If you are like me you are probably in a bunch of Facebook groups right? And some of them you actually want to be in…while others you’re wonder…how did I get drafted into this mess?
Facebook groups are a great way to bring a set of like minded people together for a specific purpose. When the group is harmonizing well everyone benefits.
The video below will show just how powerful a simple Facebook group can be when it’s set up correctly and you apply a simple set of guidelines everyone follows. Note the size of this group.
In the video you heard my set of guidelines for this group. You also heard that I qualified people to join this group. How different is the posture when you do this instead of draft hundreds of people into a group they may or may not want to be in?
The Many Uses for Facebook Groups
Some of the most common groups on Facebook are:
- Content syndication (my favorite of course)
- Mastermind (ok another favorite)
- Your down line if you’re in a network marketing company
- Support for your product or service
- Photo sharing (becoming very popular)
- Humor
- Religion
- Political
Just to name a few. There is actually a never ending list of Facebook groups as well as niches a group can be created for.
So what are some of the benefits of creating your own group?
How can you edit and update your group?
These things we’ll cover in the next video so stay tuned.
If you have a group you manage or a favorite group you would like to promote, leave it int he box below. Go ahead and share your best group but I want you to give it some worth. Tell us what the group is about. Give us the vision and reasons why we should look or join your group. And here’s the kicker…it must be an engaging group!
Ken Pickard
The Network Dad
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
I was invited into one group that was very active, but it seemed like all they wanted to do was promote themselves and not network with other bloggers. Also, I received so many pointless emails it was crazy. They had some weird rules and they came off extremely rude. Needless to say, I left as fast as I joined.
Groups only work when people really get engaged and make a conscious effort to network with others. If it was only about “what’s in it for them”, it comes off self-centered and not very friendly. Everyone on the Blog Commenting group is people I talk to weekly and it isn’t always about blogging.
That’s the real beauty behind this group and if it wasn’t for all of those members, my blog wouldn’t be where it is now. Thank you Ken! You have made all this possible for me and truly helped me learn what it means to NETWORK.
Sonia recently posted..How to Leave Your Blog In Good Hands When On Vacation
Sonia,
Self serving motivations always has a way of biting you in the but. There is a difference between paying it forward and have it showy as self serving. I prefer the first. it’s funny how that comes around and brings lots more benefits anyway.
I also agree with what you said about bloggers networking. This is supposed to be the biggest benefit of groups like ours. People meeting people connecting and finding other cool blogs to visit and network with. Why else leave comments. Oh there’s the potential back link. Well that’s a small benefit.
The connections and so much more worth it. And the social proof rocks as well. Thanks for being a big part of our group. You have a lot of value to bring to the table!
Ken
Hi Ken, I absolutely love what you have done with this Facebook group and yes it is one of my top groups to visit and engage with. How cool is that to see my little profile pic popping up throughout the video. This is like a case study on how to run a successful group too. I left three groups this weekend because they looked exactly like what you said – Twitter! Thanks so much for showing us how it’s done!
Ileane recently posted..How to Boost Your Brand on Facebook and Drive Traffic to Your Blog
Ileane,
I appreciate your thoughts and comments and am so glad our little case study of a group is still rocking it out. It did start out as a case study and a spin off of my bigger group. I’ve been meaning to do this video for a while. I’m just thrilled that the group has been so stable. But that’s all due to people like you who leave comments AND value added content.
Ken
Hi Ken
I love this group and am very grateful to be part of it. I have really met some nice people because of it. I am a member of many groups where as all people do is spam or talk about themselves.
This is a great post and video Ken.
Thanks
Sue
Sue Price recently posted..Work from Home
Thanks Sue! I appreciate your comments as well as your contributions to the group. It’s easy to do and easy not to do when it comes to creating a group for value added purposes. But it’s a whole lot of fun when the majority of the members understand what it means to be a part of something instead of looking out for themselves.
Ken
You are right Ken, for getting exposure and traffic form social media it is important that you create a group of targeted people only.
Rajnish recently posted..Get Free Whitehat Backlinks
I enjoy groups as well but like Sonia, I also find some of them to be overly promotional and spammy. I don’t mind when people share blog posts – I like that, actually, because I can usually find new good stuff. But sometimes you get bombarded by ads and stuff people want to sell you. Ugh. I think a lot has to do with the group owner. If you allow your group to devolve into a mess of self promotion then that’s what you’re going to get! On the other hand, groups like the one you have, Ken, are honest and friendly and purposeful.
Carol Lynn recently posted..Sabotaging Success Part 5: How To Stop Thinking Like A Crazy Person And Get Real About Your Business
Carol,
Yes…it’s generally up to the group owner to keep the group in tact and on target. It’s easy to do when set up properly from the onset and it’s easy when those “invited” know what the intentions / guidelines are with the group.
even in my bigger tribe I don’t allow affiliate links. Blog posts about a product or service is great. But if you allow a few “non qualified” affiliate links to drop then it becomes a spam fest.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing.
Ken
Hi Ken,
You have done a fantastic job with this group! It was nice to be invited rather than added and I love that it’s so active. So many groups out there are just post-fests. I think that 90% of the members post and leave without looking at anything. When I see a group with no interaction I don’t think that it will be worth my time because it looks like the members are only interested in promoting their own content.
Stacy
Stacy recently posted..But This is Just a Dream
Stacy,
I couldn’t agree more about the being invited part. I also think qualifying people has a better posturing effect as well.
It’s kind of sad actually. I see a great group with several hundred members and 90% is one way interaction. No good. In fact my other “tribe group” is that way. That’s why I spun off a smaller group as a test case.
I’m glad you’re getting a lot of value out of our smaller group. Oh and you’re right about how most people are interested in posting their content first and only. They’re missing the point and a lot of engagement.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Always a pleasure to see you here.
Ken
Ken, i recently discovered the power of facebook groups. I’m now a member of three focused groups.
I absolutely love them over joining a forum. It seems like everyone has a facebook account including my 81 year old aunt so it\’s easy to get members who login regularly to engage more often. It\’s been an incredible networking opportunity. The only thing I don\’t do it set up my blog to automatically post to any social networkds. I actually don\’t like this feature for various reasons so i turned all automatic things OFF..
Annie Andre recently posted..Get Paid To Be You! Create A Hire Me Page: (Monthly Report #3 July 2012)
Annie,
Meeting people where they are already hanging out. What a concept huh? A simple concept that some seem to take for granted on how to leverage. Yes lots of people have Facebook accounts. I’m met long lost friends as well as made powerful connections thanks to this medium. As long as people remember it’s a two way street then there is no limit to who can can connect with.
I don’t have the automated links to Facebook groups for this very reason. It’s a two way street. Now i do have a lot of other social sites that are all automated, but there’s a difference when it comes to Facebook.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts and comments.
Ken
Huh, I thought I had commented on this already. I know I’ve read it before because I remember thinking what a great teaching post this is… and how grateful I am to be part of the Blog Comment Group.
Ken is so right… you get to choose who you bring to the party. You get to decide who you want to play with and work with.
Once you get this, it’s so empowering.
Great post, my friend.
Dr. Bob Clarke recently posted..MLM Selling Tips: Don’t be the Skeevy Appliance Salesman
Hey Ken,
I will admit that your group is my favorite. One reason is because I’ve built up some great relationships with the majority of the people in that group and they are active, okay the majority of them.
I personally don’t appreciate being put in any group without being asked first. Very few people ask me first so I automatically leave. I just feel they should have a better handle on how this is properly done.
I was asked to join what is suppose to end up becoming a very powerful tribe syndication group and I’ve been pretty disappointed in it up to now. The tribe they put me in, no one writes news posts and the ones they do, they don’t come comment on my blog. You know I’m all about giving but there are only so many hours in the day for me.
I haven’t created one of my own yet. I keep saying I will but the majority of the people I would ask are already in yours so why double dip!
Great video and message Ken. Thanks for sharing and thank you for creating your groups.
~Adrienne
Adrienne recently posted..What Facebook Can Teach Us about Rapidly Growing Your Blog
Ken,
This specific group Rocks! We have great people on it with the knowledge of reciprocity. So much so, that we have become very close knit and learn from each other each week. Not only are the people in this group go-givers, but have blogging etiquette. It is my personal favorite.
I’ve been in other groups with people who are spamming the heck out of me. Of course, I cannot accept their comments on my blog due to the comment luv factor and Google bots can slap me because of that.
Also, I cannot syndicate a spammy blog. Hey I know that we give good content 80% of the time and can pitch 20% as a golden rule. Nothing wrong with that. But when it is overwhelming, I just cannot syndicate.
One thing I noticed is that people are CONSTANTLY adding me to their groups. Sometimes I look at my groups on the side of my home page on FB and notice 10 groups I am on where I don’t even know the people. So I have to do the task of undoing it.
Thanks once again Ken for a great way to show your readers how to do things correctly!
Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Law Of Attraction Part 2
Hi Ken,
Engage like mad and kick low energy folks out of your group. Or simply check out members because they request to join. Never add someone without their consent. Big no no, because you have no clue if the person belongs in your group. Smart time here.
I engage and share in my Group. We share marketing tips to grow your home based opportunity, whether it’s cash gifting or network marketing. I encourage engagement and leave lengthy comments myself. Feel free to join and share:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/138644165348/
Thanks Ken!
Ryan
Ryan Biddulph recently posted..Home Business Tip – Dissolve Home Business Obstacles Instantly in 1 Step
A number of people gather for some purpose and share their info is a good way of obtaining knowledge. There are many useful groups present in facebook.
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Hi Ken
I only belong to one Facebook group and to be honest I rarely visit it.
Very few people comment and those that do just want to promote their latest offer.
I had thought it would be a great place to meet some like-minded bloggers but not so far in my experience.
But hey, that’s only my experience of one group. I can see how effective they could be given the right people.
Tim
Tim Bonner recently posted..Holidays – Why They Are So Important
Tim,
Yes these groups can be very powerful indeed. Obviously when set up with the right intentions and straight forward easy to follow guidelines. The group owner does need to keep the group on point, but if you attracted the right members, it’s actually really easy.
Hopefully you can grow a group where you can see these benefits and attract like minded go givers. That may be the best way of finding others. Let me know if I can help.
Ken
There are several benefits of joining a group. But it’s even better to start your own group, connect with people you share the same interest as you and leverage benefits from networking.
Thanks.
Faissal Alhaithami recently posted..What You Need to Know About Twitter for Business
These are really some great tips how we can build an enhanced Facebook group and the video is really awesome and helpful .Thanks author for this great video
firdosh joy recently posted..Apple iPhone 5 first look & Full features
Thanks so much Ken for this info. I’ll be adding this on my list of todo’s!
Alex
Alex – Home Biz recently posted..Prospecting The Professional Way