Facebook usage comes with a lot of lingo. Pages, profiles—even pokes! We’ll save the dictionary list of Facebook definitions for another day though. Here we are going to focus on a term called Facebook groups. Specifically, we’re highlighting the benefits of using Facebook groups as your business page.
What is a Facebook group?
Think of a Facebook group as a forum for individual Facebook users and pages to come together to discuss a particular topic. Topics can be anything and everything—from “What’s Happening in Auburn and Opelika” to “Potty Training Support Group” (two real-life Facebook group titles). If you can think of it, there’s probably a Facebook group out there for it.
The main difference between a Facebook group and a Facebook page is that in a group, all users who have joined the group have the ability to post on it. On a Facebook page, on the other hand, users are known as “fans” or “followers,” and only the page admins can post.
There are a few different types of Facebook groups, including “public” (anyone can join and post), “closed” (contents are not visible to non-members) and “secret” (not searchable except to members).
Using Facebook groups as your business page
People often think about joining groups as their personal profiles; however, interacting with groups as your business page has several benefits. Keep in mind as we run through these that these can be achieved either through joining groups that already exist or creating your own groups.
Disclaimer: Group admins are allowed to adjust their settings to either allow or not allow business pages to join. If a group you want to join as your business page is not giving you the option to do so, you can message the admin to request them to change their settings. Otherwise, you can join from your personal profile and interact on behalf of your business.
Back to the benefits of using Facebook groups as your business page…
Automatically access a targeted audience.
When making a Facebook post to your business page’s timeline, you really have no control over whose eyes end up seeing it. This is especially true considering Facebook’s algorithm prioritizes friends and family content over that of businesses. However, by nature of groups catering to more specific topics, you can rest assured that most of the users in that group are members because they are interested in said topic. Thus, your posts in a group are reaching a more targeted audience.
Get seen despite algorithmic barriers.
Along the same lines, using Facebook groups as your business page is a way to have your content seen without Facebook’s algorithm impeding you. What’s posted in a group is visible to all group members and is only sorted by the time it was posted. A post to your business page’s timeline, however, may or may not appear on the timeline of your followers.
Start a conversation.
As we said, you can think of a Facebook group as a forum—because that’s exactly what it is. This provides a perfect opportunity for you to engage with your fellow group members. Pose a question. Start a poll. Ask for recommendations. Facebook offers several built-in features like this that will help you to start a conversation. For example, if you’re a retail shop wondering whether to extend your Sunday hours in a local community group, you could create a poll asking people whether they would shop during said time, “yes,” “no,” or “maybe.”
Stay up-to-date on what’s going on.
Using Facebook groups as your business page is also a way to help you stay connected to current and relevant information—either in your industry or locally, depending on the group. For example, say you’re in a community group, and another member posts about a health fair that’s coming up. The member is inviting local medical professionals to sign up for a booth. If you’re a local chiropractor, you now a) know about the fair that you might not have known about and b) can comment on the post and let people know to see you there.
Or, say you’re a chiropractor and your business page is part of a group called “Chiropractors of the Southeast.” A fellow member posts about a new industry regulation. As a result of being in the group, you learned that new information, and have the ability to talk about it with people in your industry.
Respond to requests for recommendations.
We have done this from our individual profiles on behalf of our clients, but it could work either way. Let’s say you run a business page for an event venue in your area, and you’re a member of a community group in that area. Someone uses Facebook’s recommendations feature to solicit “places in (location) to host a 50th birthday.” You can respond as your business page and let the user know you would be happy to host them. If you’re part of a group that does not allow business pages to join, you can still respond from your personal profile and tag your business page as an option.
Summary
If you’re running a Facebook business page, joining or creating groups can be an effective way of further expanding your reach in the social media community in an effort to drive leads to your business. Of course, if you don’t have time or don’t want to do it yourself—that’s where we come in!
McNutt & Partners is a full-service advertising and digital marketing agency. Contact us today for your marketing needs! Call 334-521-1010, or visit our contact page.
