Before we talk about Facebook groups, here’s a quick reminder of what’s happened to Facebook company pages. Context is key.
In the old days*, Facebook made life tough for company page admins. If you wrote a post, you were lucky if 10% of your followers got the post in their newsfeeds. Organic reach was dismal.
In 2018, organic reach is no longer dismal. It’s deplorable! (Let’s assume “deplorable” means really, really dismal.) Your average reach is now closer to 2-5%. Now, why would Facebook do this? Because Facebook is trying to enhance the user experience, and that means prioritizing posts from friends, families, and groups. Your poor, poor company page posts are practically ignored. Unless your company page uses best practices—videos, photos, tags, and paid advertising—your posts are the proverbial trees that fall but no one hears.
I’m not saying to give up on your company’s Facebook page. People will still look up your company on Facebook, so it’s good to have a presence. But if you want far greater exposure, seriously consider starting a group.
Facebook groups are essentially discussion groups. Because members receive all posts from their groups, reach is essentially 100%. Plus, groups encourage conversation, which Facebook loves. But before you get all excited and jump on the Facebook group bandwagon, make sure that groups are right for your business. Consider the following:
Your industry. Does your product or service encourage discussion with prospective clients? If you’re a life coach, a wellness coach, or a coach who coaches other coaches (that was fun to write), your Facebook group could have lots of lively discussions. If you’re an accountant, you might be hard-pressed to find laypeople who are excited about 1099s and W-2s—people pay you to be excited about these forms. This is in all due respect to accountants; Delaware ShoutOut loves you!
Your time and budget. Facebook groups take time to build and moderate. In the beginning, you’ll be the main one posting content. As your group grows and members join in the conversation, you’ll want to respond to their posts, encourage engagement, and keep tabs on everyone’s behavior. Make sure you have the time or can pay a professional to do it for you.
Your audience. If most of your target audience is on Facebook, then consider starting a group. The graph below, courtesy of Statista, shows a fairly decent age range of active Facebook users. Believe it or not, men and women ages 25-34 account for 25% of all Facebook users in the U.S.—the largest percentage group of all age ranges. So if you think your audience is “too young” for Facebook, think again.
Once you’ve decided to start a group, you may ask:
- Should your group be Public, Closed, or Secret?
- How do you optimize your group’s setup?
- How do you invite members to join?
Stay tuned for answers in the next article! In the meantime, reach out to us if we can help you with Facebook groups or anything else in social media.
* In today’s fast-paced world, “old days” means anything before mid-2017.
Have a great day,
Brooke
