Social media groups are an untapped goldmine of potential for marketers, which is why I’m shocked when people reveal they seldom (or never) utilize them. Think about it — groups are a free avenue for people with similar interests to share relevant information to a hypertailored audience without newsfeed algorithms minimizing their reach. The last part of the sentence is huge. Make sure you hear it again. Share relevant information to a hypertailored audience without newsfeed algorithms minimizing their reach. It’s the content marketers dream!
The benefit of groups extend far beyond more efficient content marketing. Below are some benefits of consistent group involvement, followed by tips to finding the best groups and utilizing group engagement to your advantage.
Benefits of Social Media Groups
- Establish yourself as an industry leader. By regularly posting insights and great content, you’ll be seen by your peers as an industry leader. And industry leaders see their business thrive.
- Reach new audiences. Posting in groups can spread your company’s name and content to an audience otherwise unfamiliar with you.
- Find new professionals to network with. With professional groups, you’ll be
exposed to a wide range of professionals you otherwise might not come into contact with. When they interact with your post, you can send them a friendly message to connect and discuss the topic further. It’s a more personable way to acquire new connections across cyberspace. - Drive traffic to your website. You can post (relevant) pieces of content in groups. Members who click on the post will be directed to your website, giving you the opportunity to grow website visits.
- Audience insight. Join groups tailored to your target audience and get a glimpse into their interests, needs, and common questions.
- Learn from your experienced peers. Group members share insights, and you can learn a lot by reading through fellow members’ posts.
- Access to job postings. In many LinkedIn groups, members post job openings relevant to the group’s demographics. These posting may not be highly visible elsewhere and the job poster may remember you from your insightful posts.
Finding Social Media Groups
When it comes to group engagement, quality is more important than quantity. It’s better to engage consistently with five or so groups than infrequently with several. You can find groups in several ways:
- Use the discover function. For LinkedIn, click “interests” then “groups” then
“discover” to bring up suggested groups. For Facebook, go to this link https://www.facebook.com/groups/ and click “discover”. You’ll see groups joined by your friends, local groups, and groups centered around a topic. - Search based on industry related keywords (like “social media marketing”).
- Search based on groups you’re a part of in the offline world (university alumni organizations, professional organizations, etc.)
- Search based on location (“small business groups in Seattle”).
- Search based on your job position (“small business owners,” “graphic designers,” etc.).
- Search for audience tailored groups. If you sell baby products, join parenting groups. If you sell backpacking tours, join backpacking enthusiast groups. Think about where your audience is, and make sure you are there too.
- Search for post-event groups. After a large networking event, it’s common for a social media group to be created to connect participants together.
- Ask your connections which groups they are a part of that they’d recommend.
- Sort through the Linkedin group directory https://www.linkedin.com/directory/groups/
Group Best Practices
- Before you post, get to know the group’s tone. Do people post in a formal or casual style? Are successful posts often questions or pieces of advice? Are post lengths typically short, medium, or long?
When posting in audience tailored groups, provide how-to articles, guides, and other pieces of information packed content. That’s the information they are looking for in these groups, and it will build your reputation in the groups as a leader.- Focus on providing value rather than self-promotion and sales. Strive to meet the needs of those in the group, which will translate into quality connections and awareness of your organization that can lead to sales.
- If someone comments on your post, you can send them a message stating you appreciated their insight and would like to discuss the subject more. It’s a more personable way to network.
- Ask thought-provoking questions and reply to people’s answers.
- Once you get the feel of group posting, consider starting your own group. It’ll really show off your position as industry leader.
Engagement in groups is just one of the many tactics employed in successful social media marketing. If you want an engaged social media presence, but lack the time or expertise to make that a reality, reach out to Alpine Small Business Solutions today! We’d love to assist you with social media marketing or any aspect of small business building.