How to Develop High-Performing Facebook Groups Communities To Fuel Your Brand’s Growth

Facebook Groups are not just for nosy neighbors to tattle-tale on loud parties or podcast fans to debate the latest true crime controversy. When launched correctly, FB groups are a huge opportunity for brands and businesses to build customer loyalty, nurture relationships, and even gain insight from their followers.

A thriving Facebook Group gives you direct access to current and future customers. You can see what they care about, ask questions, and gain new insight that cannot be obtained on other social media platforms.

If you’re thinking of launching a Facebook Group to boost your brand’s growth, there are three specific phases you need to go through in order to be successful. 

Phase #1: Prepare To Launch

Before you even think about creating a Facebook Group for your business, you need to take a couple of steps to determine the value of creating a community and what kind of content your audience would be most interested in.

Build A List Of Engaging Topics

Think about what topics you will be discussing within your Facebook Group. Do your research and find out the types of conversations that are already happening in Facebook Groups for other companies who may have similar products or services as you do.

From all of your research, settle on three to five content pillars you can use as prompts to create momentum in the group and encourage people to post and comment actively.  Here are a couple of ways you can format that content:

• Polls
• Questions
• Experts you bring in
• Giveaways
• In-the-know news

Test Your Content Pillars

With your list of content pillars, test the best ones on your social media channels and see what resonates with your consumer base. Run polls and send out questions to get feedback on what is appealing to your audience.

From there, you can get a clear picture of what your people are interested in discussing. Make any changes to your content pillars as needed.

Build An Email List

Before you launch your FB Group, start building an email list from your website, social media channels, and any other means you have of interacting with your audience.

This way, when you’re ready, you can use your email list to promote the Facebook Group and get people to sign up.

Phase #2: Launching The Group

When all of your research and prep is complete, it’s time to launch the group. Here are a few simple ways you can launch your Facebook Group.

Make An Announcement to Your List

The first thing you’re going to want to do is to send out an email with a link to your group along with a brief announcement about what you’re doing and how people can get involved.

It’s also a good idea to wait to approve new members until you have 15-20 requests to join the group. Just like no one wants to be the first person to a party, no one wants to be the first person to join an empty Facebook Group.

Create An Engaging Welcome Post

Once you have some members, it’s a great idea to welcome them personally and ask for their help with the group.

Your initial welcome post—which should be pinned to the top of the group—should include an engaging question or a funny GIF to get new members to comment.

Phase #3: Grow Your Group With Best Practices

You can’t just launch a Facebook Group and expect it to grow on its own. You have to dedicate time and effort consistently to encourage engagement and get new members—especially in the beginning.

Here are some of the best practices you can use to grow your Facebook Group.

Remind Your Audience That Your Group Exists

It’s important that you remind your audience the group exists. Post about it on your website, social media channels, in your email newsletters, customer service chats, etc.

Engage With Your Group Regularly

As the founder and creator of the group, you have to show your face and engage with the group members weekly. Set a reminder in your calendar to reply to comments, and like new posts at least every couple of days.

Assign A Moderator

Someone will need to keep an eye on new posts and reply promptly if any questions come up. While you can absolutely take this on, it’s helpful to have someone from your team take on the role of FB Group moderator to ensure sketchy content doesn’t get through. They can also be in charge of approving new member requests and sorting through qualifying membership questions. 

Let It Flow

While group members love your brand and want to talk about it, that’s not the only reason they are in the group. They want to talk about other topics too! Make sure you’re listening and engaging with other topics when you can and allowing for different conversations to take place.

Strive For A Strong Brand Personality

It’s important to strive for a strong brand personality that aligns with who you are and what you want to achieve. This will help you attract like-minded folks to the group who will ultimately keep it alive and thriving as it grows.

To do this, make sure you’re crystal clear in your Facebook Group name, description, and promotional content about what the group is about and what sets it apart from others.

Facebook Groups: Building Community Around Your Brand

Facebook Groups are a great way to form communities around your brand and fuel its growth. But it’s important not to leave the groups alone after you’ve launched them, lest they die out or just become a place where people are only talking about themselves.

Remember that the more you nurture your Facebook Group, the more likely it is to grow and flourish.Frances Tang is the founder and CEO of Awkward Essentials.