You probably have a Facebook business page or have at least heard people say you should have one to market your business for free on Facebook. The reality is that only a very small percentage of people that like your Facebook page see your posts unless you pay Facebook to promote you.
This is where Facebook groups become valuable to you, by getting clients and growing your business basically for free, (minus the time investment of course.) In this article I will show you how to use Facebook Groups for business to get clients.
What is a Facebook Group?
A Facebook group is a dedicated community within Facebook where people with similar interests can connect, network, support and share information on a specific topic of interest. The great news is that almost everyone within the group can see what has been posted to the group page. This is a golden opportunity for businesses to connect and get in front of their target audience without having to pay.
What’s the Difference between a Facebook Group and a Facebook Business Page?
A Facebook business page is generally set up specifically to represent a brand or company and therefore only that company or brand’s content will be shared on that page. A Facebook group is more of a community where anyone can communicate and share information. Based on the rules of the group, members share useful blog articles, ask questions for things they need help on, ask for recommendations on resources both on tools or human resources and overall in some ways can be each other’s cheerleader.
How can you use Facebook Groups to Get Clients?
To get clients on Facebook you can either join existing groups or create your own group. Joining an existing group is the fastest way to start getting clients, so for the purpose of this article that’s what I will focus on.
Join Existing Groups
There’s a group on Facebook for just about every topic or interest. From stay at home moms to legal professionals, and everything in between including Harley Davidson enthusiasts, college alumni groups, your local chamber of commerce and much more.
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Start with Your Ideal Target Audience in Mind
Determine who your ideal target audience is. This will help you choose the groups that will get you in front of people who need your product or services. For example, if your ideal target audience is mostly business owners, perhaps joining your chamber of commerce Facebook group would be a great idea. Let’s take it a step further; let’s say you target business owners who are painters, then you would look for Facebook groups with Painting Contractors.
How Do You Find Groups to Join?
To find groups to join, you can look at the groups that your colleagues or competitors are already a part of, then either join those or use that information to search for similar groups. To find out what groups your Facebook friends or business colleagues are already a part of. Simply,
- Login to Facebook
- On the left side of your page, scroll down to the section that says Groups
- Click on Discover Groups, this will bring you to a page that shows you the groups that your Facebook friends are a part of
You can also use the Facebook search facility to search for groups using keywords that describe your target audience. On the very top left of your Facebook page you will find a white search box. Simply,
- type in the words that describe your target audience, e.g. ‘business owners’ and it will return a list of suggested groups.
- To view all the suggested groups, click on the blue text that says, ‘See all for “business owners”’.
- Then click on the Groups tab at the top and go through a list of all the groups, reading the description to decide if it’s a good fit for you.
- Simply hit the join button to join. Most groups have an approval process which helps to prevent spam. Pay attention to the number of participants in a group. You will want to join a group that has at least 100 people but some Facebook groups has as high as 40,000 people or more, which make them very valuable for you to gain visibility.
Be an Active Participant
Upon approval to join a group, the only way to get known and seen is to become an active participant by sharing your knowledge and expertise. The group founder or moderator generally dictates the type of content you can share. Each group is unique. For example some groups allow you to share content freely while others have a theme for each day. Be sure to adhere to the group rules, otherwise you may be kicked out. For groups that allow you to share content freely, you want to use the 80/20 rule. You can share useful content and tips 80% of the time and then 20% of the time you can promote an offer such as a free consultation, an event that you might be having or a product that can benefit the group. For groups that have daily themes, be sure to comment on the themes, provide feedback and answer questions or provide support in any way you can. This is a great way for you to get exposure for your business.
Finally, if this is a route you take to get clients, remember consistency is key. Commit at least 15 minutes a day to being active in your groups. This could be commenting on posts, answering someone’s question or posting your own content. The more consistent you are, the more known you become and you will benefit greatly from name recognition.