Zero organic reach. It sounds like the apocalypse for some brands, but let’s face it, that reality is getting closer (if not already) and we must adapt to it. An exit is; of course, already do with a specialist in social ads within your team. The other is to experiment with marketing in Facebook groups, which is especially attractive for digital marketing of SMEs.
Yes, the updates in the Facebook algorithm hurt the corporate pages; but do you know what they favor? The development of relevant communities and conversations. Point for the communication of human marks!
That means that brands must adapt by making fundamental changes, not only in the way they develop their campaigns and content, but also in how they communicate. That will help to give them a presence within the users’ feeds and gain a place in their minds.
One way to connect with the public on Facebook in the era of almost zero organic reach are the groups. Create them and participate in them. Facebook groups offer users a place to meet around their favorite topics. These can be linked with entertainment, social causes or… you thought well: brands and products.
Facebook group marketing: What you should know before
Yes, there is a before… and maybe in the background you have already guessed. Contrary to what many brands have clung to see on social networks, Facebook groups are NOT an outbound channel and are totally refused to operate as such. That means that brands that want to take advantage of them must be willing to do their homework very well: first, to make consumers fall in love, then let them go to them.
Right, it does not sound attractive. I’ll tell you why: most brands are used to thinking about how to get bigger profits, instead of how to generate more value. A company that focuses its energy on pushing product does not have enough energy to attract loyal consumers.
That is the task that brands must do if they really want to benefit from Facebook group marketing. Transform your paradigm, become human and then become part of a community.
It is said easy, but in reality it requires commitment and constant work. It means being willing to generate valuable content that is relevant to your buyer. Interact with your community and make each one of your consumers feel special. Are you ready?
How to do Facebook group marketing
If you have already done the homework, then you are on the other side. Otherwise you will have to change the chip quickly and adapt to the best marketing practices in social networks. If you practice them you will know that it is not enough to create a group on Facebook… you have to feed it constantly and give users multiple reasons to return to it.
In case you are a small business and your consumers are, in general, people from your locality, then a group will be great for you. If you are a bigger brand and you have multiple buyers, you may have to evaluate having more than one. The decision is yours; just remember that every effort you make must be geared towards meeting your business objectives.
Here I mention some tips for Facebook group marketing:
1. Know the rules of each group and respect them
You can see them in Group information or in a fixed post of the administrator, and also observing what the other members do. If we do not agree with the rules and it does not serve our purposes we simply will not participate.
2. Define your objectives
Each group has its characteristics and each group must be clear about what you want from it.
For example, you can use the most numerous advertising groups, with the sole purpose of publishing ads and getting visits to your site. Or you can join smaller groups, where advertising is not allowed, but where you can find good customers or create valuable partnerships.
3. Provide interest information
The best strategy is always to provide valuable information. Make publications with contents and links of interest and news according to the dynamics of the group; and regarding the comments, a good habit is to answer all the questions and requests for help made by other members.
4. Provides graphic information
In Facebook groups, and in general in any social network, you will achieve much more effectiveness by attaching an image to each publication. If you share a page, Facebook will automatically search for that image in the code of the page, or you can customize it. The recommended measures for this image are 1200 x 628 pixels.
5. Promote activities
For example you can organize events, or contests, or invite courses, webinars and activities of interest to the group, even if you do not organize them. They will be well seen by the community, will give you dynamism and begin to stand out as a member.
6. Become influential
Contact the best members of the group and make a space between them. For example, you can contact the administrator and ask him if he needs any help to keep the group, to report cases of spam or inappropriate messages. Detect the influencers, look at what they do and make a space between them, it will also help you learn.
7. Publish at the most appropriate times
Your posts will have more repercussion if you publish current topics or fashion. There are also several studies that indicate slots 7-9 in the morning and 14-15 in the afternoon, as the most favorable for users to interact, as well as on Thursday and Friday. Experience yourself.
8. If you send advertising, do it in moderation
We can put links to our capture page or to our virtual store, but without abusing and without making spam, according to each group. If the group is very active, with many daily publications, we can do it more frequently. To abuse with clearly publicizing messages will provoke the opposite effect to the one we seek.
Finally, keep alert. Think of your Facebook group as a garden that should be taken care of regularly and with dedication, instead of a tree that you can plant once and let nature grow in care. The more people interact with your content and with each other within your group, the more likely this content will appear in the feeds of more members of your community and your brand will have greater benefits.