Have you ever considered starting a Facebook group, but you didn’t quite know how to manage its content? Or perhaps you want to know more about the best way to strategize the management of your group?
Today’s post is dedicated to you! I am going to share specific ways to create a new group AND manage it. Facebook groups are the perfect venue to discuss specific topics like your business (sort of like an “insider’s club”), sell items locally, provide an exclusive membership site, and offer support groups. Of all the reasons, I find the support group options to be the most successful. These are just a few reasons why creating and moderating a Facebook group is a great idea.
If you’re just beginning your venture into the world of Facebook groups, you can create one by following these steps:
- Once you are logged in, go the Home page and find “Groups” on the left side
- Click on “Create Group”
- Follow the prompts and you will be set up!
After you’ve created your group, it is now your responsibility as the moderator to oversee its content. You do this by curating the content before publishing anything. Let me break it down for you… Whether you have 10 people or 1,000 people in your group, create posts on specific days for your members. Generating organized conversations promotes group conversations and gives your members something to look forward to. Think of it like you would for hashtags of the week. Here’s an example of a week’s worth of dedicated content:
Monday – Motivational
Tuesday – Working out & transforming your body
Wednesday – Hump days
Thursday – The famous throwbacks
Friday – TIG, Follow Fridays
Saturday – Small business
Sunday – Fun day
So, the first step to creating dedicated content is to put together a plan and I have a few suggestions to get you started. As the moderator of the group, it is your job to be active in your group and make sure to both create dedicated posts every week AND manage what others post. Remember, the purpose of these dedicated posts is to encourage members to have a discussion with specific topics in mind. Dedicated posts can be as simple or complex as you want. A great place to start is with self promotion (of course)! Self promotional posts allow members to talk about themselves within that post. Job postings allow anyone to post a job they are looking for or a position they need to fill. Friday, typically known as Follow Friday, can be dedicated to encouraging members to follow someone else. As the moderator, you can kick it off by suggesting someone your members should follow then encourage people to write why others should follow these individuals. This adds a personal touch. All of these are examples of individual days’ worth of dedicated content. Now this next part is huge.
Anytime that you create a dedicated post, encourage your members to respond to it in the comment section of that post.
This keeps the newsfeed clean; the rest of the newsfeed should be allocated to sharing resources, asking questions and other general conversations. Doing so makes it easier for members to search for these posts. I suggest using a specific hashtag to help with the search. Take Friday as an example. Each week when you post, you could add the hashtag #Friday or #Follow or whatever you want to create. Also, whenever you post, make sure you list out some requirements. For example, if someone is hiring what should the post include? Or, if someone is looking for a job, what is he/she looking for? And how do people get in touch with one another?
Hopefully I’ve given you some ideas that will contribute to a thriving Facebook group for your particular interests. Not sure where to go from here? Try creating a digital notebook on Evernote (affiliate link goes here) or on your Notes app. Just start writing content and use it as a base for all of your posts. That way you can simply copy and paste each week and the content will be ready to go!