We must be aware that Facebook nowadays is a marketing gold mine. Statistics show that today there are approximately 1.4 billion people that use Facebook groups and there are more than 10 million Facebook groups.
One of the best marketing plan strategies is to build a strong and successful Facebook community. When we say Facebook community, we mean the whole community that creates a general experience where people connect and share their stories, posts, and opinions.
Getting people to connect in a Facebook community creates togetherness, and at the same time, builds brand awareness for your business. After all, the point is to inform as many people as possible and thus increase the chances of them becoming potential buyers.
To create a successful Facebook community, here are 5 essentials you’ll need to build a successful Facebook community:
1. Post valuable content
Valuable and quality content is a crucial part of building a Facebook community. You have to match the content with your visitors' needs and try to be as original and creative as possible.
For example, the LinkedIn Growth Hackers Facebook group creates weekly posts that increase engagement successfully:
Or, you can make polls encouraging people to vote and participate in the Lemlist family Facebook group:
Here are some other great practices:
Combine different types of content such as text, images, videos, and infographics.
Break text into bullet points so your followers can easily read or skim your content.
Use emojis in the right context and when it’s appropriate.
Share news and important announcements your readers would like to read.
What your audience is looking for is connection and valuable information. So, your Facebook group must be full of relevant information but also be interesting enough for your visitors, who will later bring you even more visitors.
Don’t forget that high-quality content should fulfill at least one of the following purposes to:
Entertain
Inform
Educate
Solve a certain problem
Anyone who seeks expert advice or tips can now find them firsthand from acknowledged social media experts.
2. Always be up-to-date
Most visitors will not be interested in old information. Facebook groups should be an inexhaustible source of new information because the marketing world is evolving at an incredible rate, so you must keep up with it.
For finding the best solutions for better productivity, you should position yourself as an expert in that field. Your Facebook followers should find the best tools, tips, and practices when they join your community.
Being up-to-date requires fresh, relevant information, important news, and announcements. Your content must be engaging and reliable to build a successful Facebook community. To do that, you must create a strong Facebook content strategy and always keep your up-to-date.
To find out what your customers want from your Facebook community, you can create a survey or questionnaire. To encourage them to submit their feedback, you can offer a discount code for your service or product.
Build your customer base and maintain customer relationships by offering fresh and interesting tips. Make them feel special by giving them exclusive materials, such:
X amazing productivity tactics for freelancers in a rising digital era
The ultimate guide for choosing the best productivity tools in 2021
X powerful sheets to achieve more for less time
Surveys can also help you to find problems in your target audience and create materials according to their needs.
3. Build Consistency
Building consistency is not an easy task. If you’re well-organized and active in your group daily, you won't have any difficulties.
Fortunately, today you can use a social media management tool to schedule posts in advance. After you’ve created a post, choose a publishing date and the platform can auto-publish the post for you.
When you feel a lack of content inspiration, you can rewrite old posts and give them a new perspective. You can even add new information, statistics and examples to the posts.
There’s no easy answer to what a perfect measure for posting is, but you should find the balance between too many and too few posts. Being annoying to your followers is as bad as being away for too long.
However, there’s a way to find out what’s the best practice for your Facebook community. Always listen to your audience and keep track of their interactions.
You can start with two posts per week and if you see high engagement, you can start increasing the frequency of your posts.
High engagement is important when it comes to social media content marketing because the more visitors join your group, the more likely it will increase your sales.
4. Maintain communication with your followers
Content consistency is not the only thing you have to maintain. Engaging with your followers should be your top priority. This is where community management becomes essential.
In every post you publish, you can ask people to share their opinions in the comments section. When they’re sharing their opinions, it’s up to you to provide answers, and the best way to do that is in real-time.
Communicate with your followers constantly and keep them interested. Groups of this type are the central place where you can engage with potential customers, listen to their feedback, and create an analysis of all previous work.
The point of the Facebook community is to develop trust, build strong connections, nurture long-term customer relationships.
5. Promote your Facebook Group
There are several successful ways that can bring you more followers and expand your community. You can promote the group through ads on Facebook and Instagram, as they are two of the most popular social media networks in the world.
When advertising on Facebook or Instagram, it’s important to focus on 3 main factors: reach, engagement, and demographics. It’s also crucial to have an automated platform that can help you manage your paid ads.
Besides those main factors, there are multiple ways that can help you narrow your audience and reach your target audience:
Content on your official website
On your official website, visitors should be aware that you have a Facebook group where they can find useful information.
The easiest ways to share information is to:
Mention your Facebook group in your blog content, landing page and your exit popups.
Add a social media button for Facebook.
Guest blog posts on other websites
You don't have to limit yourself to the official website. Guest blog posts are a great way to promote your offers and grow your business.
When you’re writing a guest blog post for a relevant website in your niche, include a link to your Facebook group so readers can find you easily.
In-app
In-app promoting means that you can promote your Facebook group through your own app.
For example, when you open the Lempod app, a button for their Facebook community will appear at the top.
You can invite existing users to join the Facebook group where you can continue to build even stronger connections with your users. It’s a great way to build a loyal community.
Podcasts
Podcasts have been very popular, and you can easily start one by recording interesting topics from your niche. Through that podcast, you can encourage your listeners to join your Facebook community.
It’s a good opportunity for your listeners to connect with other people who have the same interests. Be sure to leave a Facebook group link to make it easier for people to find you.
LinkedIn posts
LinkedIn marketing is becoming more and more popular and it’s important to use a LinkedIn marketing solution to increase your engagement. Use the opportunity and write a post on LinkedIn for followers who are interested in your niche.
Within each post, you can invite them to join your Facebook group. Make sure to include a CTA at the end of each post.
Wait-lists
Create urgency with wait-lists. Build hype around your brand and add a touch of exclusivity.
For example, Podino has made a waitlist for everyone who wants to use their tool.
To get quicker access, people can earn points by joining their communities. With a Facebook group, people get an additional 25 points. By clicking on a certain button, they will be led to the Facebook group immediately.
In this way, Podino encourages people to join the group because then they will get access to the tool quicker. At the same time, Podino is able to expand their Facebook community.
More Tips & Tricks
Below you can find more powerful ideas to make your Facebook community even more successful.
Include a human touch
Add a cover image of someone from your team or group, which is easier for you people to connect with your brand.
You can also engage with your community by using videos, so you can give them a chance to get to know more about you and your team.
The same tactic works just as well when you post your customers sharing their experiences with your service or product.
Create Welcome Posts
When the number of followers increase, publish a welcome post where you can greet people who have joined the community. In this post, give more details about the group, whether there are certain guidelines or important details.
Invite them in the comments to introduce themselves, so they can connect with others. Some groups even tag each new member, as you can see in the example below:
Source: LinkedIn Growth Hackers
As your Facebook group grows, you can decide on how often you should publish welcome posts.
The takeaway
Creating a successful Facebook community requires commitment, effort, and constant engagement with your followers. It takes time to build interests and see what connects with them the most. Pay attention to high-quality content, maintain consistency, and communicate with your followers. These are the essentials of building a successful community on Facebook.
Be persistent, and your effort will start paying off quicker than you expected.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on socialbakers.com. Any statistics or statements included in this article were current at the time of original publication.
