5 Steps To Creating A Successful Facebook Group
You’ve stumbled across this article, which means you’re probably wanting to start your own Facebook Group. Well, you’ve come to the right place. I’m going to give you some tips to creating your own successful Facebook Group.
Let’s jump right into it. First, let me ask you: Why are you starting a Facebook Group? Are you creating a Group for your job, or your coworkers, your classmates, your family? Secondly, what is the purpose of your group? What is your goal? What are you wanting to achieve?
If you can answer these two questions, then you’re off to a great start. Wanting to create a Facebook Group is one thing, but defining your community and having a clear goal in mind will help you get your Group the jump start that it needs.
Step 1: Determine what your Group will be about.
Having a defined concept for your Group is crucial, and the only real first step to creating a successful Facebook Group. Ask yourself the following questions: What is this Group? Why am I creating this? What type of content will be posted here? Is there a need for this Group? Will people join? Having a clear and concise reason for your Group will help members find you, and give them a reason to join.
Step 2: Choose whether you want this group to be public, closed, or private.
This is an important step. Your next step is to determine the privacy level of your Group. Do you want anyone to be able to see the content of this Group and have access to all of the members? Are you wanting to have people request access to this Group and be approved by an administrator? Depending on how much privacy you want your Group to have will determine the registration requirements. You can ask questions before a member requests to join to allow you to determine whether or not you want to accept them to join your community.
For example, maybe the Facebook Group you are creating is for single mom’s living in the Midwest. You wouldn’t want a married man living in New York to join your group, would you? Having requirements to access the contents of the community could be beneficial to monitor who is joining.
Or, maybe your Group is for your high school graduating class that is meant to share photos, memories, and to keep in touch as you navigate adulthood. You wouldn’t want someone who didn’t attend your high school or someone irrelevant to be able to access this Group. You would want to keep this Group private, with questions to determine whether or not they should be accepted.
Step 3: Create Community Guidelines.
Another important step in creating a successful Facebook Group is the creation and implementation of Community Guidelines. These guidelines are rules and requirements for your members to follow. These guidelines are the only way to have a harmonious and successful community, because it sets boundaries and rules that create order and peace within the Group. These rules need to be clear, concise and relevant. These rules need to enforced by the administrator, and followed by all members.
Examples of Community Guidelines include:
1. We’re committed to making Facebook a safe place. Content that threatens people has the potential to intimidate, exclude or silence others and isn’t allowed.
2. Treat each member with respect. We do not condone bullying of any kind. Any bullying or hateful posts will result in a warning and risk removal from the Group.
3. We believe that all people are equal in dignity and rights. We expect that people will respect the dignity of others and not harass or degrade others.
4. Respect the privacy and personal information of other members. What is written in this Group is expected to stay in this Group.
You can read some more of Facebook’s Community Standards here.
Step 4: Build an audience.
A Group can have two members, it could have a hundred members, or it could have hundreds of thousands of members… The question is: Who is going to join this Group? Questions to ask yourself when building an audience: Who do you want to join this Group? Why would someone join this Group? What can a member of this Group expect? What content and value will this Group provide to its members?
Step 5: Engage with your members.
Engagement is what makes a Facebook Group successful. If nobody is posting, the Group would be useless and pointless. Consider posting at least once a day to keep your members engaged and encourage conversation.
For example, if your Group is about Y2K Chick Flicks, you could consider creating a daily bracket of Chick Flicks that debuted in the 2000’s that the members of the group could vote on to see which film is the preferred film. This will allow members to engage with the post with likes, comments and conversation.
If you follow these five steps, you will be on your way to creating your own successful Facebook Group. Sure, there is a lot more to learn, but these five steps should give you a solid foundation and help guide you in the right direction. Keep learning and keep growing! Good luck, and feel free to leave a comment on this post if you end up creating your own Group using these tips.
