Having a Facebook page for your business is a given. There are loads of great tips for making Facebook work in terms of online presence and generating work. Did you know that the Facebook Groups feature has a ton of potential as well?
As with any great marketing tool, your group shouldn’t be used strictly as a place to promote yourself. A successful group gives its members a reason to visit, interact and engage with one another. It’s an avenue for building connections and relationships. The ways you make your social media platforms thrive is the same approach you should have with groups:
- Post frequently
- Use images whenever possible
- Engage the audience
- Announce upcoming events
- Share the work with someone else. Collaboration can be amazing!
With that in mind, here are some additional ways to use utilize Facebook Groups to support your business.
Give It a Purpose
Don’t assume that people will join your group just because your name is attached to it. This might work for successful influencers but even then not having a game plan isn’t the best tactic. Come up with a purpose and a set of goals you want to achieve with the group. 
As with any new venture, being strategic and developing a plan is the first step to take.
Write these goals in the group description so anyone who visits can see the purpose of the group. This will ensure that those who choose to join are like-minded participants.
Give Them Something Valuable
This could be offering discounts or free items to members. It could also mean saving some of the best content just for the group. Perhaps hold a regular contest.
Or, It could be that members have the opportunity to network with one another, or that it gives them better access to you. Make members feel rewarded and special.
Build a Sense of Community
Remember that a group is only as good as its members. Find ways to introduce them to 
one another. Get creative in making sure they engage. Give them a regular opportunity to show-off, ask questions, or share content. Regularly ask for group participation, input, and sharing.
Make Members Part of the Team
Often, many of your group members will be invested in you and what you do. Test new ideas or concepts within the group first. Ask for their opinions. Encourage them to test drive new programs.
Once you find the sweet spot you will notice that a lot of the engagement happens organically. You are still the central piece of the puzzle. However, it will mean less work for you and more growth as people start asking YOU if they can join up and participate.
Side note: Facebook Business Pages vs. Facebook Groups
Facebook Groups supplement your business fan page. So even if you create a Facebook group, you’ll still want a Facebook page for your business.
Anything you share on your business page shows up in the news feed for fans to see. When fans engage with your content, it increases your visibility to others in their network.
However, updates from Facebook groups only show up in the news feeds of members. When a member engages with the content in a group, it doesn’t show up in their friends’ news feeds.
Once you have a Facebook group and a business page, make sure they work in tandem. Actively promote your group to your fans. This way, you can leverage your group and your page at the same time.
Please meet my guest blogger Beth Johnston.
About Beth
Beth Johnston is a Certified Professional Social Media Manager, and Founder/CEO of Social Bridges.
She and her team are dedicated to providing results-driven social media marketing strategy and services to busy business owners and entrepreneurs, so they can connect their brand to their audience through the proper social network(s).
Additionally, Beth provides classroom and individual instruction, coaching, and strategy consulting services.
Welcome to my Thursday feature. Here’s where I link three useful and interesting articles from excellent information sources that deal with social media and marketing subjects.