I speak with many people who use Facebook Groups as part of their business. Facebook Groups are a great place to communicate directly with your clients.
There are some benefits to using Groups within Facebook. Groups allow you to connect with your fans on a more intimate level. Here is the benefits of using groups:

  • Members can ask questions via posts that you can answer directly. The interaction is more intimate than you get on your business page.
  • If your business offers services over a period of time, being part of a group can be a portal for ongoing communication both with yourself and others who have bought your service.
  • It can act as a support mechanism where people on the same journey can share ideas and offer support and guidance.
  • If your business is all about creating a team, then having a group just for your team is a great idea. It allows you to communicate with your team as well as allowing members of the team to support each other.

However, there are limitations when it comes to using groups. Here are some of the typical problems that arise from groups.

  • You can post information and people will not see it. If this information is important, you need to communicate it directly to them via other means such as email or text.
  • You can devote a lot of time to offering advice and support and not necessarily get the returns on your business.

If you are considering creating a group for your business, do so with the knowledge that it can significantly increase client retention, sales conversion and how clients feel about you and your business (in a positive way obviously) BUT be warned, it can become a time sink where you invest so much time and energy in to responding and this can distract you from not only running your business but also converting sales.
There are other options available. You can check out Communities on Google+. I really love Google+ as a social media platform. It is really nicely set up and the community aspect of it is a lot cleaner. The only drawback is getting your community to transition over from Facebook to Google+. However, if you only use Google+ and get your community there, it is a seamless transition to get people to join your webinars using Google+ group video feature, Hangouts.
Remember, Facebook Groups can be great for increasing your client retention but be sure to manage your time and people’s expectations on your time when setting one up.
roups that are most likely to be providing them with valuable information. This may be groups that share information on specific programs or concepts. You can run searches for groups. If you are friends with any of your customers, why not look at what groups they belong to.
 
Consider joining some groups just for you. I personally belong to several groups that are really just for me. These are still business type groups but I belong to them more for what I get out of them personally. This might be support and encouragement rather than sales. Not surprisingly, I have also done business in these groups because I show up and am myself.
 
My advice is to select a few groups that appeal to you and join them. Spend some time “lurking”. This means you regularly go in to the group and watch what is happening. Get a feel for the topics of conversation and how people respond. It will really help if you invest this time in learning before you start madly posting.