Small businesses and local stores need to use Facebook for the promotion of their business as it is one of the most active digital media with more than 2.6 billion active monthly users. But, the organic reach of Facebook posts has declined a lot over a period of time. This is becoming a huge challenge for the smaller business or local stores as they don’t have the required budget to match up with the big corporations.

However, the creation and participation in Facebook groups is a cost-effective and efficient way to reach out to target customers. According to a recent survey, there are 1.4 billion monthly users of Facebook groups. 

If you are not aware of the Facebook group, it is a community platform on Facebook. Where people can join and participate in different types of conversations. Groups are based on common interests or themes and people can join them based on their interests. There are several types of groups available on Facebook based on diverse themes ranging from business, education, and sports to movies.

If you are not utilizing Facebook groups for the promotion of your business and targeting your future clients, then this article will give you an idea about how to use it for your benefit. Find out the most efficient use of Facebook groups for the marketing of your business.

Facebook groups and the process of joining them

Facebook groups are virtual communities of people who connect and engage with each other over a common topic. There are a thousand types of Facebook groups related to businesses, entrepreneurship, digital marketing, online shopping, blogging, and many more.

A large number of active participants across different Facebook groups make it one of the effective ways to search and interact with potential clients without investing any additional money. Facebook groups are not only good for getting clients but you can meet with other fellow entrepreneurs, exchange ideas with them, and grow your follower base.

Also, active participation in different discussions in the targeted Facebook group will feature you as an expert in your respective field and helps to create a strong loyalty towards your brand. Regular engagement on different Facebook groups also helps you to get more leads and conversions for your business.

 Why is the Facebook group one of the most preferred places to get clients?

• Facebook groups are the most cost-efficient way to reach your target customers.
• Facebook groups let you engage with your future clients or followers.
• Using Facebook groups you can showcase your subject matter expertise and industry knowledge
• You can also build an email list of potential clients using Facebook groups.
• It helps to grow traffic for your Facebook business page and generate several leads for your business
• Facebook groups enable you to interact with other entrepreneurs and learn about best business practices
• Here you can connect with other fellow businessmen from different industries, interact with them, and receive valuable inputs from them for the growth of your business.

Remember, if used properly you can get a good number of new clients from the Facebook group. 

How to find out the right Facebook group for your business?

The Facebook groups with enthusiastic admin with a large number of active members are the best suited for the promotion of any business. These well-defined groups with engaged participants have got clear-cut guidelines about the basic purpose of the group, languages to be used for posting in the group, and promotion of any page.

There are several types of groups available on Facebook but focus on finding out those groups that can be truly beneficial for your business. To start with, search for the relevant group using the search button available on Facebook. Facebook lets you search by topic (e.g. digital marketing), location of your business, type of business, etc. Not only that, but Facebook also lets you search by using very advanced filters such as “Groups joined by the people who like any business ( e.g. Nike)” or groups joined by your existing clients and their friends.

Search for the groups which are joined by your potential clients. For example, if you are having a gymnasium then you know many of your potential clients will be interested in health and fitness-related topics. In such a case, you can search by “Groups joined by fitness enthusiasts” Suppose you are a lawyer then you should join the groups where people are seeking legal advice. If you are an online coaching business, you should join the groups in which the major participants are students or their parents.

You can find out relevant groups for your business by using the discover button of the Facebook groups section. Here Facebook will suggest all relevant groups for your business, local business groups, and groups joined by your friends.

Make sure you read the group description before joining any of them. Most of the good groups on Facebook are closed groups so you need to join them to see their postings. Some of the Facebook groups may ask you basic questions before joining. Make sure to answer the questions as the group administrator will take a call on your membership based on those answers.

Click on any of the suggested groups and read their descriptions and make a decision whether to join them. You just need to click the button “Join” to start participating in any Facebook group. 

Ideal Facebook groups for your business

There is some particular type of Facebook groups which you should join to grow your business:

•     Groups that are joined by your potential customers
•     Groups where your fellow entrepreneurs hang out
•     Groups where other owners from similar types of businesses hang out.
•     Groups which is hosted by some of the influencers from your industry

Best way to get customers using the Facebook Groups

Find out the best way to get the most out of the Facebook groups and successful marketing of your business using them. 

1. Check out Facebook group guidelines and rules

Read all Facebook group guidelines and rules before joining them. You should find them on the sidebar of the panel. Sometimes the admin also pinned it to the top. Try not to violate any defined rules; otherwise, you may get banned from the group.

2.  Start by joining a few groups

To start with, join a few Facebook groups which could be beneficial for your business. While Facebook doesn’t have any limitation on the number of groups one can join, still try to restrict yourself to a few groups. Joining too many groups may make it difficult for you to actively participate in them. Choose the group where your potential customers are participating and try to post or comment on them at regular intervals. 

3.  Active participation and contribution to the group

The marketing of your business using Facebook doesn’t end with joining different groups.  Remember, once you join any Facebook group you become a member of the particular community. You need to be consistent with your efforts in any group asking questions, providing tips, adding value, and showcasing your knowledge.

Try to make the interaction as personal as possible so that people feel like they are meeting you in person. Make yourself visible in different groups, get known for your knowledge, and become one of the most active participants in the group. 

Some useful tips to improve participation in different groups:

• Be visible consistently by participating at least 3-4 times a week in the Facebook group. If your time and schedule permit then daily participation is the best.
• Share relevant content on the group like blogs, case studies, industry reports, etc.
• Post some relevant questions about your industry.
• Be an active participant by showing interest in others’ posts.
• Try to be a ready resource for all co-participants.
• Congratulate others on their achievement and celebrate with them.

Some Facebook groups are having daily topics and contests. Try to participate in those daily activities of the group. Once your name gets featured in the Facebook groups at regular intervals, people will start to reckon with you and will start asking you questions. Also, this will improve traffic on your Facebook page. Eventually, people will try to get in touch with you and you will get a steady flow of customers.

4. Offer your lead magnets using Facebook groups

Once you join any Facebook groups and your potential customer starts recognizing your expertise then you need to get them on your list. 

Many of the Facebook groups come with a guideline for the offer day. The group admin normally posts a design featuring the promo day or offer day. Post your lead magnet on the designated day given by the admin. 

5. Make sure that people can check out your business page

The majority of the Facebook groups do not allow you to post the link to your website. You should make sure that the” About” section on your Facebook should have a link to your Facebook page. So whenever somebody checks out your profile they can get a link to visit your Facebook page. 

Conclusion

Once you join the Facebook group, try to become an active participant and great contributor. You shall receive the best results once you start adding value to the group

Remember; don’t go by the number of participants while deciding to join any group. Large groups are good for learning, but you will face difficulty in getting noticed. Normally the post gets pushed down quite frequently because of the huge number of posts.

Try to stick to the groups with less than 5000 participants as more people will likely see your posts which eventually lead to more traffic and sales. Also, maintaining relationships is quite easy in smaller groups. So, don’t go for the numbers as in the case of Facebook groups number is not everything.

Try to follow these steps and soon you will have a substantial number of clients from Facebook groups. Once you start maintaining these guidelines you will be amazed to see the effectiveness of Facebook groups.

Facebook groups not only help you to get good leads and potential customers, but if you participate actively you will get a proposal for strategic partnerships, receive referrals, and may get a chance to participate in a podcast where you can talk about your brand. 

Next Step

If you are interested in marketing your business but don’t know where to start, you can get in touch with a competent digital marketing agency like SMON.

As a trusted digital marketing agency, SMON has got an experienced team of social media experts and digital marketers who know the strategy of marketing using Facebook groups. SMON provides end to end Facebook marketing solutions for all kinds of businesses.

Based on your unique requirement, they will make the best Facebook marketing strategy for your business and make sure you achieve the desired objective out of your Facebook marketing.