How to use Facebook groups in a content strategy?

Conversations in Facebook groups + content = more engagement?

Yes, in this post we are going to see how to use the conversations of Facebook groups so that the new content you generate has more engagement.

Let's get to the point but first, let's remember very briefly, the 3 types of Facebook groups that exist.

Types of groups on Facebook

These are the different types of groups on Facebook:

1.    Public groups.

2.    Private groups.

3.    Secret groups.

We go with them.

1.- Public groups

The group is visible to everyone and you can see what is published in them.

Everyone can join it (with or without administrator approval) and invite other users to join as well.

2.- Private groups

The group is visible but not the content published in it.

This group is only accessible to its members.

3.- Secret groups

The group is not visible to anyone who does not belong to it and does not appear in the search engine results.

It can only be reached through an invitation and only the people inside can see the contents.

Why should you consider creating Facebook groups?

If we start listing the reasons for opening a group on Facebook, we will find as many as people and brands, probably.

Since it is possible that you are not managing any, I propose that we list several of those reasons, because you may identify with one of them and be encouraged to open one.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Reasons for brands to create Facebook groups

1.- Reach more fans and in a warmer way

We are in a continuous complaint that revolves around the limited scope of fan pages it is not easy to stimulate them and ensure that the content is shared by fans.

Even those of us who are dedicated to this are not very active with the publications that our colleagues' pages make.

Publishing in a group does not ensure that you have more engagement with your community, but relationships between people tend to feel more natural.

With a public group, you will surely get better interactions, since every time you post an entry, a notification arrives at the members of the group.

2.- Engaging dialogue in a taboo community

There are communities of users who follow a page and consume the content published on it, without showing more interaction than clicking on the entry.

Thanks to the functionality of linking a fan page with its group, Buy Facebook Likes you can reach them more Likes for your page in a more intimate environment.

Create for them a secret group in which they feel safe and can express themselves freely.

Can you think of a community that fits here?

Years ago I worked with a Bayer product for constipation.

We had a community of over 25,000 fans, a mostly female audience.

The fan page statistics showed that our content liked, the same thing that happened with the blog but they did not speak.

The comments appeared dropper.

What happened is that nobody likes to talk about whether or not you are constipated, or what your bowel movements are like.

What I would have given then to be able to link the fan page to a secret group!

User reasons to create Facebook groups

1.- Work on your brand 

At a professional level, we are not a few freelancers who, with or without fan page, more likes for Facebook page as a way to enhance our brand.

It is very useful to interact with other professionals in our sector and to offer a forum for debate on a specific topic.

2.- Solve doubts for your students

At the height of e-Learning and online courses, having a private group that supports students helps a lot in solving their doubts.

You may not be sure whether to make the group public or not, to finish deciding, keep in mind that:

·         If your students feel reluctant to express their questions this will not help you.

·         You have to look for other people in your target to read it and feel like training. This is in your favor, but not in that of your current students.

It's up to you.

3.- Unite people under the same ideology, with something in common or with the same objective

Here fit all the generic Facebook groups we know.

For example:

·         Those born in the same place.

·         Beer lovers.

·         Those who want to buy and sell something.

·         Those oriented to political ideologies.

Now that we have seen what to use Facebook groups for, let's go one step further.

How can we use the information of the Facebook groups in Content Marketing strategies?

Facebook groups are a digital space for debate and that has a lot of value because each comment comes from a specific person with specific characteristics that you know to their Social Media Marketing.

From the contributions that users make, you can obtain valuable information that you can transform into the content of value for your community.

For example, you can create posts by solving your questions or addressing a specific topic.

How to make Facebook groups dynamic and generate valuable information for your content strategy?

The first thing you need is a dynamic and participatory group that generates its content and interacts with each other.

1.- Do not allow links to your posts

We already know that many Facebook groups end up becoming a post repository.

So, if you want to manage a useful group for everyone and not a showcase in which to post articles, work with other content, but not with the own links that the self-search looks for.

At this point, I want to ask you a question to answer in the comments at the end.

2.- Publish and ask for an opinion on a topic

It usually generates engagement to explain something that has happened to you personally and ends with a Call to Action that provokes comments in the publication.

For example, you can raise something that you must decide about one of your clients and end up saying: "What would you do in my place?"

3.- Eliminate spam as soon as you can

The sooner you delete the publications that have nothing to do with the group's theme, the better because the less time the community's discomfort will last.

Also, I recommend that you warn in public that the rules of your group do not allow publications of this style, remind them to read them again.

4.- Take advantage of the doubts expressed by members of Facebook groups

These contributions are of great value!

From them, a nice debate can be generated in which everyone participates.

And you, take advantage of all those inputs to create useful content for them, that you will publish or spread on your blog or your social networks.