Facebook groups are extremely fashionable right now and for a very good reason. As Facebook organic reach across business pages makes it more difficult to share our key messages with our ideal clients. Creating a group can provide you with a space that allows you to really get to know your community on a deeper level, through sharing resources, information and answering questions. This enables you to build up the know, like and trust factor.

Ultimately if you are prepared to put time, effort into your group by ensuring it is a great resource for your community. When it does come to filling the last spot on your course, selling your program or promoting your e-book, it’s your community that will be out  there helping you spread the word and of course investing in your products if they fulfil the right need. They are certainly more likely to invest in your service than in someone else who has randomly targeted them through a ‘buy me now’ Facebook ad.

So, should you be thinking of setting up your own group?

Yes….and maybe no.

With any new idea, it’s always wise to start  by asking yourself the question, what is my intention? What value you can add to people’s lives by creating this space? And you prepared to put the time and effort into nurturing it? If you are looking to offer something that is the same or very similar to three or four other more established groups, why would people visit your space over and above anyone elses?

And back to the time issue. Groups, particularly before they get to a reasonable size, can be labour intensive. You have to create a space, start conversations, provide valuable and useful content that keeps people wanting to come back and interact. Are you prepared to do that?

If you have a clear intention, are prepared to put the work in and want to offer lots of value then hosting your own group could be a great option for you. So, if you’re not so sure piggy back on someone else’s group until you’re ready to dive in.

What to do if You’re New to Business

Start your group OFF of Facebook. When new clients have finished working with you put a note in your diary or calendar to touch base with them every four to six weeks to see how they are doing. Some will respond and others won’t – it’s not a big deal if they don’t, but get into the habit of touching base with people in that way.

Once you have a handful of clients see if you can create on offline event. A coffee morning or get together where you provide the space for your clients to get to know and make friends with each other. Putting a regular date in the diary is great, as you don’t have to solely limit it to people you have worked with, if you were to promote it on local forums such as mumsnet, netmums or in pregnancy yoga groups for example.

Once you have a bit of momentum with this you can start to create Event group pages on Facebook, to get your clients used to interacting with you in that space, until you are ready to create a group that encompasses all of your new contacts.

Alternatively, go all out straight away and create a group.

Again start with the intention. How many people would you like in your group. A couple of hundred? Or a couple of thousand?

Pick a relevant name where you’re not competing for attention with lots of other similar groups.

I was astounded by how quickly the Marketing and Networking for Pre and Postnatal Specialists grew. It’s because I wasn’t competing in a crowded market place and everyone knew what the group was about immediately from the name.

Don’t Give Up

Just be mindful that if you are going to create a group, particularly if it’s a small one, it can be quite labour intensive to keep it going and make it feel valuable. You may feel like your posting to yourself to start with, but stick with it. But only do it if your heart is in it! Because if it’s not you’ll get bored and your group will know and stop showing up. I say that from a place of having been there and done that – so feel free to learn from my mistakes.

I’d love to know what you think, what makes a great group? Or how frequently do you join a group and don’t interact with any of the community?

Leave a comment in the box below.