You may have thousands of friends on Facebook, but it may be hard to find a friend with the exact same interests as you. Your posts might be about your interests but with Facebook’s algorithm, it doesn’t get seen by the people who share the same interests. This is why in the last few years, Facebook groups have gained popularity amongst its 1 billion users.

Facebook groups have provided an avenue for like-minded people to meet and discuss similar interests. With avid members posting daily, Facebook groups have become a digital marketer’s dream, making it an integral building block of any social media campaign. If you are thinking of creating a Facebook group, here are 7 tips on how to increase your members.

1. Define your group’s goal

What is your niche? Who will be joining the group? Why will they be joining the group? What is the purpose of interactions and discussions? What type of content are you going to provide? These are some basic questions you need to answer to determine your group’s goal. These need to be determined early on so you can build a strong and cohesive community.

2. Set the correct privacy

Determine if you’d like to set it to public, closed, or secret. Bear in mind that if you set your group to closed or secret, your group posts will not be searchable using the Facebook search bar. However, some users prefer that the group is set to closed or secret so that their group activity is kept within the group and not shared publicly.

3. Pick a catchy name

Facebook’s search bar is similar to a search engine so get your creative juices and pick a catchy name that is relevant to your niche. Choosing an effective keyword to describe your group is essential so that users can easily find your group. Some groups have straight forward names such as ‘What Font is this?’ while some get their name from a book such as ‘Japan for Dummies.’

4. Content matters

If you are able to come up with engaging and interesting content, your members will regularly be engaged in discussions, and thus it will attract more new members to join. You can also encourage members to post their own content, provided that it is relevant to the group’s niche and adheres to a set guideline. If there are posts that veer away from the focused topic, group admins or moderators should be ready to mute or delete said posts.

5. Engage with your members

Regularly engage with members and treat them like family. Make new members feel welcome. Avoid commenting and posting “inside jokes” that will make others feel like an outsider. Recognise your most active members so that they will become your group’s priceless advocates.

6. Word-of-mouth

Word-of-mouth is still 10x more effective than traditional paid advertising. So, make sure that your current members are happy and satisfied with their membership in the group so that they will invite their friends and family. An advantage of keeping the group to closed or secret is that posts can only be seen by members. So, if discussions are meaningful and informative, members will invite other users who can benefit from the said discussions.

7. Build loyalty

Build loyalty among your members by organising events and meet-ups. It can be completely voluntary, and it could be done for a cause. Give out stickers or small knick-knacks during these events so that members display it proudly. Be part of civic events and be active not just within the Facebook community, but your local community as well.

Starting a Facebook group will be difficult at the beginning. But once you have established the group and made it into a cohesive and unified, it will be a well-oiled machine that could run itself. If your members feel that they truly belong, they will not just stay members of the group. Instead, they will become advocates and supporters of the group.

Are you ready to start your Facebook group? Let’s increase your members! Get in touch with MRS V today.