Creating and managing Facebook groups

Are you already in a Facebook group? They are super handy to complement your business! Learn how to create your own Facebook groups!

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash.

With over 1 billion Facebook users worldwide, 100 million users consider them the most important experience: Facebook Groups. Whether you want to gain knowledge, share photos or stay involved with a company; it’s all possible in Facebook Groups! In this blog, we’ll explain the benefits and tell you how to create and manage Facebook Groups!

What are Facebook Groups?

There are a number of benefits to creating a Facebook Group:

1. Build long lasting relationships

The first advantage of creating Facebook Groups is that you can build a long-term relationship with your customers. Invite your customers into a Group where they get access to a community with exclusive content and deals. In return, you receive loyalty and trust.

If you created a Facebook Group to share your interest or hobby, you can see it as a way to expand your network.

2. Increase your organic reach

The new Facebook algorithms focus more on posts from Facebook Groups with high engagement. Keep your group active and watch your posts reach more people.

3. Offer customer service and receive feedback

The moment a member of the group asks a question, you can immediately reply. This answer is directly visible for the entire group. Communication is key!

Besides asking questions the members of the group can give feedback on your products or services.

4. Create a community feeling

Besides that you can help your customers, they can also help each other. The moment you build a community around your business, it can bring benefits to your business. It creates a feeling of connection with each other.

Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash.

How to create Facebook Groups.

So you’re convinced that a Facebook Group is a good fit for you. But how can you create Facebook Groups and invite people to them? After all, a Facebook Group is of little use without members. Here’s how to create a successful Facebook Group:

1. Click on the ‘+’ icon in the top right corner and then click on ‘Group’.
2. Choose a name for your group. Choose a name that immediately gives your future members a clear image, because then they will know what the group is about.
3. Choose the privacy of your group. Do you prefer an open group, where everyone can see everything without becoming a member? Or do you choose a closed group, where visibility is exclusive to members?
4. You now have the choice to invite friends, but we recommend you to wait with this step. The group can now be created.
5. Choose a description for your group. In the group description, clearly state what the members can expect. After all, it is the introduction to the group.
6. To make the experience complete, you can add your own banner. You can choose to use a photo, but it is of course most fun if you design one yourself.

Now that your group is pretty much set up, it’s time to get members. For this you can take the following steps:

1. Invite the people in your immediate circles yourself. You can also invite members who have liked your page to your group.
2. Leave a message in a similar group (with permission of course). That group already contains members who find your company’s activities interesting.
3. Give people a reason to become members. Tell them about the benefits of joining your group; such as exclusive content, deals and/or news.

Managing Facebook Groups

You’ve created your group on Facebook and you may already have your first members. Only how do you manage such a group?

1. Start with clear codes of conduct. On the administrator’s home page you’ll find the heading “Group rules”. You can set up a maximum of ten rules. Setting up rules provides structure within your group.
2. Post a welcome message regularly. Most new members are not yet directly involved in the group and have a wait-and-see attitude. Therefore, regularly post a welcome message for new members and explain briefly what the new members can expect and what you expect from them. In addition, you also show that you are still active. To take it a step further, you can also call new members by name and welcome them that way. That way they feel a direct connection to the group.
3. Stay consistently involved within your group, but not too much. Put the direction primarily with your members, but do show that you are the leader of the group and offer support where necessary. As a leader of the group you can also be seen as an expert.
4. Offer unique content. The content that is posted in the group should be different from the content you post on your normal page. After all, you need to give your followers a reason to join your group and not just follow your page.
5. Keep bots and spammers away. From the ‘administrator’s home page’ you can set up some questions for new members. When someone wants to join your group, he or she must answer the questions first and the person waits for your acceptance. However, this does not work if you have an open group.
6. Intervene when things go wrong! If you notice that controversial content is being shared or that someone is not following the rules, take appropriate measures to ensure the atmosphere and the quality of your group.

Do you have more questions or creating and managing a Facebook Group? Then check out Facebook’s help page!