~by Haley Lynn Gray~
.Facebook groups are one of the current darlings for getting business through social media. Done correctly, you can bring in a good number of clients and build an amazing business network around them. For the most part, you can work your own hours and have a very flexible schedule that will allow you to manage things like taking care of a growing family.
The downside of Facebook Groups is that you have to post in them manually. Or let me say this correctly. You can automate posts into groups that you own, but you can’t automate posts using a social media scheduler into any groups for which you aren’t a group administrator. The reason for this is so that you engage rather than just posting in hundreds of groups using an auto-poster.
Facebook has also recently started tightening up its monitoring of groups, so it will tag your posts as spam if you post exactly the same content into multiple groups within a short period of time. If you do engage in “spammy” behaivor, Facebook will automatically mark you as a spammer when you try to join a group. I see this a lot in groups where I’m an admin. This kind of behavior can prevent you from getting into, and staying in, the best groups.
Here’s what you need to do when using Facebook groups for business.
1. When you initially join a group, decide whether there are a good number of your ideal clients in the group. Also, be sure to read up and understand the group rules. It won’t do you any good to promptly get booted out of the group before you’ve introduced yourself properly.
2. Post a really good introduction of yourself in each group. Don’t just say your name and what you sell. Tell others who you are, where you’re from, whether you have kids, pets, or other hobbies.
3. Make a commitment to post quality content in each group a few times per week. Note that I didn’t suggest you promote yourself. You can only promote as often as the group allows, and in the manner that the group allows. Remember, not following the group’s rules can get you kicked out. If you post good content that is useful to the members of the group, you will become a valuable community resource.
4. Engage with other people in the group regularly. Make a concerted effort to ‘Like’ and comment on their posts. And make sure that you give them good feedback and lots of good vibes.
5. Pop your hand up if someone needs your expertise. Then message them privately to let them know you’re available to be a resource. .
If you follow these steps, you will become a trusted resource for good in your groups, and you will get clients in fairly short order.
