5 Benefits of Using Facebook Groups for Your Small Business

by Syrup | Jul 30, 2019

Facebook is changing. And unless you’re at the forefront of the change, your business could suffer. We like to tell our clients (and ourselves) how important it is to never rely on just one tool for your business, which is one of the many reasons we suggest you jump on the Facebook groups train.

Facebook groups are becoming the primary means of communication between brands and people. Is it time you began leveraging them? 

The Facebook algorithm always changes, and it’s continuing to place higher importance on paid ads. That’s why brands have been using Facebook groups to reach customers instead. We’re preparing for Facebook groups to become the main way that many brands connect with their audiences. 

The benefits of using Facebook groups

1. Get more engagements. We’ve seen that posts in Facebook groups are starting to get more engagements than those posted on a page. We decided to test this out with one of our clients. We compared engagements (likes, comments, and shares) on group posts versus engagements on page posts, and saw 452% (5.5 times) MORE engagements on posts on their group than on posts on their page. 
2. Stay in front of your audience. Like I mentioned earlier, Facebook is prioritizing Facebook ads over organic Facebook posts. If you’ve noticed a steady decline in reach over the last year or so, this is why. Facebook simply isn’t showing organic posts as often. In fact, Hootsuite reports that an average of only 6.4% of a page’s likes will see a post on a page. However, when someone joins a group, they’ll be notified every time someone posts in the group. That means a significant increase in reach. 
3. Provide extra value. Facebook groups allow you to dive deeper into subjects your audience cares about, connect with your audience, create a sense of community, and give exclusive content that regular fans or followers wouldn’t get. Members can also create conversations and talk amongst themselves, creating more of a community around the brand than you’d get from a page.
4. Create exclusivity. One of the many options you have when creating a Facebook group is the option to set it to private, meaning a user is required to request access to join. These types of groups can still be found in search results and non-members can even read content, but they can’t contribute to the conversation, which is the best source of FOMO (fear of missing out). Then there are secret groups which can’t even be found in search results and require an exclusive link to be able to request access. Again, capitalize on that FOMO. 
5. Evolve as your members’ wants and needs evolve. Although you should set expectations for your group early on, always be willing to change and adapt as your group grows. You may find that your members place value on information you didn’t originally expect, or your group may naturally evolve into something you never expected. Let it happen. 

Disclaimer: Facebook groups aren’t for everyone, at least not right now. We’ve found that they tend to work better for B2C companies than they do for B2B companies. If Facebook is a primary focus within your social strategy, then it’s definitely worth trying it out. 

It’s an exciting time for our team as we help our clients discover what’s right for them when it comes to Facebook groups. Should your business have one? Should it have more than one? What should it look like? If you’d like some help answering these questions, reach out to me on LinkedIn or connect with our team here.