How to Know If You Need A Facebook Group
Facebook groups are awesome tools for businesses! However, most businesses don’t use them… Why is that? I want to talk about some ways that you can use Facebook groups to your advantage, and how you can keep your group a safe and happy place once you have it set up!
You Need a Facebook Group If…
1. You have a product that is complicated to use
When I first signed up for my favorite social marketing tool they had a Facebook group where you could go and ask questions about the software and how to use it. The groups would often take care of the support side of things for them, without having to get tricky support software and answer lots of questions in a help desk setting. You could also scroll through the page and see if your question had been asked, or learn something new about the features of the software. I really loved the group, and they had staff that monitored it closely to answer questions and to eliminate spam.
2. You have a support network based business
This one goes out to all my personal trainers, life coaches, and mommy bloggers. Groups are a great way to build a tight knit community of people where you can ask questions, connect with other people that are doing the same thing as you, and call on those people for support. One group I was a part of did an amazing job of keeping people motivated, and because it was a private group I was so much more eager to get involved with it. We would post encouraging things we were learning that day, our failures so we could learn from them, and our successes to encourage those of us having a hard time!
3. You want feed back from a safe place
If you are looking to get some feed back from a safe place, a Facebook group may be just the thing. Writers, marketers, artists, medical professionals, local humanitarian aide groups are just some of the people that could benefit from these types of groups. If you have something to share with the world and you want professional opinions, hosting a group is going to be a great way to accomplish that!
4. You Want to Make Extra $$
Facebook groups are a great way to add on a small monthly feee to the services and products you provide. For my Facebook by Design class I have an optional group add on. For just $5 a month, you get live webinars and access to a group that I manage directly! It’s a lot of fun and super easy to use.
How to Keep Your Group Happy and Safe
As with any area of life, creating boundaries ensures we maintain a secure, healthy, and helpful environment. When you are creating your group, do not… let me repeat that DO NOT, just set up your group, make it public, and “see what happens”. You are literally leaving the doors open for a big mess if you do this, and people on the internet can be mean if you are not careful.
While groups are an awesome opportunity for you to directly connect with your customers and hear from them when you need opinions or help, it’s also something you need to set boundaries around. Monitor your group regularly for your safety and the safety of your participants.
Some of the best basic rules you can set are: No swearing, no name calling, be respectful of one another, when possible give a reference to an articles where you learned information you post, keep it friendly, no solicitation, and no threatening statements. A moderator reserves the right to ban someone from the group at any time for infractions based upon these rules.
One final note: Facebook takes threats against people very seriously. If someone has written something threatening to you or someone else in your group, make sure you report it to Facebook!
Do you have a Facebook Group? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
