Is Building a Facebook Group Right for Your Business?

Is Building a Facebook Group Right for Your Business?

As a business owner, there are so many things that you need to consider. How to hire, train, and retain the right employees. The business rules and processes that will form your business strategy and decisions. And the marketing strategy that you will leverage to build brand awareness, drive traffic to your website or establishment, and hopefully, to convert.

The Need to Be Social

In this new world of social media marketing, it can be overwhelming to determine where to play, and where to pay. Facebook alone is adding 500,000 new users each and every day. And 68% of adults in the United States use Facebook, with 51% of them checking in on their accounts several times each day. It is really no wonder then that there are over 60 million active business pages. Yet, why is it then that only six million of those businesses pay to be active advertisers?

Really, the fact that only 10% are actively advertising on Facebook is unfortunate because with 1.49 billion members worldwide and those users generating 22 billion (and growing) ad clicks per year, something is clearly working. A Facebook page is designed so that businesses can have a true and public presence on Facebook, just like any individual. But then what is the purpose of a Facebook group, and how do you know if it is right for your business?

Why Groups are Great

Facebook groups enable companies to interact with their customers. Simply defined, a Facebook group is a place for communication amongst a small group of people so that they can express their opinions and engage in conversation. The group function is an added value for your customers, and in providing a group, it gives them a sense of exclusivity, making them feel special to be so important to your company.

Facebook groups generally see much higher engagement rates than do pages alone, and this is because businesses who provide groups are regularly providing new and engaging content to keep their customers and members interested. This can be a challenge for marketers, however, as these groups need to be moderated. Customers expect the brand to respond to their questions and comments, and they look for that new content regularly. So if you don’t have the resources to manage a group, then it is not likely the best avenue for you to pursue. But if you can moderate a page and keep it filled with entertaining and relevant content, then it will be worth your effort as engaged customers, especially those who feel special in some way, are more likely to continue investing in your brand for years to come.

In closing, here are some great tips for you to follow once you have decided that a group is right for your business:

• Make sure your group provides value – reward them for their participation, especially if they have purchased something from you
• Discuss current events, recent product launches or releases, and anything new that is going on with your business
• Use your group as brand ambassadors – they likely want to be part of your group because they like your brand – so learn to leverage them for information on what they love, and what they don’t love, about your brand
• Use the group to promote events that your company might be hosting for the public or sponsoring in some way