON STEROIDS?

By Gary Massari

30 minute-millionaire

 With Masa Ilic, Social Media Strategist

 If you think we are done with Facebook marketing, you are wrong.  I am always leaving the best slice for the end!  Now, you know how to create and manage Facebook profile and Facebook page, how to promote it, and how to integrate it with other social media accounts.  You even know how to use Buffer.  However, there is one more thing, one more Facebook powerful tool we have to talk about.  Let me introduce you to the awesome Facebook groups!

I made my first Facebook group two weeks ago and it already has more than 2800 members.  MLM NEWS STAND  is a group for network marketers and MLM leaders where they can share rock star tips and direct sales industry news from different companies.  This group is growing really fast and there are between 30-50 member requests every day.  And, this is only the beginning!  That’s way I want to show you this great Facebook feature.

In my articles you will find out more about the Facebook Groups functionality as well as the value they can give you.

In this lesson you will learn:

• What is a Facebook group
• Why join Facebook groups
• How to find Facebook groups of interest
• Facebook group vs. Facebook page

WHAT IS A FACEBOOK GROUP?

 In short, Facebook groups are close circle of people organized in one place, within the Facebook social networking site, which share the same interests, and keep in touch on Facebook.

It is some kind of virtual community of people and friends to promote, share, and discuss relevant topics that they have in common.  The types of groups people can join on Facebook are various and endless.

If you are not sure if Facebook groups are the right place for you, just ask yourself two questions:

Is your primary aim to connect to targeted groups of people?

Would you like to have more visibility on Facebook?

If your answer is YES, then these groups are exactly what you need!

Different Facebook groups give you an opportunity to connect with your industry colleagues as well as your potential customers.

WHY JOIN FACEBOOK GROUPS

One of the biggest reasons why I am member in more than 30 different groups on Facebook is the visibility and networking they offer.  On any specific day that I look in my news feed, I see many posts from groups that I’m active in, but only a few from pages that I like.  That is the biggest advantage of Facebook groups against pages – visibility!

Did you know that on Facebook you can join up to 6,000 groups?  Yes, that is a huge number of groups, however, I suggest you to focus on a smaller number in the beginning.  Start with 10-20 groups ant try to be really active there.  Later, you can increase that number but choose only those that will have the highest impact for you.

 Before you even join a group, make sure it’s a good fit for you.

Pay extra attention on these criteria:

• Active members,
• Group description and
• Low spam

Carefully read the About section to see what the group is really about.  There, you will find out whether it’s right group for you or not.

Facebook groups are valuable for you if they provide quality and educative content, not just a bunch of sales messages with no-one contributing with a meaningful conversation.  All groups have their rules about what you can and can’t post.  Some allow sales promotions and others not.  That’s why you have to experiment for a while first.

HOW TO FIND FACEBOOK GROUPS OF INTEREST

There are two ways you can easily connect with your groups of interest.

Find Facebook’s suggestions in your left sidebar of your Home page by clicking Groups.

There are more options available:

Now just hit the Suggested Groups button and you will see the results which are based on your interests, activity, and your previous search history.

These are my search results:

The other great way to find your groups of interest is by using Facebook Graph Search.  Just type your target keyword in the search bar and your groups will appear!

If you want to create and lead your own group you must have on your mind that moderating job requires a lot of work and a lot of hours of commitment.  You will have to keep the group active by posting few times a day, managing other member’s posts and beware of spam.

However, my next teaching will be about How to create a Facebook group, where I will teach you more about this topic.

FACEBOOK GROUP VS. FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

Facebook Page vs. Group: A Facebook Marketing Dilemma– Cara Pring 

 They are two totally different things and each has their own strengths and benefits.

Facebook Fan Page is more similar to a personal profile; it is a place to create an authentic representation of what you’re about and what your brand/business is about.  Pages are also verified for authenticity and can help you develop your brand on a deeper level of trust.

On the other side, Facebook Groups are more like communities for like-minded people.  These people are sharing common interests and wish to express their opinion in a safe place.  So, groups are probably better solutions for those people, charities, communities, etc.

I already mentioned visibility as one of the main differences between groups and pages and I will explain why.  When a page is published, it is visible to anyone on a Facebook while groups offer more flexibility.  There are three privacy options available for groups: open, closed, and secret. Open groups are visible to everyone, while closed and secret groups have some limitations.

When we talk about connections, all users can easily connect with your page by clicking “Like” button on the top of the page.  They are good solution if you don’t want to approve the connections. However, you don’t have a control of who will like your page.  For Facebook groups, you have the full control and everyone must ask to join the group.

When we talk about Facebook promotions, Facebook pages have customizable URLs that you can promote easier to your fans directly, but they are harder to grow organically without expenses.  Within groups, you can easily communicate with the members and promote your brand or product using chat, email, wall, or messages.  Groups also allow creating a shared Doc but they don’t allow you to add additional applications for promotions.

This are the main differences, however look at this table for a few more:

Think about these differences before creating a page or joining/creating your new Facebook group.

The best advice I can give you is to create both group and a page.  Create a page for your name or brand, and create a group for your sphere of interest!

Thank you for reading my articles!  Please feel free to post this article in your newsfeed.

 There are several ways you can follow me and my teachings:

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