Zuckerberg’s brainchild, Facebook has now surpassed its designation as a social media platform to become one of the best medium to generate engagement and leads. Since the launch of the ‘Marketplace’ feature, marketers have been using Facebook groups as a strategy to increase traction. And it isn’t just about generating leads. If used to its strength, Facebook groups can help you build loyal followers for your business too. Unlike the ‘salesy’ business pages, Facebook groups are the best place to share knowledge and practical tips with your community while making sales.
But that is where the problem lies – IF used correctly. So if you want to up your marketing game without adding on to your Ad budget, here are some fantastic tips from the marketing gurus to build a high engagement rate for your Facebook group.
Here are the best tricks to make your Facebook group more engaging:
1. Greet the new members
Every time a new member joins your group, welcome him or her to establish a personal connection. You can do it through private messages or a mention in the group would do too. A greeting message would make your members feel wanted and will also make it more comfortable for them to open up in the group.
Just go to the thumbnail icon displaying the list of new members that have been added to your group and click on the option ‘Write Post’ to share a customized message with all your new members.
2. Help members engage within the group
Unless your group members are engaging with other members, you would not generate any leads or add up to your sales number. So help them break the ice and connect with others. One way to do so is to ask your new members to introduce themselves. This can be an excellent way to get the conversation started as well as make the new members feel comfortable.
Ask them where do they see room for improvement and urge them to come up with ideas for the betterment of the Facebook group. When people are asked about their opinion, they feel valued, which help them engage better.
3. Tap into the potential of storytelling
Visual storytelling takes the cake when it is about increasing engagement. You can start small by coming up with a theme and telling your group members to post images in the group. It does not necessarily always have to be images relating to the niche your business falls under. Facebook groups are meant to be informal. So break away from the mold with your visual storytelling strategy.
You can ask your group members to take up the ten years challenge. This will give the members a chance to keep things real. You could also ask for their photo with your product with an offer that you would publish the best images with the best captions.
4. Create polls and host quizzes
If you want to get your members to participate, there is nothing more engaging than conducting polls or surveys. Everyone loves when asked for their opinion, and this is no exception. And do you know what the best part about a poll is? Polls are even more engaging because they take lesser time than most engagement tactics. All it takes is to hit a button or fill in some blanks to share opinions.
You could also host quizzes to keep your members hooked. To motivate your members to participate, you can add a prize too. Another great way to reach out to a greater audience and increase engagement is by asking your existing members to add new members. You can add a reward for the member who adds a higher number.
5. Ask questions
Posting questions is a great way to initiate conversations and to get the members to engage with others in the group. Think of a question that compels the members to get into the conversation and share their thoughts. For example, if you run a business of garments, you can go for an open-ended question like “What piece of garment do you think is a fall wardrobe-must?” You can use the answers for your business alongside enhancing engagement.
You can also ask debate-oriented questions. Learn it from the assignment assistance, which asked the ultimate millennial question – “Do you think homework should be banned?” Students from all over the world answered with a negative except for a few Hermoines, of course, who loved homework and tests.
6. Be consistent without spamming
Quality over quantity – the Prima Donna of content marketing applies to Facebook groups. So you do not have to post frequently on your Facebook group. The number of times you post has nothing to do with the rate of engagement of your group. So limit your activities in the group because you do not want to spam walls and drive your members away. The ideal frequency for posting should be not more than two posts per day.
Share less but share quality posts so that it gets more response. This is essential because the Facebook algorithm ranks posts that draw positive feedback and higher engagement. Currently, the best blend that is working best for Facebook is the combination of education and entertainment – or “edutainment”. Take a cue from the 5 minutes DIY videos from Craftly or the culinary videos from Tasty, they sum up what you call Edutainment.
7. Create a Facebook schedule
If your business caters globally, then you may have members in your group from all the nooks of the globe. Now considering the daytime patterns in countries in the Southern and northern hemisphere, you would have to arrive at a middle ground for all your users. This is imperative so that both your Australian customers as well as your English customers can follow your posts.
I suggest a Facebook schedule to make sure that the timing of your posts is correct. If you think waking up at odd hours to make posts is taking a toll on you, you can schedule a post on the Facebook group. All you need to do is click on the clock symbol next to Post and select the date and time when you want the post to publish. Here is a guide for creating a Facebook group schedule.
8. Go Live on Facebook
Facebook Live videos are the best thing to have happened to the commercial world, and all marketers are leaving no stone unturned to milk out all the opportunities. Live Videos are fun and more personal – the two things needed to boost engagement for your Facebook group. It also helps you reach more audience because members outside the group can join in too. Moreover, when you go live consistently, more people start to recognize you, which leads to more conversions.
Just like your posts, you need to remember that you need to have a perfect reason for going Live. Zero down on the topics that you want to cover, write down your pitch if you are not a smooth speaker. Also, look for a spot with good lighting and a good background. Make sure that you are audible and visible too so that you do not lose viewers in between.
9. Ask members to turn notifications on
For maximum engagement, you would want your members to get notifications whenever you add a new post to your group. To make this happen, ask every group member to turn his or her group notifications on. This is something like the bell icon on YouTube. You could also ask them to make your group a favorite. Share the following guideline for the purpose:
- From the News Feed, one needs to click Groups in the left menu and select your Facebook group.
- Click on the ‘Settings’ option below the Group name and mark as ‘Favorite’ to never miss a post made in your group.
In the end, remember to have patience. A Facebook Group is like a garden that needs to be tended regularly. So have patience while seeding to reap a good harvest. Give it time to grow at its own pace. Keep your efforts consistent, get a team of dedicated administrators who can socialize with every member, post at the right time and manage the day-to-day interactions.