Are you a brand or marketer looking to cement your relationship with potential customers on Facebook? This article is for you!
Facebook groups allow users to interact with individuals who have shared interests while using their Facebook profiles. These groups allow users to have discussions on different topics by posting content in various formats such as text, pictures and videos. Groups can either be public or private. Private groups require the administrator’s approval for users to join and interact with other users whereas public groups can be joined by a page or an individual’s Facebook profile.
Many brands seek to establish trust and empathy with their target audience. The idea is to translate sales to customer loyalty which can eventually lead the customer to drum up support and advocate for the brand to new potential customers within their networks.
Why Facebook Groups are the go-to for building customer loyalty
1. Builds organic engagement
When coming up with marketing strategies, brands mainly focus on boosting engagement on Facebook pages which are a great way to connect and build relationships with customers although Facebook groups take it a notch higher. According to an article by adespresso, groups have a better organic reach of approximately 5.2% compared to a standard Facebook page. Facebook groups are able to go around the Facebook algorithm and connect with users by prioritizing content from groups on the users news feed. Brands in the healthcare space for instance may have the need to establish themselves as a trusted partner committed to making the lives of their clients stress and hassle free by providing customers with access to all round medical care and support through sharing specific targeted content with their target audience on their Facebook group or a pre-existing group.
2. Builds long lasting relationships with customers
Facebook groups allow marketers and brands to provide tailor made solution based content to the users. For instance, a brand in the healthcare industry whose target audience is mothers can have a Facebook group that focuses on child care and antenatal care for mothers where they can share content on weaning recipes for children under 5 or nutritional tips for lactating mothers. Providing content that identifies problems that customers face and offering a feasible solution builds trust in a brand. Introducing a sense of exclusivity to the group contributes towards building trust and loyalty because customers want to feel appreciated. There is no doubt that customer is king, brands and marketers can put this to play by for instance providing group offers and coupons that cater specifically to address needs of members of a Facebook Group. The exclusivity of these group offers and or coupons cements the customers trust in the brand and in turn makes them feel appreciated, seen and heard by the brand.
3. Interactive way to collect data & understand consumer behavior
Users on Facebook Groups most of the time ask questions that are specific to a group and have other users share their thoughts, experience and advice on the query asked. This is a free and interactive route that brands can use to collect data on their target audience and retarget them better. Content such as polls and the ask a question feature influences users to share more about the needs and wants a product can fulfill. Facebook groups are like virtual focus groups, a brand can test out new concepts or products using the audience and derive learnings and recommendations for the larger market. Feedback is instant as users can share responses in the comment section in real time with brands and marketers. Sometimes, users in groups may also ask questions to fellow users within the community, this can be an opportunity to understand their behaviors based on the responses shared within the questions and posts too.
4. Best practices for engagement on Facebook Pages
As a marketer, you may opt to join already established groups as a page that you manage for the purpose of social listening, which is basically observing the discussions and questions shared on the groups by users. This can help you narrow down and specify your target audience and the type of content they have a need for and enjoy consuming. It’s also a great way to see how to adjust the tone and language of your brand on Facebook to appeal and resonate with your target audience. Marketers and brands can also use already existing pages for social listening, it’s important to note that some of these groups may be private and you will have to wait for your request to be accepted before you can access the page.
In the event that you want to use pre-existing groups to share your content, reading the group’s guidelines and approaching the administrators is prudent. This helps you avoid your content being deleted or in the long haul being banned from the group for violating the group’s guidelines. Marketers and brands can go the extra mile by curating their own Facebook Group from their official Facebook Page, this allows you to post whatever content you may like and have the discretion to make the page either public or private. Private pages have more engagement and exclusivity as users view the group as a safe space to seek solutions and get information that is specific to their needs. Sometimes public groups may run the risk of being spammed which runs the risk of reducing your credibility as a brand online.
I hope that the learnings from this article will encourage you to try out Facebook Groups for to grow your brand . Have you tried out Facebook groups to build customer loyalty? I’d love to hear some of your learnings in the comment section of this post.
Till next time, ciao!
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