Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s.
Today, community is everything for brands. Consumers actively seek out companies they can connect with and who “get” them. This means it’s crucial to forge deeper relationships with customers, but where do you start?
Facebook was literally made for fostering and nurturing relationships. The Groups feature lets you create secret Groups or a private community where you can get to know your customers, interact with them, and provide value outside of your website.
Facebook Group vs Facebook Page: what’s the difference?
If you’ve already got a Facebook Page and are wondering what the difference is between that and a group, we’ve got you covered.
Facebook Groups are often private communities where individual Facebook users can share posts and interact with each other about a common interest or activity. There is pretty much a Facebook Group for everything. On the flip side, Facebook Pages are the official Facebook presence for a brand. Only the brand itself can post content to a Facebook Page, although fans can comment on and like posts.
Facebook Groups can be public or private, giving you the chance to communicate in a safe space with customers or promote your brand in a more public forum.
Why are Facebook groups important in 2022?
You might have noticed the reach on your Facebook Page has diminished significantly in the past couple of years. Facebook has begun focusing heavily on serving content from a user’s family and friends rather than brand-pushed content. As such, your Page posts will probably be getting far less traction than they used to.
Group posts, on the other hand, are shown more frequently in people’s news feed (especially if they’re actively participating in and visiting your group). Creating a place where your customers can connect with each other and you as a brand can keep them engaged and loyal.
Facebook Groups offer a number of benefits to brands, including:
- A direct line to customers
- A place to build long-lasting, loyal relationships with customers
- Increased organic reach
- A support community for customers
- A place to learn from your target audience and engage with them
One study has shown that 1.8 million people use Facebook Groups every month, whether it’s to ask questions, learn about a new topic, or discuss their favorite activity or product. In the wake of the pandemic, more people than ever are turning to digital communities to have conversations and connect with like-minded people. In fact, 77% of people surveyed said the most important group they are a part of now operates totally online.
How to grow a Facebook Group in 7 easy steps
You’ve set up your Facebook Group but you’re just not getting the join requests you were hoping for. So, how do you attract the right people?
1. Invite your Page likes to your Group
The people who like your Facebook page are clearly invested in your brand in some way. Maybe they’re a past customer or they simply like the content you put out there. Either way, they are “warm” leads who are highly likely to join your new Facebook Group if you invite them.
Here’s how you can invite your Page likes to your group:
- Navigate to your Facebook Page and click the “Groups” tab
- Find the “Link Your Group” option
- Choose the Group you want to connect and click “Link”
- Click the “Invite” button next to your Group
- Click “invite people who like your Page”
If your Page already has a number of fans, this is a quick and easy way to boost the numbers in your Group.
2. Consider growing your group with ads
Ads don’t just have to direct people to your website. In fact, they can be a great way to filter potential members to your Facebook Group where you can then nurture them, serve them offers, and direct them to your homepage.
You can tap into Facebook’s powerful targeting feature to reach people who:
- Are part of similar Groups to your brand
- Like your Facebook Page
- Like your competitors’ Facebook Pages
- Fit specific demographic criteria
- Are at a specific life stage
- Are subscribers on your email list
This works particularly well if you have a Group name that might not be intuitive to search for. Most people who are looking for Groups to join will type in a few keywords in Google’s search bar, but if your Group features your brand name it can help to create an ad campaign to reach more people.
3. Create engaging questions to ask
Facebook favors Groups that are engaged and it’s more likely to suggest them to its users. On top of that, an engaged group can help nurture relationships and allow you to get to know your customers on a deeper level.
Posting engaging questions will spark conversation, encourage new members to tag their friends, and create a buzz around your brand.
Stuck thinking of questions to ask? Jasper’s engaging questions template gives you a wealth of ideas to draw from so you can keep your audience interested over time.
Simply type in a topic, who your audience is, and the tone of voice you want to use, and Jasper will come up with a selection of questions you can use straight away.
Asking engaging questions encourages comments, likes, and shares which can help spread the word about your Group. The moderators in the Jasper Official Community Facebook Group regularly do this.
4. Keep engaged posts trending
Engaging posts are great, but if you want to see quick Group growth you’ll need some of them to start trending. The easiest way to do this is to consistently interact and engage with posts. It’s tempting to blitz through everyone’s comments at once and respond, but actually spacing out your response time can make a big difference.
Firstly, identify posts that are getting a lot of comments as these are your most engaging posts. Then, like and respond to two or three comments before waiting an hour or so to respond to more. Spreading it out like this keeps the conversation alive and bumps the post back up to the top of the page and, therefore, the top of user feeds - that’s how the algorithm works.
5. Cross-promote on other social channels
Social media marketing shouldn’t happen in a vacuum. There’s a good chance you have a number of other social media platforms that are working well for you, like Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram, so it makes sense to mention your FB Group there. Start by pinpointing which channels you have an engaged audience on and scheduling posts that promote your Group.
When doing so, consider:
- Listing out the benefits of joining your Group
- Mentioning some recent high-quality conversations that have taken place in your Group
- Sharing some testimonials from current members of the Group
- Highlighting any offers that Group members get
6. Ask members to share your Group
Your members are incredibly valuable when it comes to growing your Group. These are people who regularly interact with your brand and take an interest in your posts and content marketing. As a result, they’re highly likely to share it with their friends and family if they think it’ll be a good fit.
Schedule a weekly or monthly reminder that asks current members to share your Group with anyone they think might benefit from it or find value in it.
7. Offer exclusive quality content
Reward members by offering them something special. Everyone likes to feel valued, and providing loyal members with exclusive discounts, deals, promos, and valuable content will help them feel like a part of the community.
Your Facebook Group can essentially work like a social loyalty program, where users are able to claim pre-launch products, just-dropped content, or take part in a giveaway before anyone else. This creates a community around your brand and secures retention with customers who might otherwise have bought from you once and disappeared.
The Jasper Official Community Facebook Group regularly posts deals and exclusive offers for its members - or simply gives them the head’s up about an upcoming deal.
How to use Jasper to grow your Facebook Group
The engaging questions template will help you spark meaningful conversations in your Facebook Group so that you can learn more about your customers and build trust. The comments will help you collect Group insights and generate ideas for future engaging Facebook posts, but you can also tap into the creative story template to dig deeper.
Enter a plot (or the message or topic you want to post about) and the tone of voice you want to put across, and Jasper’s powerful AI technology will create several different stories for you to share with your group.
It can be tricky managing a fast-growing Facebook Group, but Jasper makes it a lot easier. Use Jasper to create a library of engaging questions you can schedule throughout the month and generate stories that foster connection and comments. Then, when your group is fully-engaged, you can start spreading the word. Cross-promote your Group on other social channels, offer exclusive members-only content, invite your business Page fans to join, and consider using Facebook ads to reach new people. Sign up for Jasper today to get started.