Growing Your Facebook Group
Facebook groups, the sole foundation of my success in real estate and in countless other businesses I have owned in the past. If you aren't using Facebook groups, and creating one of your own to boost your business, your missing out on a crazy amount of business. And that is no exaggeration. I love having a business page, but groups can bring you "free" business, and nothing tops that. Especially when I was first starting off and too broke to pay a single dime into marketing. If you hate cold calling and door knocking, Facebook groups are the soft-approach methods of that. Sure you'll get a few people who want to be jerks, that you can block, but for the most part, it's a great way to get in touch with people in your local market in a personal way. Make sure you've gone over the branding module that discusses getting your group set up, prior to starting the marketing. You want to make sure you're set up for success.
1. THE FRIENDS LIST GOLDMINE
If you haven't gone through the branding modules, I highly encourage you to do so to understand this model. In the branding module, I discuss creating a second Facebook account (and no, I don't mean a page, I mean an actual personal account) with a sole focus on business. Now this account isn't going to be created to spam your own timeline and make people never want to be friends with you. No, this will just be your business-focused page, with your personal name and your personal style, but you'll focus on only adding people you can do business with, and omitting posts that can be otherwise "offensive," Be yourself, always, but you know - avoid too much politics, religion, and the like.
Now when you have this page set-up, your goal is to add tons of people that are local and that have an interest in your niche. Because once you add them to your friends list, you'll be adding them to your group. IMPORTANT: Nothing is more annoying than being added to a group that is about "me, me, me" and look at my products I want to throw in your face. When people add me to groups like that, I leave and block that group instantly. So if you haven't ready how to get a successful group set-up, you need to do that before starting this. If you flood your group with your own personal spam, instead of providing them value, you're going to get a lot of people annoyed. Make sure you set up your group as I discussed in prior modules prior to adding people, so when they do get added (and they MATCH the demographic your group will cater to) they will be inclined to stick around instead of getting mad and sending you a message. Adding Facebook friends to your group is a fantastic way to grow quickly, and one of the biggest reasons Ladies of Real Estate grew so fast. Make it about your clients and your local community, and your niche, don't make it all about you, it won't be successful.
2. SOCIAL MEDIA IS YOUR FRIEND
The great thing about social media is there are tons of platforms, which means lots of free advertising. Jump on your Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn, etc. and advertise your group. Encourage people to join. Make the images you use to showcase it visually captivating for your niche audience. Tell them they are invited, tell them the amazing benefits of your group, and ask them to join in on the fun.
3. PAID ADS ARE A BEAUTIFUL THING
Next best way to grow your group? Advertise it from your Facebook business page. It's important to set your ad up in a way that actually attracts the right audience. Make sure your audience settings are directly towards those in your community and that have a connection with the niche brand you are building. If your audience is too broad, it can end up getting costly trying to get members. You don't want to end up paying $1 for each member. Don't set up your ad with the automated link that comes through when you post it on Facebook, create a beautiful image that captures the attention of your audience, and post that. Then write in the text above to join your group and all of the perks of being a member. Then attach the link to join your group. Check out what we run for Ladies of Real Estate and the engagement numbers right below. This is the right way to advertise this. Of course use an image and verbiage that makes sense for your group and local area.
4. HIT UP CRAIGSLIST
Craigslist may have some nutty folks that make it dangerous, but it can also be a great way to get some free exposure. Advertising on Craigslist may not work for everyone to get group members, but if you have sections that make sense for your niche, or if your group is super community focused, you can always post your link and invite members to join you. Remember, make sure the verbiage is all about the benefits of what they are getting by joining. Don't make the group about yourself. Have I said this enough? Well, it's important!
5. GO DIGITAL
Print, Print, Print. Print out adorable flyers and business cards with no focus on anything else except your group. You can get a couple hundred cards for $25, make the image super cute and attach the link to your group for people to follow you. As we discussed in prior modules, get a URL specifically for your group. That way, instead of having a long ugly Facebook link, you can have your card say: Join Us On Facebook At www.YourLocalGroupName.com This makes your brand a lot more attractive. Pass the cards out anywhere you go to socialize, post the flyers on community billboards, or leave them at local businesses. Send out postcards to neighborhoods. Share your online world in offline methods.