Are you looking for ways to efficiently engage with the users of the biggest social network worldwide? We talked to Simon Solotka, Chief Marketing Officer at IdeaPros, about winning Facebook and engaging those 3 billion users looking for something to do.
The Power of Facebook Groups
Groups are the best way to form communities of interest on Facebook whether you are participating or administering them. You can deploy a combination of tactics that involve the community, advertising, your persona, and validate if your idea solves a problem in a community of interest. Be careful, as it is tricky to do it in a way that adds to your credibility rather than detracting from it.
“Facebook group as a community-style forum with shared interests.” – Simon Solotka
These forums and groups have been around since the early days of the internet, although the paradigm has evolved through time. The great thing about Facebook groups is that most people are used to engaging through them online. People usually join groups because they want to solve a specific problem, talk about a particular topic with others, or share experience, so they come with a purpose.
When you join Facebook groups, you see their content in your feed as it is relevant to you and you have chosen to be a part of it. It is not easy to find the groups you like, but once you do you become a part of the community.
“The more engaged you are with groups’ posts, the more Facebook will show them to you.” – Simon Solotka
The groups are valuable because they are made of people interested in your product or app and can become one of your customers.
Create Opportunities to Get Feedback from Your Target Audience
You are talking to people who resonate with your idea and find your content relevant. They can also validate what you think is important to the community and get direct feedback on ideas, concepts, or even products. You can start as a participant and end up as an administrator. As a participant, you can post and observe which posts get the most engagement and learn from watching. As an administrator, you have more power, but the power comes with more responsibility. The good thing is you can extend the administrative function and share the load.
“Administrators have the power to exclude a user or specific content, so you do have a fair amount of influence.” – Simon Solotka
Benefits of a Facebook Group
The benefits of a group are that it grows organically and it has your target audience. You can put out a form and see what type of person joins the group. Other people can post in the group, which alleviates the burden on the administrator to keep the group interesting. You can ask for email addresses or offer a freebie when people join to grow your email list that way. It is an opportunity to build relationships with people who might become your customers.
Facebook Groups Pose their Challenge
You may invest your time and energy in a group that Facebook might shut down. This is why it shouldn’t be your only approach to building community. Work on your email list and SMS marketing parallelly, so you don’t lose your base if anything unpredictable happens.
Be careful about introducing your commercial interests to the community. You don’t want to end up violating your policies or offend members in the process. There is an administrative burden and creating engaging content is challenging. Be motivated and stay consistent. Think about topics that are interesting and align with your business.
Be honest, choose the right approach for you, look at the examples of groups you like, and start building that community!
The “Idea Pros” at IdeaPros have the resources, experience, and tools to help you at this step or any step in the entrepreneurial journey.
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