Looking for candidates to join your company? Or for people who may be interested in the services you have to offer?
Lost in the maze of the internet and of all the various platforms on which to meet people?
Don’t worry, there’s a way out and towards what you are looking for!
If you want to meet like-minded people or peers interested in the same things as you or working in the same industry, you need to give Facebook Groups a try.
They can be treasure troves of new collaborators or potential employees, as well as great places to find jobs and opportunities!
Groups often have a job listings section where you can find opportunities that may not be published elsewhere and which are more likely to fit your profile, since the group already matches with your interests and expertise. But there’s more to groups than that! Keep reading to find out about the basics of Facebook Groups and how they can help you learn from other people and find collaborators and clients; you’ll also discover more about Facebook Group moderation, why Groups are more powerful than Pages, and the possibility to make people pay a fee to join your amazing group.
The basics of Facebook Groups
How do you create a Facebook Group? It couldn’t be simpler:
- On your homepage, tap Groups.
- Tap Create group.
- Enter your group name.
- Select a privacy option and then tap Create group.
Facebook Groups offer different privacy options compared to Facebook Pages, which means they can better suit your needs:
- Public Group: These groups are completely open to the public. Anyone can see the posts and all the content on the group wall without joining. They can also become a member and post their own content, comment and invite new members.
- Closed Group: In such groups, only members can view the Facebook group wall and contribute. Anyone can search for this type of group and join, but the public will not be able to view the content without becoming a member by getting the approval of the admin.
- Secret Group: This type of group is not searchable unless you are already a member. Not everyone can join, as only a member can let another person in. These groups don’t share any information at all with the public or non-members.
Depending on what you are looking to do, you’ll want to create a certain kind of group. Similarly, what you are looking for may be available to you in either a public group, or a less accessible one. Little by little, through networking and learning more, you can find your way into those, too!
Learn from each other
One of the first advantages of joining a Facebook Group is that, as in any other kind of community, it’s an opportunity to connect and therefore to learn from others.
By joining a Group centered around a specific interest, you can gain new insights and inspiration to apply to your own business, project or brand. The discussions in these groups are typically very targeted, which means that the information you get is way more useful than elsewhere online!
By participating in these groups, you can get ideas for content creation, marketing strategies, and also learn what type of content is most engaging for your specific audience!
You can also gain a deeper understanding of what’s missing or doesn’t work in your industry, so that you can improve your approach and offer a better product or service than you competitors.
Find contractors and new collaborators
It can be difficult to find new people to work with, especially online when you don’t know where to look.
Facebook Groups can be the best place to start! All you need to do is to search for specific expert groups related to your needs and advertise what you’re looking for.
Remember, you’re not trying to sell anything – in fact, you’re doing the opposite. You’re looking to create an opportunity for someone and are providing value to the groups you are reaching out to help you with your mission. Provide details about the project or opportunity you’re presenting and be willing to answer any questions group members may have.
To make the most of this strategy, speak to the admin of the group and explain what you’re looking for. They may provide you with additional guidance or point you in the direction of relevant groups or members!
For instance, the group Actors UK is a place where UK-based actors can ask for career advice and casting directors or artists looking for collaborators can advertise their projects to get some applications. It’s a great place to be with people in the acting industry and potentially find your next role or co-star!
Whether you’re a marketing agency looking for an expert in email marketing, or an e-commerce store in need of editing assistance for your social media content, the principle remains the same. Don’t hesitate, take advantage of this opportunity and find the best contractors and collaborators for your business!
Market your product or service and get customers by creating your own group
When it comes to promoting your product or service and looking for new customers, reaching out to existing groups may not be your best move as sounding too much like a salesman may make people resent you. They will see what you’re doing as spamming and you will only get more enemies rather than clients!
Instead, you should look into creating your own Facebook Group! That way, you will build your own community who will be more open to you suggesting a product or service they may be into.
The first steps to creating a Facebook Group for that purpose are simple:
- Link your new group to your Facebook page.
- Add a clear bio about what your company does for its customers.
- Link to your website and other social media platforms.
- Start posting good content.
Still struggling to gain traction? Don’t worry, it’s normal at first! Getting people to join your newly created group can be tough, but it’s not impossible.
For instance, you can run ads to boost the engagement with your group.
You can also advertise your Facebook Group on your Facebook page. Run an ad campaign promoting your page, then send an invite to join your Facebook Group to all the people who engaged with your campaign!
This is the most effective way to get your group on track to reach your first 1k members.
Boost your engagement by participating a lot – consistency matters! Once you hit your first 5k members, you or a member of your company need to always be present for your community.
The value of your group doesn’t come only from your activity but also from other users’ activity – that is, their interaction with your content but also with each other! It’s your responsibility to generate that kind of contact: post questions and polls, be there for your members, include testimonials, user-generated content, reviews, and respond to any unanswered questions!
The more you take care of your group, the more you’ll see it grow – members will invite other people, share posts and content from your group to their profiles or with friends, and this will all result in more members!
Every time a user interacts with your content, it’s an opportunity to gain a customer.
Moderating your Facebook group
Considering what we just learned, the more members, the better! But only if these members are a good fit for the group and its community.
It’s extremely important to moderate your group: don’t tolerate spam or members that aren’t nice with others. You have to protect the integrity of the group, or your members will desert you and never turn into customers!
You can do that by setting group rules, and choose whether user posts have to be approved by an administrator of the group so as to ensure that every new post will match perfectly with the purpose of the group.
Facebook now automatically scans posts and comments for violations and flags them for group admins to review. Admins can choose to delete these posts or comments and add a note to the user explaining the issue. They also have the option to mute a member for a week, preventing them from commenting but still allowing them to view posts, or to immediately ban them from the group.
As well as ensuring that people who violate the rules get removed from your group, you should also make sure that the good members get rewarded!
Badges are an optional feature that allow group members to feel acknowledged for their contributions and understand how they and others are contributing to the group. When activated, unique badges are displayed next to a member’s name recognizing them as an admin, a new member, a founding member, celebrating their membership anniversary, crediting them as a conversation starter, a conversation booster, a storyteller, a rising star and more.
This feature helps to make members feel special and lets them know that their participation is making a difference and is appreciated.
Better organic reach than Facebook Pages
The shift away from Facebook Pages and towards Facebook Groups is significant because it presents new opportunities for businesses and brands to connect with their target audience.
Compared to traditional Facebook pages, groups provide a more intimate and engaging environment for users to interact with each other and with brands. You can leverage this by creating a group focused on the specific topic or interest related to your product, and use it to build a community of loyal customers who are more likely to engage with and promote your brand!
Facebook Groups also allow for more direct and personal interactions, which can help you build trust and loyalty. Groups help you gather feedback, too, as well as conduct market research and test whatever new product or feature you are thinking of selling.
This new focus on groups has decreased the organic reach of pages and it’s become more difficult to reach an audience through them. Groups are the new organic way to build and connect with your community around your offer!
It’s important to note once more that brands should focus on building trust and relationships with group members rather than solely promoting their products or services. Don’t run the risk of coming off as inauthentic and too interested rather than genuinely happy to connect!
By managing your Group and remaining authentically invested in your members, sales will happen organically.
Paid Facebook Group
Paid Facebook Groups are a new feature that allows group owners to collect payment from members in exchange for access to exclusive content, resources or benefits. This can be particularly beneficial for businesses that run paid mastermind groups, as it eliminates the need to manage payments separately and invite members to a private group on Facebook.
It can also be a great way to generate revenue from your audience! By making the group paid, you’re making sure that your members are genuinely interested in what the group has to offer: you’re creating true loyalty.
The membership fee can be set to a one-time or recurring payment. These Facebook Groups also allow you to offer exclusive perks and incentives to your members, such as live Q&A sessions or special discounts. This approach can help you retain members and make them engage more with your content.
If you want to create a paid Facebook Group, all you need to do is fill up what you need for the group and set up your payment platform (such as Paypal or Stripe).
Once you’ve decided and set up your payment platform, you can now create and integrate the group to a landing page. Make sure your landing page is easy to understand and has a clear call to action to encourage people to subscribe to the paid group!
Facebook Groups may be one of the best tools to grow your brand online or find collaborators – whichever side of the equation you are, you can gain a lot by taking a look at Facebook Groups!
If you want to learn more about how Facebook can help you and your brand, take a look at our Ultimate Guide to Facebook!
