Facebook Groups for business: your new secret weapon

Posted on by Marie Page

Facebook Groups win for reach and a whole lot more

Some studies put the organic reach of your average Facebook post at just 2% of fans. That’s pretty poor return on the hours of investment you’ve put into creating content. You can see a graphic representation of just how that translates below. Of all your fans only tiny proportion will see your content unless you pay to promote it.

 

People are also increasingly reticent to like and comment on posts in a public Page (Facebook are calling this problem “Context Collapse” amidst working hard to reverse the trend).

Meanwhile Facebook Groups are hives of activity. Those same folks that barely mutter on your Facebook Page are suddenly eloquent and engaging in the context of a Group. It’s the new online place to hang out. And of course without ad budget, those tongue tied fans are barely seeing your content anyway.

Having focussed much of my online energy into running Facebook Pages over the years, I have more recently become immersed in developing a number of new Facebook Groups. And boy are they better places to be. Your efforts are returned with reach, engagement and far more of a community feel. Members seem to own the Group far more than fans ever did with Pages.

This engagement, and the general ballooning of Groups on the platform has not passed Facebook by and in October 2016 it announced that it was developing ad units to allow advertising to and by Groups. I don’t remotely think this signals the end of Groups (although of course it represents a big swathe of untapped potential income for Facebook). But it does mean that brands should think very carefully about whether they should switch their emphasis from Pages to Groups.

How are Facebook Groups different and how can you go about setting one up?

If you are new to Facebook Groups take a look at The Digiterati’s. You have to apply to join but we accept members pretty quickly. That’s one of the advantages of Groups – the closed nature of them makes them less public, and therefore safer places for members.

I’ve also created an in-depth Digiterati Academy training course – The Essential Guide to Creating, Running and Marketing an Effective Facebook Group. In a series of 7 bite-sized video modules it covers:

Module 1 – Why have a Facebook Group?
Module 2 – Getting set up and admin settings
Module 3 – Good practice
Module 4 – Content ideas
Module 5 – Promoting your Group
Module 6 – Analytics
Module 7 – Other useful tricks and tips

 

As a sneak preview here’s a listing of the differences between Pages and Groups:

One of the big advantages for Groups is that members enjoy the same visbility when they post that admins do. That means that their posts, photos and videos are just as likely to be seen in other members’ newsfeeds as posts that admins create.

This really helps level the playing field and actively encourages engagement and user generated content. The upshot are Groups that feel like online communities rather than brand showcases.

There’s loads more in the course including a detailed case study of a Group I’ve taken from zero to 2,000 members in less than six months.

As with all Digiterati Academy courses and masterclasses you can buy the course as a one off which you then keep forever. Or alternatively sign up for a regular subscription and get access to everything – all our courses, our archive of masterclasses and each of our new weekly masterclasses for the duration of your subscription.

 

Sign up here.

Marie Page

About Marie Page

Marie Page is one of the UK’s leading Facebook marketing experts. She is a founding partner of digital marketing consultancy The Digiterati and the Digiterati Academy e-learning portal for marketers and entrepreneurs. Her award-winning Master's Dissertation was the culmination of three years' academic research into Facebook that resulted in a book (and companion online course) 'Winning at Facebook Marketing with Zero Budget' that became an Amazon bestseller. Marie's work on the Facebook News Feed algorithm was featured in The Huffington Post. A recognised thought leader on social media, Marie is often approached by journalists for comment in articles such as this Telegraph article. She was also interviewed for ITV's Tonight show on Facebook privacy issues in relation to advertising. Marie is a regular guest on digital marketing blogs and podcasts including Social Media Examiner and Smart Insights. In 2018 she is speaking at Brighton SEO, Europe's biggest search and marketing conference. Marie is also author of two Smart Insights books: 'Smarter Guide to Facebook Marketing', now in its fourth edition, and 'Facebook Ads Guide', both edited by Dr Dave Chaffey. Marie is also a part time yoga teacher.

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