What Facebook Groups Are
Facebook originally provided Groups for likeminded people to create on their own for a given topic. These persist in over 100,000 member-created Groups across Facebook. Imagine a topic, and there’s likely a Facebook Group for it.
Groups are great ways to organize people around social, cultural and political issues whether in your neighborhood, city or across the country.
As Groups were discussed in the unit on LinkedIn, they serve a parallel purpose on Facebook.
Before you create a Group, take a few minutes to search for what interests you. Most Group owners have open membership policies so to become a member just click “Join Group” on the Group’s profile.
That you just joined the Group will also be posted to your Wall.
If you create a Group, it will be tied to your Profile. Groups cannot exist without being tied to a user’s Profile. This enables you to invite your friends to join the Group, too. It is also a means to prevent spammers from setting up shop.
Join Facebook Groups
To find Groups that interest you, use the Search feature on Facebook. You can then review the search results to pick which ones are right for you. You may have friends in those Groups already.
Don’t forget to suggest the Group to your friends who would be interested.
Events on Facebook Groups
Groups serve as a terrific hub of information for hosting live or virtual events.
Rather than sending out an email to dozens or more of people inviting them to attend, posting the event to a Group enables you post the information once. Members receive invites in their Facebook Messages feature, can RSVP, or decline from there.
You will be able to include all the traditional who, what, when, where, and why details, too. Strong integration of calendaring tools enable users to easily add events to their Outlook, Google Calendar or other calendar tool.
As people respond to attend, the headcount clicks upward one by one. When your event date arrives, you will have a very close idea of how many to expect.
Another good practice is to send out a reminder invite about a week before the invite. This reminder usually bumps your attendance up a few percentage points, and only contacts those who did not already confirm their attendance.
Which Group Do You Belong To?
What’s the low down on certain Groups? Want to create a Group? What’s your favorite Group? Let’s talk about it! Post your question in the Comments section for a response.
Comments
2 Comments so far. Leave a comment below.Happy to share that I started a group on Facebook around the topic of Networking and centered it around the launch of my book, “I’m at a Networking Event–Now What???” I use it to share new insights gained, articles I come across about effective networking or to announce happenings or events, etc.
I’d luv to get more people to “join” and besides running a FB ad (which I experimented with b/c I had a freebie), do you have any suggestions? Thanks GT!
Have you considered a contest? For example, you could award a prize to the winner where you provide a 30-minute networking makeover consultation or a free copy of your book. The winner is the one who tweets about your group the most during a designated week (measure those hashtags!), or the person who drives the most new “joins” to your Facebook Group.
Once you reach that next level of membership, be sure to have a plan for how you’ll keep them engaged and evangelizing you.
Your Facebook Group is great, Sandy. I’ll be sure to spread word about it aross my network today!