Did you know that managing branded Facebook groups can help you grow your business? You may have heard a lot about Facebook groups recently, especially since Facebook has forced business page managers to pay a fee to display more than a few of their posts to their fans. As a result of this “pay to play” approach, more entrepreneurs have turned to Facebook groups to interact with their customers.
I have used Facebook groups for years, including when I hosted the Indie Business Book Club for many years, beginning in 2010. I also maintain an extended family Facebook group, where we plan family reunions, encourage each other, and celebrate family milestones.
Consequently, I know a lot about the benefits managing a Facebook group. There are Facebook groups for just about every kind of activity and focus, including this group, where I manage IBN's 30-Day Blog Your Brand Challenge events.
In this post, I will share many of the ways branded Facebook groups can help you grow your business. I hope it helps you determine whether branded Facebook groups might be useful to your bottom line, as it is to mine.
How Branded Facebook Groups Can Help Your Business Grow
- A branded Facebook group can enhance your entrepreneurial focus. Facebook is one of the biggest distractions of our time. For entrepreneurs, the overlap between business and personal on Facebook makes it difficult to distinguish between being productive, being recreational, or just wasting time. Inside a Facebook group, it's your brand, your fans, your community. Consequently, there is no doubt that you are focusing proactively on your target audience.
- A branded Facebook group can create positive community around your brand. As you meet with and enjoy helping your customers and fans, you build and strengthen a powerful ecosystem. This ecosystem is composed of a community that combines with your brand to create a unique system that literally feeds your business. It is intimate enough to support the give and take that builds relationships, inside and outside the group, and all roads lead back to your brand.
- A branded Facebook group will strengthen your leadership skills. You need a lot of things to start a business including money, patience, stamina, and a reliable website. But most of all, you need leadership skills, and a Facebook group can help you acquire them. From leading discussions that help people learn and grow to quieting the occasional emotional disagreement, leading a Facebook group can help you be a more effective entrepreneur.
- A branded Facebook group will encourage people to know, like, and trust you.. A hallmark of entrepreneurial success is that people have a chance to know, like, and trust you before making a purchasing decision. There are many ways to attract people to you and your brand, including: your email newsletter, your blog, and branded social media. A Facebook group is a more intimate venue, allowing it to complement more public outlets serving a similar purpose.
- You can post items for sale in your branded Facebook groups.. Not much more needs to be said about that. The ability to sell your products in a community of people who have opted into your group speaks for itself.
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Donna Maria, Indie Business Network
Question
What is your experience managing branded Facebook groups to support your business? What questions do you have? Have your experiences been positive in nature? Share in the comments below, or on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
