Did you know that Facebook started out as a way for those in the collegiate community to connect and network? But now, years later, Facebook has become the third most popular social networking site on the internet. Social media for small business owners can be difficult. Especially with everything going on in the world right now. However, with over 2.5 billion monthly users, Facebook provides the perfect place to interact with your avatar online. Not to mention, it has a wealth of features that allow you to nurture and grow a community that will not only support you but helps to grow your business.
Building An Online Community
We love Facebook at TSP. In fact, our favorite part of Facebook is our online community Traffic Sales and Profit with Lamar Tyler. It allows us to connect with the community that has supported our growth by addressing their woes, sharing in their wins, and offering valuable information in hard times like these so that they know we are there for them no matter what happens.
That’s the power of an online community. Especially a highly interactive one that you can create and cultivate on Facebook. So, Step one is to build a community (if you don’t already have one).
Making groups on Facebook is simple. (And contact-free!)
Make sure the name is consistent with your brand story. We suggest making the group private or having membership questions before allowing someone in to avoid any issues with bots or unkind individuals.
Tap on a few people you can trust to moderate the activity that goes on inside of the group. Then, start inviting people that fit your target audience or can get you access to them!
Those people will begin to talk about your group, share the content within it, and bring in more people that will grow your audience and position you in a place to be able to capitalize on the community that you’re going to spend all that time growing.
After that, you’ve done the hard part. Now, use these three strategies to grow your community in order to scale your business and make more profit!
1. Nurture
You’re probably thinking: the number one thing I should do in my Facebook group is sell my product and services.
Wrong answer!
The reason people join communities is because they want connections and value. They could always just go to your website or sales page if they wanted to buy directly. The reason they are joining your Facebook group is because they are looking for something else.
This is where the nurturing aspect comes in.
In order to properly connect with the members of your online community and ultimately attract them to your offer or funnel, you’ve got to nurture them. Provide some form of value that they can’t get elsewhere.
And you don’t need to meet up with them face-to-face, so utilizing this strategy during quarantine is as effective as ever!
For example: You are a chef that’s built and scaled a successful catering business after 15 years in corporate America? You may have started a group called “Million Dollar Catering Secrets” for current and aspiring culinary entrepreneurs to connect and share knowledge.
Ultimately, you’d like to push them into your funnel for buying your course “Building a Successful Catering Business from Scratch in 90 Days”.
But first, you need to work on establishing yourself as an expert and attracting your audience so that when you do make your offer, they can’t refuse. Share your story in the form of lessons, tips and strategies that would set you apart from the next business trying to sell them a service.
Offer freebies, go live to chat with them and do a Q&A, post discussion questions, shout out wins in the community. All these are strategies that will help you nurture your audience and create a whole community of people that are eager to support you–and therefore your business.
Mostly, nurturing allows you to form an emotional connection with your audience. However, establishing yourself as a thought leader or authority in your niche is just as important; and just as powerful.
2. Inform
Telling your story or sharing helpful tips to captivate your audience is one thing. You’re doing work to get them to like and know you, which are important steps in the process of establishing authority.
However, showing them actual results, press appearances, and testimonials to your services is another thing completely!
These things help to position you as an expert in your niche and most importantly, to your audience. It helps get them to not only like and know you, but also trust you. This completes the “Like-Know-Trust” trifecta that will ultimately help you convert all of these prospects into leads and eventually, sales!
People are always much more willing to buy what they know works from someone they know they can trust!
That’s why it’s important to not only post content surrounding strategies, tips, and tricks but around your authority as an entrepreneur in the space.
Don’t be afraid to post when someone gives your product or service a great review. Make sure you share all of the articles or radio spots you were featured in through posts in your group.
And here’s a pro tip: Share your numbers! People love to see proof with your pudding.
Reach out to existing customers for reviews. Screenshot social posts that rave about your business! All of this proof can be gathered contact-free and is social distancing approved so there’s no excuse not to do it!
Keeping your audience informed on your credentials is an essential part of a successful growth strategy for an online community, especially on Facebook!
3. Sell
Though selling shouldn’t be the main thing that you do in your Facebook group, you should do it!
Remember that Caterer example I talked about earlier? Well, after engaging with your audience for a few weeks, months, or however long it takes to establish a proper relationship with them, you can post your offer about your catering course as just another piece of content!
Your online community is the perfect place to post promotions and offers because (if you’ve been building your Like-Know-Trust factor) that highly engaged audience will probably be some of your first organic sales!
These are the people that you interact with daily. They’ve gotten to know you and you’ve gotten to know them. That factor alone makes someone much more likely to buy from you.
In addition, since promotions aren’t all you post, your audience won’t feel like they’re being used for sales. You provide value and in turn, so do they.
This is even true during a pandemic. People are still shopping. In fact, they are shopping online even more now!
You may want to test how often you post offers in your group, however. Try to maintain a steady flow of valuable content and social proof before each offer or promo you put in your group so you aren’t inundating your group with constant sales materials.
Each piece of content you post can ultimately be a part of your funnel so use them wisely!
Your Community, Your Tribe
You can employ these strategies and build a successful business by utilizing Facebook to build an online community in a group.
Remember that this community is your tribe!
What you pour into them you will get out. By providing them with continual value and genuine connection, you allow for them to like, know, and trust you as a person and a business.
They’ll become ambassadors for you and your business, and begin to sell for you! They’ll be the first wave of customers for your new product or service. They’ll come to every event and even more if you continue to offer them something they can’t get from anywhere else:
You and your business!
Make sure to check out our other articles on how you can make quarantining a blessing in your business on the TSP Blog!
Keep in touch with TSP by following and subscribing to our social media pages! Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for countless tips, additional tools, and most importantly a supporting community.
TSP Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/35ybwKs
TSP Instagram: https://bit.ly/3diGclx
TSP YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/2L6pzxg
0 Comments