Facebook Groups are one of the basic components of Facebook. You are probably a member of some of them, maybe ten, or perhaps hundreds.

It's a place where people with the same interests can meet up and chat online. The basic principle is that it is a space to discuss, share experiences, give advice and a place for people to express their opinions. It also allows people to organize events, share photos, videos, or broadcast live videos.

Any Facebook user can create a group and its operation is completely free. Each user can be a member of up to 6,000 groups at the same time. 

Unlike FB Pages, groups can be closed and while the Page serves primarily for brand presentation, groups are focused on users and their activity within the community.

Facebook Groups Types

There are 3 types of Facebook Groups.

Public Groups

• Public Groups are visible to anyone.
• Anyone can join them.

Closed Groups

• Closed Groups cant be found by everyone.
• Its content is hidden from non-members.
• Membership must be approved by the moderator or administrator of the group.
• These groups allow you to control who can and cannot join the community.

Secret Groups

• Secret Groups offer the highest level of privacy.
• Users cannot view or search these Groups on Facebook.
• Members of these groups are directly invited by administrators or other members.

Why Do People Use Facebook Groups

More than 1.4 billion people are using Facebook Groups. It means, people like groups. So, what are they using them for?

Connect

People like to connect and discuss a common topic. Groups are a great tool which people can use to meet new people with the same interests, build relationships, or connect with friends or acquaintances.

Inform

A group is an excellent tool for informing people. Almost everyone has a Facebook in their pocket, which makes FB Groups an excellent tool for informing people who share a common interest. For example, a library that you regularly visit, may report sudden changes in opening hours or might display upcoming news or events.

Express

Groups are by nature closed places, which gives people the opportunity to express themselves and share their opinions. 

Inspire

Groups are also a great tool for sharing inspirational posts, or for finding inspiration.

Discover

In groups, people can discover and share knowledge, new resources and  ideas.

Co-work

Secret groups are also popular at work. A secret group is a great place for people to discuss projects, share information and documents.

Offer

There are a number of groups that focus on connecting people who sell and buy certain things.

Organize

People like groups because it allows them to organize events for a specific target group on a regular basis. Groups allow them to easily create an event, let members know about it, and keep track of attendees.

How to Exploit Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups are a distinctive tool and there are several ways to use them for business.

Building Community

A FB Group is a great tool for creating communities around a particular interest, location, brand, etc. Naturally, a group is a closed place where people have a safe space to discuss and share their thoughts. When you create such an environment, you have a unique space to ask and interact with members.

Connect with Your Customers and Provide Them with Value

You can also use a closed group for your existing customers. It is a place where you can provide additional support and stay connected with your clients.

Connect Your Team

Facebook Groups can also be used as an internal digital workplace. You can set a group to "Secret" so people can't find it. It means you can then have enough privacy to discuss and share documents with your colleagues.

Nurture Group Data Insights

Facebook collects a lot of user data and, and fortunately, shares some of these with you. Use Group Insights to better understand the group. The data can also help you understand your target audience and help you target your ads more accurately.

How to grow your Facebook Group

The growth of the members in the group is the basic rule for group success. There are some minor strategies to increase the number of new members with minimal effort.

Clear and Concise Description

Be extremely careful about the description. It's the first thing people see when they find your group. In this case, it must be immediately clear what people can expect from the group. The description should be clear and concise.

Think About Contact Points

Your potential group members are going through different so-called contact points. These points could be your website, LinkedIn profile, business cards, etc. You can use all of the above items and more to mention your group.

Email Signature

Include a call to action in your email signature. With every email you send, you are letting the world know that you run a group and are inviting other members there.

Set it as one of the signatures, and whenever you write a new email or reply to one, you can easily add information about the group.

Try a Paid Ad

On Facebook, you can make your group visible with paid advertising. If it is well optimized, it is usually a cheap way to get new members. You don't have to be a social advertising specialist, for example, you can use our groost app to create an optimized ad with just a few clicks.

Short Link

Use a short link with your domain that redirects the user directly to the group. For example, yourwebsite.com/group should redirect a user to the group. With this short link it is easy for you to tell people how they can find the group.

Ask for Recommendations

Ask the first few members of the group to invite their friends, who might also find it useful or interesting. You can repeat this process as many times as you like.

How to Increase Engagement in a Facebook Group

The basis of a successful group relies on the regular activity of its members. You can support this in many ways, and we offer several suggestions in the following list.

Tell people to set up alerts

Your post may get lost among other content. Fortunately, Facebook provides an Alert feature that notifies you when someone in the group posts something new. But the user has to turn it on himself and it's up to you to remind them. Create an in-action post, like an image, an animated GIF, or a short video to tell people to set up alerts.

Write personal messages to members

Groups are a great tool for people to meet each other personally. Don't be afraid to communicate with members directly. Send them personal messages. You are showing that you are interested in them and that you care about their membership. 

For example, you can thank members for their participation in the group. With more members, it's not easy to communicate with everyone, but you can use Group Insights to find the most active members and filter out the key members of your group.

Create an event

You can create an event within a group. It's a great tool to tell people about an upcoming event. Do this because you will get feedback on whether people are interested in the event, and if so, Facebook will provide a reminder to show which members want to come.

Name active members as admin or moderators

Take the opportunity to reward active members of your group. An excellent tool for this is to appoint a member as Administrator or Moderator. It is a certain public appreciation and status they have earned for their efforts towards the community. In addition, the benefit for you is that such people will be happy to assist you in controlling and following group rules and deleting and blocking trolls.

Show “Behind The Scenes”

Show people things they can't see. Show them what you're working on. They will feel more special, because you are sharing "secret" things with them. This open approach can also attract other people to join your group.

Make Polls

A minor, but engaging function. Instead of a regular post, give people the chance to vote by creating a poll. People like to add their own options, and a poll can give you valuable insights into people's thoughts on a given topic.

Start Debates

Groups, unlike the Pages have an advantage — people debate much more here. They feel that they are in a closed small group, so it is much easier to share their ideas and to respond to something that they disagree with.

Ask questions even if you know the answer. Remember, it's not important that you know it, but it is crucial that others have the opportunity to show publicly that they do know the answer. You can stir the pot a bit by posting and then let others show up.

Do Live Video for Dedicated Members

Use one of the most popular Facebook features —a live stream. An advantage of the live stream is that you are authentic and this is what people like. You don't have to broadcast frequently, but you should broadcast on a regular basis. It also shouldn't be too long. Use live streaming to tell people news from your business, or just say “Hi” to them and thank them for their activity.

Pin Important Posts

You can pin one post in a group so it remains visible and doesn't get lost in the mix with the others. This post can be contacts, group rules, etc.

Let us know how Facebook Groups help build your community and grow your business. 👍