There are billion daily active users on Facebook. So it’s a massive opportunity for people like you and me to get more traffic to our website and find our ideal customer.
One of the best ways to use Facebook for marketing right now is to use Facebook groups.
Facebook pages, Twitter, and Google+ all have their strengths. But your posts are pushed down into the bottom of the feed so quickly that most of your followers don’t see them.
So how do you start a group to drive traffic back to your site? Here’s how.
Get More Traffic From Facebook Group
1. Create Your Facebook Group
Creating a Facebook group is a simple process. It’s easier than setting up a Facebook page.First, log in to your personal Facebook account. Then, press the down arrow icon on the top right corner. You’ll see a “Create Group” button. Select it. You’ll see this pop-up:
Here, you’ll need to provide some basic information.
Name your group: Name it according to its focus. Include keywords and search terms. Don’t try to be clever and choose a witty name.
Members: You have to add one friend to start. You can always remove them later.
Privacy: Choose a “closed” group. This is important. Public groups attract spams. It also diminishes the need for people to join because everyone can see all the discussions that are taking place in the group.
Nobody can find secret groups. Closed groups have neither of these problems. It also creates an air of exclusivity. As a result, members feel like they are part of something special.
Once you’ve pressed the “Create” button, your group will be ready. Now you will have to customize and add more detail to your group.
Set An Interesting Description
First, let’s give the group a description.
Your description needs to be as interesting and detailed as possible. It should give people a reason to join the Group when they happen upon it. Include clearly what the group is about, who it’s for and why it exists.
You can include your website URL in your description as well. It can drive some traffic to your site (The description will be visible to everyone. They don’t have to be a member).
Set Your Group Tags
Your group is searchable on Facebook through tags. Tags will make it easier for people to find your Group. You’ll find the option to set your tags below your description. Set tags to be what your blog and group are about.
Set A Cover Photo For Your Group
A good cover photo will make your group more visually appealing. Don’t just use a stock photo or a logo. If you don’t have a great Cover Photo at hand, create a compelling cover image with a tool like Canva. Include your URL or a call to action on it.
Here is an example of a fantastic cover photo:
Set A Welcome Pinned Post
Facebook lets you “pin” one of your posts to the top of your facebook group. It’ll be the first thing members see when they open your group page.
Keep it short and to the point. Give a sense of what your group is about. Include a call to action and a link back to your website. If getting traffic is your main goal, the call to action could be asking your members to visit your website or a specific piece of content.
Once you’ve set a compelling pinned post, you need to get people in your group.
2. Getting Your First Group Members
If you’ve run a blog for sometimes, you’ve probably noticed that it is easier to land more followers on social media than to get traffic to your website. Facebook group is the same. You’ll find it easier to get Facebook group member than driving traffic directly to your website. And more members in your group = more traffic for your site.Getting group members is easier but don’t think it will be a cakewalk. There are couple methods you can follow to land members:
Link to Your Facebook Group in Your Menu
When you have a new blog, most people land on your website, leave, and forget about you forever. But if you could get them to join your Facebook group, your content will show up directly in their news feed.
You can do this by adding a link on your website menu to your Facebook group. People will see the link, many will join if they find your website and group compelling.
Drive Members Through Your Emails
Include a link to your Facebook group in your email signature. If you invite the person you’re emailing to join your group, they might find it more enticing than clicking on a link. It has been a great strategy for the free
Broadcast on Social Media
You probably have a following on other social media platforms. Even if the following is small, tell them about your Facebook group.
On almost every social media channel, your posts are pushed down into the bottom of the feed very quickly. As a result, most won’t see your posts. So post about your group periodically.
You can also tweet influential people in your industry to let them know that you have a Group that might be of interest to their followers. Ideally, they will check it out and if they like it, tell their follower about it.
If you are struggling to get people to join your group using this technique, try using a gated content approach.
How this works: Instead of posting about your group, post about some content that people can find within the Group.
You host some great content (could be an ebook or a checklist) within your Group. Then you let people know that there is some awesome content available – provided they join the Group.
You can upload a content on your facebook group by clicking on the ‘Files’ Tab. Then you click on ‘Upload File,’ and upload it.
Then write a post mentioning exactly where the content can be found. Then pin the post.
Promote Your Group with a Call to Action
Every good blogger adds a call to action at the end of each blog post they write. Some ask readers to leave a comment, some ask to join their mailing list. You can ask your reader to join your facebook group instead.
This way, you’ll manage to get a couple hundred members. Then you can do these to get more members:
Do Cross Promotion
There are over a billion facebook groups. So unless you’re in a tiny niche, you’re going to find some Groups related to your own. Find a few groups that are around the same size as yours. Join the Group, provide some value for those inside of the Group.
Then ask the owners if they are willing to do cross promotion. Everyone wants to grow their group. So most will be willing to do it.
3. Ignite The Sparks of Conversation
If you have followed the above-mentioned steps, you’ll have readers joining. Now you’ll have to get the conversation cracking. As a host, it’s your duty. By encouraging discussion, you’ll increase the odds of the Group becoming self-sustaining as people begin to know each other better.Here are few things you can do to ignite the conversation:
Post question: When your group is new, most members will be shy to post anything. You have to take the initiative. Post a few questions related to your niche in your group. This will get the first few people responding.
Ask a group member to get the ball rolling: If you have a friend interested in your niche, ask them to start conversations and post any questions they have in your group. This will get the ball rolling.
If you don’t have any friend like that, you can create a couple of fake accounts and post regularly on your group. This will create the impression of an active group and other people will join the conversation.
4. Drive Traffic to Your Website
If you’ve followed the above-mentioned steps, you’ll have couple hundreds member and an active group. Now the easy part – driving traffic to your website. Here are a couple of things you can do:Post Content to Your Group
The easiest way to drive traffic is to post your blog content on the blog. But you have to be careful with this. If you post your blog content too much, it will look too promotional. As a result, members won’t stick around. So aim for your content posts to be less than 10%.
Also, groups are for discussion. So when you are sharing your content, make sure you’re starting a discussion about it. Make sure the discussion is more personal than the one on your Facebook page.
Answer Questions with Your Content
Encourage questions and discussion within your group. When you get a relevant question, answer it with a brief answer and a link to your content that speaks more to the question.
You can also use the questions as an insight into what content to create. Simply pay attention to the questions people are asking and write posts about those.
Conclusion
In this post, we’ve covered how you can get people to join your Group and drive traffic to your site. But the most important thing is getting people to stay in your group.One of the first things you should do to keep a group afloat is to decide what you are going to do about spam. Spam can quickly kill a Group. Set some rules. If you see someone post something that resembles spam, let them know that they’re violating Group rules. If they continue to abuse the rules, kick them out.
If your groups get big, you can hire a moderator to help you run the group. If you get lucky, you will find someone within the Group who will be happy to do this for you.
You know all that you need to about creating a popular Facebook Group. Take these tips and see how well they can work for you.
And as always, if you have any question, don’t hesitate to ask
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