The group has grown to 450 members over 5 months. The growth has been really slow. Adding to that, I am really confused where and how to spread the word about the group.
Groups are mostly formed of individuals. So, what do individuals mostly look for in a social media? Individuals can use the social media for personal reasons, which may be for keeping in touch with the latest technology, news, gossip, and happenings around the world or in their own locality. Social media is also fast replacing the traditional means of communications. In this day and age, it would be hard to find a person who does not use the e-mail facility to send messages to friends/colleagues and/or for official purposes or use the social media for collaboration. Similarly, people also use the chat or instant message feature that’s in-built in most email clients to talk to people in real-time. One can also make phone calls directly using Skype or other e-mail clients like Gmail, video call on WhatsApp (latest feature) and also have conference calls. Individuals can use the social media to keep in touch with their various hobbies, like music, movies, sports, gaming etc. Social media not only allows one to find other people with similar interests but also allows for easy upload and download of media files with the help of media sites like BitTorrent. Social media users can also indulge in social gaming i.e. online gaming activities, in real-time with friends or strangers and challenge them. People can use this media to explore their own creativity, for example, a person who loves to write can create their own blogs and explore their writing talents. Blogs are the best way for individuals to express themselves, their views, and opinions on any and all subjects. In this manner, a person can establish their expertise in their niche subject by using the blog effectively. There are several other writing platforms that allow people to submit content on their site and reward them in different ways. Due to the very nature of social media it is easy to reach a large audience and find an interested readership. Similarly, one can use photo-sharing sites to upload and store their personal photos with all their privacy intact or selectively share it with others. Most photo sharing websites incorporate photo editing tools which can be used to edit/enhance the photos for personal use. There are also video sites that allow you to upload your videos and edit them to create new videos or films and earn revenue too. Human beings love to socialise and interact with each other. The social media enables people to interact with each other using the universally accessible and scalable communication techniques that are available today, in the form of websites and the mobile phones. The various social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn etc work on the principle of social interaction. A person can add/invite more friends or colleagues into their network and connect, share, and communicate with them in real-time or send messages. Using these networking sites is very easy as they are free to register with and one can easily locate long-lost friends and keep in touch with them. One can also interact with strangers who have similar interests and make new friends with people from all around the world, which also include many dating sites. People use these networking sites along with popular social messaging apps, like Whatsapp, these days for their daily conversations today. Thus, it has become very easy for people to get feedback, information or advice regarding products/services or companies from their friends in their network. Therefore, any individual has the power to influence others in his/her network, which has been termed as “Social Influence”. The social media has succeeded in putting the power back into the consumer’s hands. As mentioned in the paragraph above, any individual can have a “social influence” by virtue of his/her social interactions on the web or via mobile technologies. Most people share the experiences that they had with any product/service/holidays etc with their friends or families. And since most conversations, these days, take place on the social networking sites, many more people within the network get to hear of it as well. If the experiences were bad, the whole network is made aware of it. Thus, it is very easy for a single person to impact the reputation of a company or brand online. The social networking sites also allow “tagging” and “sharing” of content among groups or within your own network of friends or lists, which may cause it to become viral in a matter of minutes. It is the fastest way to spread any content on the social media. Thus, photos that are tagged, or links/videos that are shared on networking sites can become viral on the Internet.
Thus, you must keep the following points in mind when you try to grow your group on Facebook.
1). Think high level: First thing is first. If you are going to start putting time and effort into your Facebook group, you must be sure you are in it for the right reasons. Define a clear goal for your group. Do you want to use your goal to promote a product or service? Do you want to use your group to help answer questions your followers have? If so, what questions? Do you want to gain feedback to improve your product? Without a clear goal, defining a direction with which to grow your group will be impossible. Once you have settled on a goal for the group, start thinking about how you will manage your community. Do you want the group to be public or private? Do you want to allow people to post at-will or do you want to approve all posts before they are added to the group? Each decision has its pros and cons and it’s important to weigh all the options and nail down high-level strategy before moving forward with growing and engaging your followers.
2). Use owned channels: Now that you know the direction you want to grow your group in, it’s time to start actually growing it. A good place to start is with your owned channels. If you have a Facebook page, make a post linking your group and pin it to the top of your page. Invite the people who like your page to join your group. Create some Facebook stories about your group and post them. If you have an Instagram account, same goes for there. YouTube? LinkedIn? Twitter? You get the idea. The more you leverage your owned channels, the more impressions you will be able to get on your Facebook group. If you defined your goals for your group clearly and it aligns with your product or service, your current followers should be more than happy to join in on the conversation.
3). Link up with influencers: Influencers are huge in 2019. I mean, they were huge in 2018, but they still are today. Getting an influencer to join your group can be great social proof for your page. Try finding a few influencers who are in the same space that your group is trying to serve and send them an invite and a quick message. If they join your group, make a post welcoming them. If you’re having trouble getting an influencer to join your group organically, you can always try speaking their language and spend a little money to get them to shout out your group, join, make a few posts, etc.
4). Join other groups: See another group that is serving the same audience as yours? Do not look at it as competition, look at it as an opportunity. Joining a group and getting in on the conversation can be another great way to get people noticing your group. Because the members of that group are already your target audience, there is a good chance they will join yours. When mentioning your group, make sure you show what sets yours apart from the one they are currently in. Show those members why they would get added value by joining your group in addition to the one they are currently in.
Before you post, read the rules of the group. It is common for Facebook posts to look down on self-promotion. If there is a rule against it, there might be dedicated threads where you will be free to promote your group. You can even try messaging the admins of the group directly to ask their permission. If you go this route, be sure to focus on the differences between your groups you don’t want them to think you are poaching members.
5). Embrace paid advertising: Since we are talking ad spend, paid social posts are another great way to get the word out there for your ads. Do not hesitate to put a little money behind growing your group. It is a great way to get the ball rolling when you are just starting out. Be careful though, paid social ads are a great way to spend a lot of money fast and if you do not know what you are doing, it can be all for naught.
6). Do not neglect your followers: Growing your Facebook group isn’t all about getting impressions on your group. It is important to deliver value to your current members. If your current members are feeling neglected then they are liable to leave your group, not participate in the conversation, or not even have the posts in your group show up in their newsfeed due to lack of engagement. Make sure you are posting content and engaging with your followers. Deliver content that sparks conversation and gets people liking and commenting. If you have post approvals turned on, make sure you are checking those to let UGC through to your group. Do not get lost focusing only on the size of your group. If you are keeping your members engaged there is a good chance your group can grow through word of mouth alone.
7). Deliver quality content: Even though you want to be engaging your followers as much as possible it is important to make sure that the quality of your content is not suffering as a result. If you want your followers to be engaging with your group and stick around for the long run it is critical that they are finding value in it. Develop a content calendar so you know what you are posting and when. You can even schedule it ahead of time but if you go this route, make sure you are still actively moderating the group and participating in the discussion.
8). Become obsessed with the numbers: If you aren’t familiar with the built-in analytic tools that Facebook offers, now’s the time to check it out. Facebook offers powerful group insights that allow you to see things like, top performing posts, group growth over time, and active members over time. The best way to judge if you are on your way to your goal is by checking these numbers frequently. Look at your top performing posts and mimic what made them successful in future posts. See when you had the biggest spike in new members and copy the strategy you were using at that time. Historical data is the best predictor of success so use it to your advantage.
9). Hold a contest: Try holding a contest. You can make it randomly selected from the people who like and comment on your post or you can incentive engagement by awarding the prize to the ‘best’ comment each month or the most active users each month. You probably have a product or service you can give away but if you would rather offer something else, an Amazon gift card is always a sure-fire way to get people participating.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
I’ve grown multiple Facebook groups into businesses with thousands of users as clients.
Use a multi-channel marketing approach that targets external communities that revolve around your group topic.
Post into the group with a Content strategy for building brand influence. You can do this by attributing Cialdini to each of your posts and then monitoring engagement. This serves as a self-assessment of which influence principals are leading your brand forward in your community so you can major in those principals and align your content to what appeals your community most (the Facebook insights may actually confuse you about what works and sucker you into advertising the wrong direction. You need to build an organic strategy based on the natural needs and desires of your community first. This is akin to “voice of customer” best practices.)
You might also consider an inbound approach within your multi-channel marketing strategy, with all channels pointing to your Facebook group, essentially your landing page, which is associated with a relevant domain name.
