Facebook Group | Ep. #83

Summary: In Ep. 83, You may already be using Facebook to market your brand, but have you considered Facebook Groups? It’s a fun and creative way to engage with your fans in a different way than on your Facebook Page. Think about how great it is to chat with all of your fellow New York Yankees fans in that Facebook Group that you’re a part of. The same feeling of community can be created with a Facebook Group for your brand. And that’s only the first benefit… 1. Create a Community Having a community of like-minded individuals will make the group appealing and keep the conversation going with little work. Users will remember to go back to your group to talk to new online friends that they have made. In the process, your content will be readily available for them as they are scrolling through. It’s a win-win for the customer and the company. 2. Use the Group as a Forum A Facebook Group can be much more casual than a Facebook Page. If your business has a question that would like to get some responses, ask it! Testing out a new product idea? Let your loyal customers give you the feedback that you need. You can post polls as well as open ended questions that users can get creative with. Remember: Every response is an important one. Utilizing these responses and acting on them can show customers that you listen to their wants and needs. 3. Build Better Relationships As stated above, Facebook Groups have a more casual atmosphere. Therefore, there is always room to engage with users in a friendly, slightly more non-professional way. On a Facebook Page, the company is looking to answer questions and engage in a manner that is appropriate for the public, whereas Facebook Groups allow room for casual banter and the opportunity to build more meaningful relationships. 4. Notify the group of every post. Let’s think about Facebook Page posts and ads for a moment. It’s usually a guessing game as to how many individuals your post will reach. Even if a user likes and follows an account, there is a good chance they will not see every single post that is added to the Facebook Page. That’s where Facebook Groups comes in handy. If a user joins your group, they will automatically receive a notification of every post in that group unless they decide to turn off notifications (which is unlikely if they are interested and following along with the conversations that are happening). Therefore, if you have a large group following, these users will be constantly notified of any posts that you make, which will keep them interested and in the loop of any company happenings. One company in particular has utilized Facebook Groups to do all of the above. Gerolsteiner Sparkling Natural Mineral Water created a Facebook Group called “Gerolsteiner’s Sparkling Detox” to educate customers about the health benefits of sparkling mineral water and run an engaging sweepstakes. Hundreds of users joined this group and were welcome to participate in a 5-day detox program. To keep the group casual and fun, members were asked to simply join the discussions or follow along to learn about proper hydration and how the mineral-rich Gerolsteiner can benefit a healthy and balanced lifestyle. Members of the group posted daily. These posts included tips for staying healthy, nutritious recipes, and of course, the benefits of drinking Gerolsteiner every day. Overall, these efforts led to thousands of users joining in on the fun and learning more about Gerolsteiner’s personality and purpose than the Facebook Page alone could have offered. Now, there is one more important way that Facebook Groups can benefit your business, but this time we’re talking internally. 5. Closer Knit Employees Equals a More Efficient Workplace Having a Facebook Group for the employees in your company will help to create a friendlier environment where everyone can be open to post and share their thoughts. No matter the distance, employees can be in the same place at all times because of a Facebook Group