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Back in the day many businesses thrived by making use of Facebook’s organic opportunities.

 

Yet now businesses are frustrated as Facebook is a ‘pay-to-play’ space, meaning brands have to pay to ensure they feature in clients’ timelines.

 

However, Facebook organic opportunities are still available. In this article Facebook groups as a valid business opportunity is addressed. Facebook groups can be used effectively to connect to target audiences. Here is a list of 5 benefits of Facebook groups for businesses:

1. Facebook groups are a direct link to specific target audiences

Posting from a page requires boosting to ensure that the content reaches intended audiences. Posting on a personal timeline could yield some engagement, but are friends and family really the intended audience?

 

Yet, Facebook groups offer the opportunity to source specific audiences and communities. Whatever you can think of, there is likely a group for it – groups dedicated to female travellers, fans of bands, local communities/ suburbs, you name it. Do you have a restaurant in Blairgowrie? Blairgowrie’s community group could be valuable for you. Are you a life coach that works with women who are independent? Future Females or Female Nomads might be the group for you. You can target a specific audience.  

2. Professional networking

Business ownership, specifically small business ownership can be a lonely journey. Covid-19 has also impacted this, with many individuals who used to go to physical networking events now cut off from the physical social aspect of networking. However, Facebook groups can assist you in socialising professionally. If you love networking, word-of-mouth, and belonging to a community of like-minded people, there is sure to be a Facebook group to network with other professionals. It’s a great way to stay connected and transition from physical networking.

3. Market research

Too few businesses take advantage of doing market research on social media. Facebook groups are a fantastic source to gain feedback and insights from a specific audience. Facebook’s polling feature is a great opportunity to create fun, simple and quick polls that can result in easy and quick insights to help you improve your service and products.

4. Building relationships and community

Being part of groups are beneficial, but running a group can be even more valuable for your business. I’m a strong believer in sharing and giving, and use the 80/20 principle (80% share, 20% receive). If you have a service or product that could benefit from building a community, a Facebook group can be considered. It’s a way to build trust, provide client support, gain feedback, and provide value for your audience to consider working with you. Examples: coaches, products that require support, and service-based business do well with FB groups.

5. Trust

The major benefit for a business using a FB group is simple: trust. People trust people. It is difficult to trust businesses that forget about what makes businesses work – the people behind the businesses.

 

Also, as Facebook is a ‘pay-to-play’ space, it can be cumbersome for a small business owner to build trust when they do not have advertising budgets. FB groups, whether running your own, or being a valuable contributing member to a specific and relevant group, allows you to connect meaningfully with people and build relationships based on trust.

 

Therefore, there is a trust factor that paid advertising from a page, will never be able to achieve, but that a Facebook group can.  

Thank you for reading. If you would like to join our Facebook group, Building Brand Love, to see an example of a Facebook group and how to add value as a business, feel free to join here.