Creating strong online communities for your brand with Facebook groups

Now, more than ever before, people are turning to social media to feel a sense of belonging in this uncertain world. Facebook Groups provide an opportunity to create a sense of community and belonging for people and can be the perfect chance to assemble a group of people that support your brand.

Why Facebook groups?

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‍Unlike your primary Facebook page where you are given the ability to showcase your brand’s image, there is little room for engagement and interaction among customers. A Facebook group however, provides you with a platform where customers can interact and come together with similar interests. If you are the owner of this group, you have the opportunity to monitor interactions, skew content that supports your brand and often, monetise the platform. 

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Groups vs pages

‍If your organic reach from your Facebook page has been suffering like many other businesses on the platform, Facebook groups really is the way to go. Group updates send personalised notifications to members and the algorithm prioritises posts within groups that best resonate with each individual’s interests. 

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What to post in groups

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Once you have created a Facebook group, remember that groups need to be regularly monitored and updated in order to engage your members. This means, hold off on promoting your business until you’ve earned the group member’s trust. Posts must focus on delivering value to your members and they haven’t joined your group to receive regular advertising material. Content ideas for groups could be:

• Opinion polls
• Ask your audience questions
• Links to relevant articles and other content from the web that relates to your group’s topic
• Facebook lives
• Offer freebies
• Use a ‘local recommendations’ post to connect members within a local area
• Post relevant events
• Include useful files that relate to your group
  

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How to set up a Facebook group

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1. On the desktop site, click the ‘+’ in the top right hand corner and select ‘group’.
2. Enter your group name
3. Select a privacy option, ‘public’ or ‘private’.
4. Add people to your group.
5. Click ‘Create.’
6. Once you’ve created your group, make it your own by adding a cover photo, colour-scheme & description.

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