How to Effectively Grow Facebook Community Groups

Creating a Facebook Community Group is easy. Literally, with the touch of a button on your Facebook Groups page, you can click a green button and your group is created. However, as easy as it is to create the group, it is quite a different story to effectively grow Facebook community groups that bring something of value to its audience.

There is no other social media avenue on the internet that gathers as many people together in one place as a Facebook group page does for a target market.

The power of a Facebook group is truly unmatched in the social media world; the average Facebook user belongs to 30 Facebook groups. This is why it becomes increasingly important for entrepreneurs like you and me to engage with our audience in this way but stand out from the crowd.

Building a Facebook community group strategically takes some planning and goal setting. Putting the effort into a plan and goals before hitting that “create” button, will help develop and maintain the Facebook following you desire.

There are esthetical and detailed aspects of building your group that should be mentioned. Many groups miss the mark on appeal when people visit their Facebook community pages.

These three tips should help keep your group page in line with what audiences are looking for.

1. The name of your business should be something that people can understand right away.

The group name should be such that it is easy to find if someone is searching for keywords.

For instance, the Premier Entrepreneur Network group on Facebook is made by the Premier  Executive Media Facebook page.

The word “premier” in the group title connects the audience to the main Facebook page and the website,  while Facebook search engines lead people to a network of entrepreneurs that are providing high-quality (premier) services.

2. Your cover image and description should be clear and simple, relating to the name of the group.

It should have a graphic that is appealing to the audience, including a tagline that tells people whom the group is for and what they will glean from joining the group.

The Premier Entrepreneur Network cover image has the logo color-palette image and the Premier Executive Media logo. The tagline reads that it is a community for online entrepreneurs and is part of the Premier Coaching Community.

3. Determine whether your group page will be private/secret, closed or public.

A private or secret Facebook group allows anyone to join but only by admin addition or an invitation from another member. A closed page means anyone can ask or join, but admins hold the right to accept or deny admittance. A public group is open to anyone who would like to join.

Closed and private groups allow for better control over who can access the group. You also can develop a set of questions to ask requestors to weed out any bogus accounts or undesirable members.

The goal is to create a safe and functional environment for your group.

Building Your Facebook Group Community

Now that you have an idea of how to set up your group, we can explore how to effectively build Facebook community groups.

Communities give us a sense of belonging and that is exactly what Facebook had in mind when creating Facebook Groups in 2005. People like to feel as if they are a part of something greater than themselves.

Building these groups becomes easier and easier with the inclusion of new tools and features to help us manage them.

Facebook groups collect member demographics and how members are engaging with the content we provide.

That being said, we mustn’t forget why we are building the community group in the first place.

Build Your Group Environment

You can easily build your business and use a Facebook group to your advantage, but it is not in the ways that we would normally market ourselves. A Facebook group is NOT a place where other members should promote their businesses unless you have specific dates where this activity is allowed.

If selling a product of service is one of your goals, then carefully consider the frequency with which you market these opportunities within your own group. Group engagement will be low if your community is viewed as only a place for you to hack your wares.

Ultimately, the goal of your Facebook group should be to help equip the community with knowledge and to provide a professional, safe place for them to connect with others in their community comfortably.

Facebook groups enable our community of people to interact around a common topic. It is a place where people can grow and learn. Your page description should clearly state what environment you want to create.

Creating that type of environment will help people really appreciate and stand behind your brand as the group creator.

Build Your Group Guidelines

A professional Facebook group should be built on the foundations of respect, only speaking what will be beneficial to the hearer, or to help others in their journey. As mentioned above, a clear expectation in your page description is where you can start in making your guidelines clear for members to comply.

You may want to post the guidelines quarterly on the group News Feed as a reminder of what will not be tolerated. Utilize Facebook privacy settings, filters, and moderation tools to regulate any negative dialogue, or dare I say, people, who do not reflect the environment you are trying to create.

Build Your Group Content and Member Engagement

1. Welcome new members periodically and ask them to tell the group a little about themselves. This helps new members open up, to feel included, and gives other members the opportunity to engage. People genuinely like to be nice to other people. I find that people take full advantage of going the extra mile for others on group pages.
2. Share posts that prompt people to engage with each other. For conversation starters, ask questions and converse with people on comments. If you are asking questions, don’t forget you may get a few questions asked of you. Respond and participate.
3. Share your expertise in thoughtful posts. This takes some effort. Do your research to answer the tough questions and provide useful information. In doing so, people will begin to view you as an expert in your niche community.
4. Share relevant articles and news that you know can benefit the community group members.
5. Link your website blog posts to your Facebook community group constantly. While you are creating more traffic to your website, you are also helping the community get better at what they do.
6. Create regular Facebook lives or videos to your Facebook community group page. People like to associate a brand with a face. The streams create a personalized touch to connecting with them. Don’t forget to let people know when you are scheduled for a Facebook live. The worst is to prepare for a FB live and realize that there is no one active on the page to engage with you. Send reminders!
7. Join other groups of similar interests to see what they are discussing or what they have questions about. You can answer questions and build content in your Facebook community group around those topics.

Effectively and organically building a Facebook group takes time and effort. Nurturing relationships in Facebook groups help develop connections that can last throughout your career.

Do you have any advice or questions on effectively building Facebook community groups? We would love to hear them!

Don’t forget to join us at the Premier Entrepreneur Network Facebook community group for some accountability, encouragement, and motivation.