How to Develop an Engaged Facebook Group

Want your group to be a place where your people visit daily because it has such a strong sense of community? This can be done with a plan!

Once you decide who you want to attract to your group and who would be best served by being a part of your community, you will need to PLAN to be consistent in that group. This isn’t a place to just sell your stuff. Think of your group as an actual community of like-minded people. You want them to encourage their interaction with each other, not just with you. It’s a community!

Three things you can do today:

Create a sense of belonging and close connection: You might be thinking, “Do I really need to do this? My Facebook group is for business and I’m just trying to create conversations around one particular topic...my brand.” The reality is that if people don’t feel a sense of connection to your group, they aren’t going to be loyal members who come back day after day to see what’s happening. Use statements that those in your group will think, “yes, me too” or “she gets me.” This will create belonging and camaraderie.
Set guidelines and rules to guide behavior in your group. This isn’t about trust. This is about boundaries and how you want them to engage in your group. Examples: no promotions or spam, respect the privacy of others (please no screenshot of things posted in this group). Your rules should encourage more than surface-level conversations.
Ask simple questions. This will help you understand your audience and everyone loves to give their opinion.

Examples of types of post:

Ask for support to help you make decisions about design, content, food, etc. (or whatever relates to your group content)
Engagement - ask opinions (podcast, one thing they never leave home without, etc)
Prompt questions - ask about the future like where would you love to retire, or ask where are all my dog lovers, teachers or single moms? This is an easy way to get a segment of your group engaged quickly.
Look for your super fans/members (those who engage with more than one or two words). People who write a sentence or more on your posts. You will want to comment back thanking them and tell them how great it is to have them in your community. Ask them to hop on a video chat with you or send them a voice message in messenger to get to know them better or find out more about their interest in what you do (not an “opportunity” call unless they’ve asked for that but definitely take that relationship deeper on an individual level).
Show up consistently. This means doing all of the above, going live, posting pre-recorded helpful videos, and doing so consistently. Get your planner out and make a plan for when you’ll go live, when you’ll post something helpful, when you’ll ask what question, a day for motivating them, etc. A plan will help you gain an engaged community. Remember this though, it will take time. You must consistently show up and post, comment back to their comments and SERVE them well.

For more tips and help with your social media, follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you'd like a monthly content calendar with prompts, captions, ideas, and some graphics, you should consider joining our Social Tech Academy. It's one of the services we provide to our members. We also have a quarterly done-for-you graphics bundle available for purchase on our website.

Categories: Facebook