This is the first post in a three part series about using Facebook groups for online business development. So much has been said and written about using Facebook groups to create community around your business, that it seems like there can't possibly be more to say. Yet, when I take a look at the various articles/slides/videos about how to use FB groups, they just don't capture the whole story.
Not only that, many people who read this post and others, will still not start a group...even if they already use Facebook to market their business. That's just crazy, people...why would you invest that kind of time and not reap the full benefit of the tool?
I will admit that it took a while for me to warm up to Facebook...I just hate the thousands of have a beer/send a gift/save a dog applications. I let those distract me from the other valuable aspects of this social networking site.
Using a group for online business development involves a bit of initial foundation building. But once it is up and running, your time spent there can be significantly less. And that is one of the greatest things about groups...they are owned by the community. Once the community starts responding, they generate their own content and build engagement with each other.
Here's how to get started: First make sure your profile is optimized for your niche market. This does
not mean use your business name for the profile or excessively hawk your business in all of the profile descriptor categories. It means make sure you use your keywords in your profile and express your genuine interest and passion for your niche. Upload interesting photos and videos, tag them with useful information.
I have both an organic vegetable gardening coaching business and have a grow your own food book that will be coming out shortly, so my profile is optimized fairly heavily toward gardening and social media (I'm an interactive marketing consultant by day). Before I ever started a group, I spent some time cultivating friends who shared similar interest in gardening. I did this by going to different FB gardening groups in search of like-minded people.
A word of caution...do not be offensive and spammy in your attempt to build thousands of friends. I am requesting a connection around a topic that genuinely interests me. And, my full intent is to provide value to my network. Even though I have products and services to sell, I share a lot of valuable information for free.
After developing a base of friends who shared a similar passion for gardening, I created the Grow Your Own Food with Gardener to Farmer group. Tomorrow, we will talk about group build out and promotion.
