5 Ways to Use Facebook Groups to Market your Business and Gain Leads

Over 1.56 billion people use Facebook every single day, so the odds are pretty good that a few of these people could be potential customers for your business. Additionally, there are 5 new Facebook profiles created every second. That means your audience is growing exponentially. But how do you reach perfect strangers to tell them about your company without seeming spammy? The answer is simple: Facebook groups. This post will focus on joining existing groups and leveraging them to find new clients, but you could also create your own group(s) online as well. The following are some easy ways to get started using Facebook groups to market your business and drive traffic to your website.

1. Start by searching for your niche groups on Facebook

There are over 620 million groups on Facebook; that comes out to an average of 2 groups per user. But you don’t need to join all the groups that pertain to your business- just the right ones. Look for the groups that are closest to your niche; you can do this by searching the group section for keywords related to your business. Then evaluate the number of members and the average posts per day. Any group with a large number of members and that boasts 10+ posts a day obviously has a high engagement rate, but with that comes a large number of competition as well. But don’t be discouraged- you just have to find a way to make yourself stand out.

2. Stand out by being active in the groups you join

Some people join groups and then don’t actively participate; that won’t gain you any leads. You need to make yourself known within your groups, and you can do this in several ways. Start by commenting on people’s posts; answer their questions and give them free advice. They’ll start to see you as a familiar face and an expert in your field, which will help build your reputation. Encourage group members to PM you if they want more information, and then friend request the people you speak with. DON’T just start friend requesting people randomly; you need to built a relationship with them first, or they won’t trust you.

3. After you’ve built a relationship with people inside the group, start offering your services

DON’T start spamming the group with links to your website; that’s a huge turnoff. Instead, comment on individual posts with personal messages that show how you can help, and provide a link to your site there. Make sure your comments are genuine and personable; people will notice if you’re just copying and pasting the same comment on everyone’s post. You can (and should) also market your services and share your site with the people who have private messaged you for more information, and/or the people you’ve friend requested.

4. Find and retain new clients by making sure your prices are affordable

Don’t forget, the majority of people who use Facebook are just average citizens and small business owners. If you’re trying to market to large corporations, Facebook isn’t the right platform for you. Your prices should reflect your target audience. Start with small jobs to ensure your fees are affordable, and use these jobs to build your reputation and your portfolio. Only once you’ve established yourself should you start looking for larger clients, and by then you should be using LinkedIn, not Facebook.

5. Market yourself on your own Facebook timeline

In addition to sharing information about your business in Facebook groups, make sure you also post info about your services, jobs you’ve done, positive client feedback, etc. on your own timeline. People you connect with in groups will most likely be checking out your profile, so they’ll have access to that information, and so will the new people you friend request from groups.

Once you’ve established yourself as a reputable business owner, people will start recommending you within different groups and you won’t have to do as much of the legwork. But still continue to stay active within the groups; if anything, it’s a great way to get inside info on what your target audience is interested in. Follow the steps above and your group following will become loyal customers in no time.

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Image 1: newsroom.facebook.com

Image 2: : Courtesy of author’s Facebook page

Image 3: : Courtesy of author’s Facebook page