Facebook groups are one of the best-kept secrets in local marketing and small business marketing. They’re not just for casual chats, they’re for building real connections, boosting social media engagement, and turning followers into paying clients.
In this episode, I’m giving you the ultimate warm-up before we bring on my expert guest in a few weeks because today, we’re diving into how to actually grow your business using Facebook groups the right way. Not spammy. Not salesy. Just smart, service-led social media engagement.
I’m breaking down exactly why Facebook groups are a gold mine for local businesses and how the Facebook algorithm actually works in your favor when you use them right. You’ll learn how to find the best Facebook groups for business, the kind of engagement posts that build real trust, and how to follow Facebook group rules while still promoting your business like a pro.
I’ll also share tips to increase your organic reach without spending a dime, plus the 4-step engagement strategy we use at Kuleana Connect to turn group members into actual clients. And because I’m all about keeping it practical, I’ve got easy post ideas, DM tips, and the exact way to move from connection to conversion without ever feeling pushy.
So if marketing with Facebook groups has ever felt confusing or overwhelming, this episode will feel like a breath of fresh air.
Hit play and let’s turn Facebook into your best free marketing tool!
With all my support,
Chey
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Go in and be a human. Don't goin and be a bot. You know,
(00:03):
people hear so much AI nowadaysthat they're just dying for
human connection online. It'stime to make social, social
again. So be social. Go in thereand be a human and start those
conversations.
Welcome to Social Media forSmall Businesses. Are you ready
(00:24):
to turn social media into apowerful marketing funnel that
drives growth, connectsauthentically with your audience
and boosts sales? I'm CheyanneCleyman, social media strategist
and agency owner here to helpyou transform your social media
into a tool for measurableresults. Each episode, you'll
get actionable strategies, reallife examples and proven
(00:47):
techniques to grow your brandand make an impact. So, grab a
notebook and pen. It's time tomake social media work for you.
I am so excited about today'sepisode because I like to look
at it as a warm up. I have oneof my really near and dear
(01:10):
Business Boss Babes coming on ina few weeks who is an expert on
this topic. And this is my wayof getting you guys a head start
and getting you focused andexcited about building Facebook
groups. If you're a smallbusiness trying to attract local
customers, Facebook Groups trulyare the way to go. They're one
of the most powerful andhonestly underrated marketing
(01:33):
tools out there. But here's thething, most businesses either
one, ignore them completely, orthey spam them with promotions
which either gets them ignoredor even banned. Facebook Jail
,anyone?
Well, in this episode, I'm goingto show you how to use Facebook
groups the right way, how tofind them to amplify your
business, how to help you findthe best ones for your business.
(01:57):
Engage without being salesy andturn group members into paying
customers. When my guest comeson in a few weeks, you're going
to find out how to officiallylaunch your own Facebook group
and how to turn that also intopaying customers. So if you've
been struggling to grow locally,this strategy is going to be a
game changer. Plus, I'll sharehow we help our clients use
(02:19):
Facebook groups as a part of ourengagement strategy at Kuleana
Connect. So basically, thisepisode is jam packed, so let's
get to it. Let's dive in. Goahead, get out your favorite
notebook or your notes on yourphone, and let's get ready to
grow.
So, in the opening of thisepisode, you may have heard me
say local, right? BecauseFacebook groups really are a
(02:40):
local marketing gold mine. But Ido want to make sure I preface
and say that Facebook groups canwork for you no matter where
you're at. For instance, myhusband and my company is
nothing to do with being local.We work remote, and we can help
businesses all over the world soand we have found some of our
best clients and some of ourjust best people to connect and
(03:01):
collaborate with even some ofour top referral partners in
Facebook groups. So don't knockit until you try it. And even if
you don't specifically market toa local market, this can still
be for you. But today I'm goingto dive into both, and I'm going
to focus a lot on how,especially if you're a brick and
mortar business or you'resomeone, say, like a realtor,
where location, location,location really counts. Why
(03:22):
Facebooks are probably yourmissing link to connecting with
your audience and your idealcustomers online.
So Facebook itself, right? We'regonna do a little Facebook one
on one. It actually prioritizesgroups in the algorithm because
they foster community andconnection. And so what does
that mean to Facebook? Well, itmeans that just keeping it real
blunt, it keeps you, groups keepyou the most on their app,
(03:45):
right? So they are going to pushthose out the most because they
want you on there. They want youusing their platform. So that
means that inside of the groups,right? Like, what does this mean
for you as a business owner?Well inside of the groups, those
posts often get way morevisibility than regular business
page posts. So, be better tospend your time focusing on
(04:07):
building a good post inside aFacebook group than putting it
out on your public page.
So what are the benefits tothis? Also like, why should you
even show up in Facebook groups?I know if you're like me,
perhaps you're from a generationthat just got really inundated
with Facebook groups. It justfelt like everyone and their mom
was creating a group aboutsomething or selling something,
and nobody wants all thenotifications. But as a business
(04:29):
owner, if you can be sure to putyour business hat on right is,
how could this benefit youspecifically by joining these
groups? Well, for one first andforemost, you have direct access
to local audiences who arealready interested in your
niche. And how do you know that?Because you're not just going to
join a bunch of random Facebookgroups, join very specific ones,
(04:49):
right?
And again, because Facebookreally emphasizes keeping people
on their app, and so thus havingthe algorithm, you know, have it
in a place where connection,where engagement is big. There's
gonna be higher engagementinside these groups and on your
public page, you've probablyseen it or maybe even felt it
yourself, especially if youcurrently do already use
(05:10):
Facebook groups, and it alsohelps build trust in a way you
know, how it's like you join agroup or maybe a church and
whatever kind of you know, groupor organization you've joined
before, and it's one thing totalk with people about it on the
outside, but when you go on theinside, when you step into the
building, or you go to yourfirst meeting, that's where
trust is built. And that's thesame type of thing in Facebook
(05:30):
groups, there's trust that'sbuilt through the authentic
interactions that happen insidethe Facebook groups. A lot
better than you're gonna getfrom having sales pitches, and
ultimately, when you're inthere, even if there's some dry
moments where you're notconnecting a lot with, say,
clients, it's a great networkingopportunity with to connect with
local businesses and yourpotential referral partners.
(05:53):
The key to success in thesegroups is you have to be
strategic and intentional, soyou do not want to be just
another business dropping linksand hoping for sales, if
anything, that's going to makeFacebook groups work against
you. And it is kind of one ofthose things that you don't want
to be known as that business whodoes that? Because word does get
around, especially if you'reposting in local groups,
(06:14):
particularly, you know, onesthat are local to your area, and
you don't want to be known asthat business. So I think by
now, I've painted the picture tohelp you see why it could be so
beneficial for you to get inFacebook groups. But perhaps the
second, or really most importantthing is you gotta make sure you
find the right Facebook groupsfor your business. So right off
(06:34):
the bat, I've gotta say that notall Facebook groups are created
equal. Some are highly activeand valuable, while others are
just full of spam and deadconversations. So you want to do
some recon. You want to figureit out and figure out what is
going to be the right ones foryou to join, especially because
your time is valuable, and thisis a part of your time and your
(06:57):
allotment that perhaps you'vegiven to marketing for your
business, you want to make sureyou're spending it in the right
place. So here are some tips onhow to find the right ones.
First and foremost, just kind oflike Google, use Facebook search
bar. Okay, you want to searchand filter out things that are
not relevant to you and thingsthat are relevant. So you want
to type in some keywords relatedto your business and your
(07:19):
location. So for instance, youcould type in Orlando Moms or
Denver Home Improvement, SanDiego Business Networking,
Moving to Salt Lake City,whatever have you, type those
in. And then once these groupsstart to pull up, you want to
make sure if you can, if you canjoin without having to fill in
membership questions. You wantto go in and check engagement
(07:42):
levels, you know, go in and justsee like, are people just
posting and ghosting? Are theposts actually getting any type
of interaction? Are there anycomments in there? Scroll
through the recent posts and seelike, are people actually
talking, or is it all just spam?You definitely don't want to
join a spammy group, even if ithas 1000s of members, because
then your posts are just goingto go unnoticed, and then you're
(08:03):
wasting your time.
I would also suggest joiningcommunity based groups. So,
perhaps it's not so on the noseas joining something, for
instance, if you're a realtor,instead of, say, joining a group
that's specifically like movingto your area, because sometimes
those groups tend to look outfor people who are trying to
sell. So, another creative andclever way of connecting with
(08:26):
your audience is to joinsomething like a mom group of
that area, because that's whenmoms are moving to an area,
they're always going to try tofind connection in groups and
get their questions answeredabout a new area that they're
moving to with their kids,right? So you can join, even,
say, local buy and sell groups,neighborhood groups, foodie
groups, special interest groups,all types of things that have to
(08:48):
do in your area which are goingto have your ideal customers.
One of our clients has vacationrental carts, and they rent
carts in the Venice, Floridacommunity. Now we don't live
there anymore, so we don't needto worry about, you know, they
don't need to worry about ifwe're close or close by, but
they need to worry aboutattracting the right people in
(09:08):
their area, because they are abusiness that only functions,
runs and operates within about a20 mile radius. So they would,
for instance, want to join localVenice, Florida, Sarasota County
groups to make sure that theyare reaching out and connecting
with their ideal customers. Youalso want to look out and make
sure you avoid oversaturatedbusiness groups. If it's just a
(09:30):
bunch of businesses promotingthemselves with no conversation,
it's not going to help you. Ifanything, it's just going to
annoy you or frustrate you. Onequick pro tip before we move on
to how to engage in these groupsis to make sure you join as your
personal profile. First, a lotof groups, they will not allow
business pages to join, but youcan still mention your business
strategically, and I promisewe're going to work on that
(09:53):
next, because that can be alittle tricky. So now that you
have decided I'm gonna joinFacebook groups, I now. Know
which ones to join, or I havefound some. Okay, the next step
is all about how to make do youset them up to work for you and
not against you. The biggestmistake businesses make inside
Facebook groups is that theyoften only show up to promote
(10:15):
themselves. And I get it, you'vegot a short amount of time. You
are a business, right? But Ipromise you, connection goes a
lot further than content, right?So if you are just showing up to
talk about your latestpromotions, your coupons, your
people are just gonna tune youout. So you have to think about
these groups as a networkingevent, right? Like when you
(10:38):
would go network, you wouldn'tjust walk up to someone or go
speak to a group and startpitching everyone immediately,
right? It would destroy it woulddestroy the trust that you're
trying to build with thesepeople. So it's the same type of
thing, because you never knowwho's in these groups. And the
one thing that's kind of famousfor social media is that often
our posts live on long for along time, so you never know
(11:02):
when someone will come to acertain post. So here's the
strategy we use at KuleanaConnect. And I promise you, it
works every time. There's foursteps and you really should
write these down, because thisis gold, and it's something that
we've lived by, and we've seenthe ROI come back. That proves
that this works.
So first and foremost, pleasejoin a group. Please comment
(11:23):
first before making a post.Spend time commenting on other
people's posts. You can commentjust comments that say, Hey, I
see you. Wow. That was a reallygreat thought. Thought, thank
you for sharing or Wow, you'revery refreshing here on the
internet. You can even offersome helpful advice or insights.
Again, this is going to buildtrust, and it's going to get you
(11:45):
noticed. It's going to show thatto the people in this group that
you are showing up to serve, youare showing up to give value,
and it's not just about you.Secondly, speaking of value,
make sure you post value and notjust promos. Okay, I am hungry
to tell you guys exactly what todo, because you know what your
audience is hungry. They wantthe answers that you have, but
(12:07):
they don't want you shouting atthem, right? Too often, I see
that social media, especiallyfor business, has turned into a
billboard, but people do notwant to be talked at. They want
to be talked with, and that'seven what it starts at a post
beyond it goes starts there, andit goes beyond that first
initial interaction. And so besure to share something, share
(12:27):
something useful, or answercommon questions that you hear
people in your niche asking orprovide, say like your industry
niches insights before you everPitch Anything.
Another tip that I wouldsuggest, because we do this at
Kuleana Connect, is to usepersonal stories. So it could
look at something like this, forinstance, with, you know, what
we do with our company? Insteadof saying, Hey, I offer social
(12:51):
media services share a realexperience, you could say
something like, one of myclients was struggling with
engagement, so we tried X blank,you know, strategy and doubled
their reach. We're happy toshare more tips if anyone needs
help, so that right there, it'snot being salesy, it's not
promoting but it is sharing youra testimony. It's sharing your
(13:12):
experience, it's sharing yourexpertise, and it opens up the
conversation when you say, happyto share more tips if anyone
needs help. So it puts the ballin their court.
And lastly, I want to make surethat you guys give before you
ask. So offer free value,whether it's advice, a checklist
or helpful recommendations, doit and do it before expecting
(13:33):
anything in return. I know I'veoften had business owners come
to me and say, but shy, you knowwhat? If I give too much free
away? I after having been anentrepreneur, and you know,
living out my businesses onlinefor over 10 years, I have never
given away too much. People willbuy from you when they feel that
(13:55):
they can trust you. And the onlyway that you can build trust is
to make sure that you give valuefirst. People are going to seek
you out and going to see whatyou're about, and you want to
make sure that you show theperson behind who you are. So a
quick pro tip would be that whenyou're online, when you're
engaging, especially if you'reusing your personal profile,
(14:17):
just acknowledge and rememberthat people are going to
naturally check out your profilewhen they see you engaging,
right? So it's just a naturalhuman tendency. I know I do it
when I see someone you knowposting in a group or seeing
saying something that's veryvaluable, I go immediately go
see like, well, who are they?What are they about? So just
keep that in mind and make surethat your profile links to your
(14:38):
business, so that if they wantto go find you and check you out
they can.
So once you've now establishedsome goodwill, right? You're in
this group, you're commenting,you're giving value, you're
creating posts that are, youknow, causing people to come
back. Well, now it's time tostart posting strategically.
Okay, so again, if you're a notetaker, here are some posts that
(15:00):
work the best when it comes tohaving the end in mind, which
ultimately is, you want the ROI,you want that sale, right? And
there's no shame in that. It'sjust about doing it in the right
way.
So, a couple posts I'd recommendis one that works really great,
especially locally, is where tofind posts, right? So you may
see in a group, someone says,I'm looking for the best local
(15:21):
coffee coffee shop for meetings,any recommendations. So it's a
great way to start conversationswith other locals, right? Again,
this is all about conversation,all about connection. So go in
and be a human. Don't go in andbe a bot. You know, people hear
so much AI nowadays that they'rejust dying for human connection
online. It's time to makesocial, social again. So, be
(15:43):
social. Go in there and be ahuman and start those
conversations. Polls andengagement posts, those really
work too. So, for example, youcould say, hey, what's one thing
you wish more local businessesoffered? The positive here is
that it gets people talking, andit gives you direct insight into
what customers need and whatthey want. So you can take that
(16:03):
guesswork right out. Anothergreat idea is story based soft
pitches. So, without making itto cringe, is you could write
something like, I helped a localbusiness grow from 200 to 2000
followers using organicengagement happy to share what
worked right? So, you aresharing with them some proof,
some evidence that you know whatyou're doing, you've helped
(16:24):
other people do it, and youleave the ball in their court so
that they can come to you whenthey need to. One of my personal
favorites are collaborationrequests. So you can say
something like, Hey, I love topartner with a local business to
offer a giveaway. Who'sinterested so often you are
going to be the answer toanother business owner's prayers
(16:44):
because people feel intimidatedby social media very often, or
they feel like it's a challengeto keep up with the algorithm.
So work together, share eachother's audiences, share
insights and build that trustalong the way, and show people
that you're someone who's notjust full of value and knows
what they're talking about, butyou're also someone that is easy
(17:06):
and fun to work with. So a quicktime saving tip, because that's
what I'm all about, is making iteasier for you to thrive on
social media with your businessis that to schedule one high
value post per week in your topthree to five groups. So in this
way, you stay active withoutfeeling overwhelmed, and by
scheduling it, you can make sureit's still getting done without
(17:27):
feeling like you have to show upand be on it all the time. So
all of this is well and good,right? So we've got you, you
know, like saying yes toFacebook groups. Okay, I'm
willing to give it a try ormaybe give it a try again. All
right, shy, I know what groupsto do. I know how to engage
well. Ultimately, we know thatyou guys are not just
nonprofits. You guys are notjust, you know, community
(17:50):
builders. You are businessowners. So at the end of the
day, your business needs to makemoney, so I'm going to help you
and give you some tips on how toturn these group members into
clients. Okay, so remember, it'sall about building trust. So
once people in these groups seeyou as a trusted expert, more
than likely they're going tonaturally start reaching out.
(18:12):
But if you want to, you know,nudge that process along.
There's some things that you cando that we do at Juliana connect
that has worked really well as aNext touch point, especially if
there's a little bit of silenceon the other end. So what you
can do is engage, engagespecifically in the DM. So take
it somewhere private where youcan really build that
(18:32):
connection, build thatrelationship with that person
where not everyone else iswatching. So for instance, if
someone comments on your post orsay, ask a question, follow up
in their inbox, just make sureto keep it friendly and helpful.
Do not come off as salesy orpushy, or else, you could
potentially lose that personforever. Remember, every person
(18:53):
that you reach out to is also apotential referral, even if
they're not ready or your offeris not what they're looking for,
they can be your best referralpartner when you show them a
real person and you show themkindness and courtesy. Another
thing you can do is offer a freeresource. So something I would
give advice to every singlebusiness owner, no matter what
(19:14):
niche or business you do, is tocreate a simple lead magnet. And
what that basically means is youcan create like a free guide or
a checklist or an infographicnowadays, Canva makes it very
easy because they have so manytemplates. It's just a way that
you can offer something for freeto people and collect their
email address. So do that? Goahead and create a simple lead
(19:36):
magnet and then offer it insidethe group. So for example,
something that we could do forour business would be, hey guys,
I put together a free guide onthe best social media strategies
for local businesses. Drop athumbs up if you want it. So
again, it puts it in people'shands. It gives it them the.
Choice, and it's a an easy win.And then you can see people who
(19:57):
are interested, right, peoplewho give you some likes or
comments. Then you see, ooh,those are the warmer leads than
the people who just ignore you.Can also host a local event or a
webinar. This is one of myfavorite strategies, because,
again, it gets you to oftenconnect with other collaborators
or other referral partners, andyou guys get to share the work.
(20:18):
So if your business is locationbased, you can offer a free
workshop, networking event or alive Q A you can even do that
often in the Facebook groups, ifthe admin is cool with it, and
you pitch it in such a way thatyou share how it's going to
actually benefit the group, andyou're going to give a lot of
value. It is a great way, greatway to build trust. So Facebook
(20:40):
groups are specifically a greatplace to promote free, value
driven events that naturallylead to business opportunities.
So for us, we could say, hey,hosting a free social media for
local businesses workshop thisThursday, DM me for the link or
comment below. Or you can evenput a link where it would have a
landing page that would collectan email and you can send
(21:01):
everything directly to them. Andlastly, I would say that mention
your services in the right way,right? So once you've built
these relationships, once youknow you've kind of built a, I
would say, a reputation foryourself too, in these groups,
it's okay to mention yourservices, but just do it
naturally, right? Make it likepart of a conversation. So for
(21:22):
example, I'm in one of thesegroups. I could say something
like, Hey, a lot of people havebeen struggling with engagement
lately. And at Juliana connect,we help businesses handle all of
that so that they can stayfocused on running their
business. So if anyone's feelingoverwhelmed out there, let's
chat. Let's do it right so itmakes it very off, putting it
(21:43):
makes it not so pushy, not sosalesy, and really feels like
I'm genuinely trying to helppeople who really need it, and
if they don't, no problem. Nosweat off my back. Hey, let's
still keep connecting, buildingrelationships, and maybe at one
point when they do findthemselves in that struggle, or
they have a friend who's in thatstruggle, they know who they can
(22:04):
trust to reach out to. So by theway, if keeping up with
engagement in Facebook groupssounds like a full time job,
well, I'm not going to lie toyou, it kind of is, but that's
where my team and I come in atkuliana Connect, we specialize
in done for you, Social MediaEngagement Services, which
basically means we can handleall of this for you. So whether
(22:25):
it's you want to see whereyou're missing engagement
opportunities, we can help youout there too. We have a $97
social media audit where weanalyze your strategy and give
you a clear plan to boost yourengagement. If you're curious
about that. Check out the linkin the show notes below. If you
also just need full service,like relationship management on
(22:45):
your social media, our team isabsolutely so awesome at that.
Our team engages on your behalf,builds relationships and drives
real business growth throughstrategic interactions. So if
you're like jumping up and downsaying yes, that is so me, well,
good news. Just go right down tothe show notes. Click on the
link, and we would love to geton a connection call with you.
(23:07):
You get a direct connect with myhusband and I. We spend 30
minutes together, and we cantalk all about how we can help
you, and how you can move yourbusiness forward, intentionally,
online, and stop wasting timeand stop wasting energy. All of
these links are in the shownotes, so check them out if
you're ready to turn followersinto paying clients. Now I've
(23:28):
covered how Facebook groups areone of the best free tools for
local businesses, but remember,it's only if you use them
strategically. So today is aquick recap. We covered why
Facebook groups are essentialfor local marketing, how to find
the best groups that actuallydrive leads, how to engage
without feeling salesy and buildtrust, posting strategies that
(23:49):
work to get results, and alsohow to turn group members into
clients, because you want to dothat without being pushy. The
key takeaway I'd like to sayfrom today's episode is that
it's all about buildingrelationships first. Remember
when you show up with value,consistency and authenticity,
your ideal clients will startcoming to you. If this episode
(24:10):
was helpful, be sure tosubscribe so you don't miss
future episodes, especially thatone coming up with my Facebook
group expert. And if you'reloving this podcast, I would be
so honored if you would leave aquick five star review. It
really helps us reach more smallbusiness owners just like you.
Until next time, everybody, keepgrowing, keep positive and know
(24:31):
that your business exists for areason. Keep following that
passion, and soon, I promise youwill see that ROI you're looking
for. Keep growing, keepflourishing, and I'll see you on
the next episode of Social MediaMarketing for Small Businesses.
Thanks for tuning in to socialmedia for small businesses. Now,
(24:51):
time to go apply what youlearned to elevate your social
media strategy and remember tograb this week's free resource
from the show. No. Below, and ifyou're ready to make social
media work for your businessgrowth, just head on over to www
claimansocial dot media to bookyour free discovery. Call with
us. We're here to help turn yoursocial media efforts into real,
(25:14):
measurable results. Until thenext episode, keep building,
keep connecting, and I'll seeyou on social you.
Go in and be a human. Don't goin and be a bot. You know,
(00:03):
people hear so much AI nowadaysthat they're just dying for
human connection online. It'stime to make social, social
again. So be social. Go in thereand be a human and start those
conversations.
Welcome to Social Media forSmall Businesses. Are you ready
(00:24):
to turn social media into apowerful marketing funnel that
drives growth, connectsauthentically with your audience
and boosts sales? I'm CheyanneCleyman, social media strategist
and agency owner here to helpyou transform your social media
into a tool for measurableresults. Each episode, you'll
get actionable strategies, reallife examples and proven
(00:47):
techniques to grow your brandand make an impact. So, grab a
notebook and pen. It's time tomake social media work for you.
I am so excited about today'sepisode because I like to look
at it as a warm up. I have oneof my really near and dear
(01:10):
Business Boss Babes coming on ina few weeks who is an expert on
this topic. And this is my wayof getting you guys a head start
and getting you focused andexcited about building Facebook
groups. If you're a smallbusiness trying to attract local
customers, Facebook Groups trulyare the way to go. They're one
of the most powerful andhonestly underrated marketing
(01:33):
tools out there. But here's thething, most businesses either
one, ignore them completely, orthey spam them with promotions
which either gets them ignoredor even banned. Facebook Jail
,anyone?
Well, in this episode, I'm goingto show you how to use Facebook
groups the right way, how tofind them to amplify your
business, how to help you findthe best ones for your business.
(01:57):
Engage without being salesy andturn group members into paying
customers. When my guest comeson in a few weeks, you're going
to find out how to officiallylaunch your own Facebook group
and how to turn that also intopaying customers. So if you've
been struggling to grow locally,this strategy is going to be a
game changer. Plus, I'll sharehow we help our clients use
(02:19):
Facebook groups as a part of ourengagement strategy at Kuleana
Connect. So basically, thisepisode is jam packed, so let's
get to it. Let's dive in. Goahead, get out your favorite
notebook or your notes on yourphone, and let's get ready to
grow.
So, in the opening of thisepisode, you may have heard me
say local, right? BecauseFacebook groups really are a
(02:40):
local marketing gold mine. But Ido want to make sure I preface
and say that Facebook groups canwork for you no matter where
you're at. For instance, myhusband and my company is
nothing to do with being local.We work remote, and we can help
businesses all over the world soand we have found some of our
best clients and some of ourjust best people to connect and
(03:01):
collaborate with even some ofour top referral partners in
Facebook groups. So don't knockit until you try it. And even if
you don't specifically market toa local market, this can still
be for you. But today I'm goingto dive into both, and I'm going
to focus a lot on how,especially if you're a brick and
mortar business or you'resomeone, say, like a realtor,
where location, location,location really counts. Why
(03:22):
Facebooks are probably yourmissing link to connecting with
your audience and your idealcustomers online.
So Facebook itself, right? We'regonna do a little Facebook one
on one. It actually prioritizesgroups in the algorithm because
they foster community andconnection. And so what does
that mean to Facebook? Well, itmeans that just keeping it real
blunt, it keeps you, groups keepyou the most on their app,
(03:45):
right? So they are going to pushthose out the most because they
want you on there. They want youusing their platform. So that
means that inside of the groups,right? Like, what does this mean
for you as a business owner?Well inside of the groups, those
posts often get way morevisibility than regular business
page posts. So, be better tospend your time focusing on
(04:07):
building a good post inside aFacebook group than putting it
out on your public page.
So what are the benefits tothis? Also like, why should you
even show up in Facebook groups?I know if you're like me,
perhaps you're from a generationthat just got really inundated
with Facebook groups. It justfelt like everyone and their mom
was creating a group aboutsomething or selling something,
and nobody wants all thenotifications. But as a business
(04:29):
owner, if you can be sure to putyour business hat on right is,
how could this benefit youspecifically by joining these
groups? Well, for one first andforemost, you have direct access
to local audiences who arealready interested in your
niche. And how do you know that?Because you're not just going to
join a bunch of random Facebookgroups, join very specific ones,
(04:49):
right?
And again, because Facebookreally emphasizes keeping people
on their app, and so thus havingthe algorithm, you know, have it
in a place where connection,where engagement is big. There's
gonna be higher engagementinside these groups and on your
public page, you've probablyseen it or maybe even felt it
yourself, especially if youcurrently do already use
(05:10):
Facebook groups, and it alsohelps build trust in a way you
know, how it's like you join agroup or maybe a church and
whatever kind of you know, groupor organization you've joined
before, and it's one thing totalk with people about it on the
outside, but when you go on theinside, when you step into the
building, or you go to yourfirst meeting, that's where
trust is built. And that's thesame type of thing in Facebook
(05:30):
groups, there's trust that'sbuilt through the authentic
interactions that happen insidethe Facebook groups. A lot
better than you're gonna getfrom having sales pitches, and
ultimately, when you're inthere, even if there's some dry
moments where you're notconnecting a lot with, say,
clients, it's a great networkingopportunity with to connect with
local businesses and yourpotential referral partners.
(05:53):
The key to success in thesegroups is you have to be
strategic and intentional, soyou do not want to be just
another business dropping linksand hoping for sales, if
anything, that's going to makeFacebook groups work against
you. And it is kind of one ofthose things that you don't want
to be known as that business whodoes that? Because word does get
around, especially if you'reposting in local groups,
(06:14):
particularly, you know, onesthat are local to your area, and
you don't want to be known asthat business. So I think by
now, I've painted the picture tohelp you see why it could be so
beneficial for you to get inFacebook groups. But perhaps the
second, or really most importantthing is you gotta make sure you
find the right Facebook groupsfor your business. So right off
(06:34):
the bat, I've gotta say that notall Facebook groups are created
equal. Some are highly activeand valuable, while others are
just full of spam and deadconversations. So you want to do
some recon. You want to figureit out and figure out what is
going to be the right ones foryou to join, especially because
your time is valuable, and thisis a part of your time and your
(06:57):
allotment that perhaps you'vegiven to marketing for your
business, you want to make sureyou're spending it in the right
place. So here are some tips onhow to find the right ones.
First and foremost, just kind oflike Google, use Facebook search
bar. Okay, you want to searchand filter out things that are
not relevant to you and thingsthat are relevant. So you want
to type in some keywords relatedto your business and your
(07:19):
location. So for instance, youcould type in Orlando Moms or
Denver Home Improvement, SanDiego Business Networking,
Moving to Salt Lake City,whatever have you, type those
in. And then once these groupsstart to pull up, you want to
make sure if you can, if you canjoin without having to fill in
membership questions. You wantto go in and check engagement
(07:42):
levels, you know, go in and justsee like, are people just
posting and ghosting? Are theposts actually getting any type
of interaction? Are there anycomments in there? Scroll
through the recent posts and seelike, are people actually
talking, or is it all just spam?You definitely don't want to
join a spammy group, even if ithas 1000s of members, because
then your posts are just goingto go unnoticed, and then you're
(08:03):
wasting your time.
I would also suggest joiningcommunity based groups. So,
perhaps it's not so on the noseas joining something, for
instance, if you're a realtor,instead of, say, joining a group
that's specifically like movingto your area, because sometimes
those groups tend to look outfor people who are trying to
sell. So, another creative andclever way of connecting with
(08:26):
your audience is to joinsomething like a mom group of
that area, because that's whenmoms are moving to an area,
they're always going to try tofind connection in groups and
get their questions answeredabout a new area that they're
moving to with their kids,right? So you can join, even,
say, local buy and sell groups,neighborhood groups, foodie
groups, special interest groups,all types of things that have to
(08:48):
do in your area which are goingto have your ideal customers.
One of our clients has vacationrental carts, and they rent
carts in the Venice, Floridacommunity. Now we don't live
there anymore, so we don't needto worry about, you know, they
don't need to worry about ifwe're close or close by, but
they need to worry aboutattracting the right people in
(09:08):
their area, because they are abusiness that only functions,
runs and operates within about a20 mile radius. So they would,
for instance, want to join localVenice, Florida, Sarasota County
groups to make sure that theyare reaching out and connecting
with their ideal customers. Youalso want to look out and make
sure you avoid oversaturatedbusiness groups. If it's just a
(09:30):
bunch of businesses promotingthemselves with no conversation,
it's not going to help you. Ifanything, it's just going to
annoy you or frustrate you. Onequick pro tip before we move on
to how to engage in these groupsis to make sure you join as your
personal profile. First, a lotof groups, they will not allow
business pages to join, but youcan still mention your business
strategically, and I promisewe're going to work on that
(09:53):
next, because that can be alittle tricky. So now that you
have decided I'm gonna joinFacebook groups, I now. Know
which ones to join, or I havefound some. Okay, the next step
is all about how to make do youset them up to work for you and
not against you. The biggestmistake businesses make inside
Facebook groups is that theyoften only show up to promote
(10:15):
themselves. And I get it, you'vegot a short amount of time. You
are a business, right? But Ipromise you, connection goes a
lot further than content, right?So if you are just showing up to
talk about your latestpromotions, your coupons, your
people are just gonna tune youout. So you have to think about
these groups as a networkingevent, right? Like when you
(10:38):
would go network, you wouldn'tjust walk up to someone or go
speak to a group and startpitching everyone immediately,
right? It would destroy it woulddestroy the trust that you're
trying to build with thesepeople. So it's the same type of
thing, because you never knowwho's in these groups. And the
one thing that's kind of famousfor social media is that often
our posts live on long for along time, so you never know
(11:02):
when someone will come to acertain post. So here's the
strategy we use at KuleanaConnect. And I promise you, it
works every time. There's foursteps and you really should
write these down, because thisis gold, and it's something that
we've lived by, and we've seenthe ROI come back. That proves
that this works.
So first and foremost, pleasejoin a group. Please comment
(11:23):
first before making a post.Spend time commenting on other
people's posts. You can commentjust comments that say, Hey, I
see you. Wow. That was a reallygreat thought. Thought, thank
you for sharing or Wow, you'revery refreshing here on the
internet. You can even offersome helpful advice or insights.
Again, this is going to buildtrust, and it's going to get you
(11:45):
noticed. It's going to show thatto the people in this group that
you are showing up to serve, youare showing up to give value,
and it's not just about you.Secondly, speaking of value,
make sure you post value and notjust promos. Okay, I am hungry
to tell you guys exactly what todo, because you know what your
audience is hungry. They wantthe answers that you have, but
(12:07):
they don't want you shouting atthem, right? Too often, I see
that social media, especiallyfor business, has turned into a
billboard, but people do notwant to be talked at. They want
to be talked with, and that'seven what it starts at a post
beyond it goes starts there, andit goes beyond that first
initial interaction. And so besure to share something, share
(12:27):
something useful, or answercommon questions that you hear
people in your niche asking orprovide, say like your industry
niches insights before you everPitch Anything.
Another tip that I wouldsuggest, because we do this at
Kuleana Connect, is to usepersonal stories. So it could
look at something like this, forinstance, with, you know, what
we do with our company? Insteadof saying, Hey, I offer social
(12:51):
media services share a realexperience, you could say
something like, one of myclients was struggling with
engagement, so we tried X blank,you know, strategy and doubled
their reach. We're happy toshare more tips if anyone needs
help, so that right there, it'snot being salesy, it's not
promoting but it is sharing youra testimony. It's sharing your
(13:12):
experience, it's sharing yourexpertise, and it opens up the
conversation when you say, happyto share more tips if anyone
needs help. So it puts the ballin their court.
And lastly, I want to make surethat you guys give before you
ask. So offer free value,whether it's advice, a checklist
or helpful recommendations, doit and do it before expecting
(13:33):
anything in return. I know I'veoften had business owners come
to me and say, but shy, you knowwhat? If I give too much free
away? I after having been anentrepreneur, and you know,
living out my businesses onlinefor over 10 years, I have never
given away too much. People willbuy from you when they feel that
(13:55):
they can trust you. And the onlyway that you can build trust is
to make sure that you give valuefirst. People are going to seek
you out and going to see whatyou're about, and you want to
make sure that you show theperson behind who you are. So a
quick pro tip would be that whenyou're online, when you're
engaging, especially if you'reusing your personal profile,
(14:17):
just acknowledge and rememberthat people are going to
naturally check out your profilewhen they see you engaging,
right? So it's just a naturalhuman tendency. I know I do it
when I see someone you knowposting in a group or seeing
saying something that's veryvaluable, I go immediately go
see like, well, who are they?What are they about? So just
keep that in mind and make surethat your profile links to your
(14:38):
business, so that if they wantto go find you and check you out
they can.
So once you've now establishedsome goodwill, right? You're in
this group, you're commenting,you're giving value, you're
creating posts that are, youknow, causing people to come
back. Well, now it's time tostart posting strategically.
Okay, so again, if you're a notetaker, here are some posts that
(15:00):
work the best when it comes tohaving the end in mind, which
ultimately is, you want the ROI,you want that sale, right? And
there's no shame in that. It'sjust about doing it in the right
way.
So, a couple posts I'd recommendis one that works really great,
especially locally, is where tofind posts, right? So you may
see in a group, someone says,I'm looking for the best local
(15:21):
coffee coffee shop for meetings,any recommendations. So it's a
great way to start conversationswith other locals, right? Again,
this is all about conversation,all about connection. So go in
and be a human. Don't go in andbe a bot. You know, people hear
so much AI nowadays that they'rejust dying for human connection
online. It's time to makesocial, social again. So, be
(15:43):
social. Go in there and be ahuman and start those
conversations. Polls andengagement posts, those really
work too. So, for example, youcould say, hey, what's one thing
you wish more local businessesoffered? The positive here is
that it gets people talking, andit gives you direct insight into
what customers need and whatthey want. So you can take that
(16:03):
guesswork right out. Anothergreat idea is story based soft
pitches. So, without making itto cringe, is you could write
something like, I helped a localbusiness grow from 200 to 2000
followers using organicengagement happy to share what
worked right? So, you aresharing with them some proof,
some evidence that you know whatyou're doing, you've helped
(16:24):
other people do it, and youleave the ball in their court so
that they can come to you whenthey need to. One of my personal
favorites are collaborationrequests. So you can say
something like, Hey, I love topartner with a local business to
offer a giveaway. Who'sinterested so often you are
going to be the answer toanother business owner's prayers
(16:44):
because people feel intimidatedby social media very often, or
they feel like it's a challengeto keep up with the algorithm.
So work together, share eachother's audiences, share
insights and build that trustalong the way, and show people
that you're someone who's notjust full of value and knows
what they're talking about, butyou're also someone that is easy
(17:06):
and fun to work with. So a quicktime saving tip, because that's
what I'm all about, is making iteasier for you to thrive on
social media with your businessis that to schedule one high
value post per week in your topthree to five groups. So in this
way, you stay active withoutfeeling overwhelmed, and by
scheduling it, you can make sureit's still getting done without
(17:27):
feeling like you have to show upand be on it all the time. So
all of this is well and good,right? So we've got you, you
know, like saying yes toFacebook groups. Okay, I'm
willing to give it a try ormaybe give it a try again. All
right, shy, I know what groupsto do. I know how to engage
well. Ultimately, we know thatyou guys are not just
nonprofits. You guys are notjust, you know, community
(17:50):
builders. You are businessowners. So at the end of the
day, your business needs to makemoney, so I'm going to help you
and give you some tips on how toturn these group members into
clients. Okay, so remember, it'sall about building trust. So
once people in these groups seeyou as a trusted expert, more
than likely they're going tonaturally start reaching out.
(18:12):
But if you want to, you know,nudge that process along.
There's some things that you cando that we do at Juliana connect
that has worked really well as aNext touch point, especially if
there's a little bit of silenceon the other end. So what you
can do is engage, engagespecifically in the DM. So take
it somewhere private where youcan really build that
(18:32):
connection, build thatrelationship with that person
where not everyone else iswatching. So for instance, if
someone comments on your post orsay, ask a question, follow up
in their inbox, just make sureto keep it friendly and helpful.
Do not come off as salesy orpushy, or else, you could
potentially lose that personforever. Remember, every person
(18:53):
that you reach out to is also apotential referral, even if
they're not ready or your offeris not what they're looking for,
they can be your best referralpartner when you show them a
real person and you show themkindness and courtesy. Another
thing you can do is offer a freeresource. So something I would
give advice to every singlebusiness owner, no matter what
(19:14):
niche or business you do, is tocreate a simple lead magnet. And
what that basically means is youcan create like a free guide or
a checklist or an infographicnowadays, Canva makes it very
easy because they have so manytemplates. It's just a way that
you can offer something for freeto people and collect their
email address. So do that? Goahead and create a simple lead
(19:36):
magnet and then offer it insidethe group. So for example,
something that we could do forour business would be, hey guys,
I put together a free guide onthe best social media strategies
for local businesses. Drop athumbs up if you want it. So
again, it puts it in people'shands. It gives it them the.
Choice, and it's a an easy win.And then you can see people who
(19:57):
are interested, right, peoplewho give you some likes or
comments. Then you see, ooh,those are the warmer leads than
the people who just ignore you.Can also host a local event or a
webinar. This is one of myfavorite strategies, because,
again, it gets you to oftenconnect with other collaborators
or other referral partners, andyou guys get to share the work.
(20:18):
So if your business is locationbased, you can offer a free
workshop, networking event or alive Q A you can even do that
often in the Facebook groups, ifthe admin is cool with it, and
you pitch it in such a way thatyou share how it's going to
actually benefit the group, andyou're going to give a lot of
value. It is a great way, greatway to build trust. So Facebook
(20:40):
groups are specifically a greatplace to promote free, value
driven events that naturallylead to business opportunities.
So for us, we could say, hey,hosting a free social media for
local businesses workshop thisThursday, DM me for the link or
comment below. Or you can evenput a link where it would have a
landing page that would collectan email and you can send
(21:01):
everything directly to them. Andlastly, I would say that mention
your services in the right way,right? So once you've built
these relationships, once youknow you've kind of built a, I
would say, a reputation foryourself too, in these groups,
it's okay to mention yourservices, but just do it
naturally, right? Make it likepart of a conversation. So for
(21:22):
example, I'm in one of thesegroups. I could say something
like, Hey, a lot of people havebeen struggling with engagement
lately. And at Juliana connect,we help businesses handle all of
that so that they can stayfocused on running their
business. So if anyone's feelingoverwhelmed out there, let's
chat. Let's do it right so itmakes it very off, putting it
(21:43):
makes it not so pushy, not sosalesy, and really feels like
I'm genuinely trying to helppeople who really need it, and
if they don't, no problem. Nosweat off my back. Hey, let's
still keep connecting, buildingrelationships, and maybe at one
point when they do findthemselves in that struggle, or
they have a friend who's in thatstruggle, they know who they can
(22:04):
trust to reach out to. So by theway, if keeping up with
engagement in Facebook groupssounds like a full time job,
well, I'm not going to lie toyou, it kind of is, but that's
where my team and I come in atkuliana Connect, we specialize
in done for you, Social MediaEngagement Services, which
basically means we can handleall of this for you. So whether
(22:25):
it's you want to see whereyou're missing engagement
opportunities, we can help youout there too. We have a $97
social media audit where weanalyze your strategy and give
you a clear plan to boost yourengagement. If you're curious
about that. Check out the linkin the show notes below. If you
also just need full service,like relationship management on
(22:45):
your social media, our team isabsolutely so awesome at that.
Our team engages on your behalf,builds relationships and drives
real business growth throughstrategic interactions. So if
you're like jumping up and downsaying yes, that is so me, well,
good news. Just go right down tothe show notes. Click on the
link, and we would love to geton a connection call with you.
(23:07):
You get a direct connect with myhusband and I. We spend 30
minutes together, and we cantalk all about how we can help
you, and how you can move yourbusiness forward, intentionally,
online, and stop wasting timeand stop wasting energy. All of
these links are in the shownotes, so check them out if
you're ready to turn followersinto paying clients. Now I've
(23:28):
covered how Facebook groups areone of the best free tools for
local businesses, but remember,it's only if you use them
strategically. So today is aquick recap. We covered why
Facebook groups are essentialfor local marketing, how to find
the best groups that actuallydrive leads, how to engage
without feeling salesy and buildtrust, posting strategies that
(23:49):
work to get results, and alsohow to turn group members into
clients, because you want to dothat without being pushy. The
key takeaway I'd like to sayfrom today's episode is that
it's all about buildingrelationships first. Remember
when you show up with value,consistency and authenticity,
your ideal clients will startcoming to you. If this episode
(24:10):
was helpful, be sure tosubscribe so you don't miss
future episodes, especially thatone coming up with my Facebook
group expert. And if you'reloving this podcast, I would be
so honored if you would leave aquick five star review. It
really helps us reach more smallbusiness owners just like you.
Until next time, everybody, keepgrowing, keep positive and know
(24:31):
that your business exists for areason. Keep following that
passion, and soon, I promise youwill see that ROI you're looking
for. Keep growing, keepflourishing, and I'll see you on
the next episode of Social MediaMarketing for Small Businesses.
Thanks for tuning in to socialmedia for small businesses. Now,
(24:51):
time to go apply what youlearned to elevate your social
media strategy and remember tograb this week's free resource
from the show. No. Below, and ifyou're ready to make social
media work for your businessgrowth, just head on over to www
claimansocial dot media to bookyour free discovery. Call with
us. We're here to help turn yoursocial media efforts into real,
(25:14):
measurable results. Until thenext episode, keep building,
keep connecting, and I'll seeyou on social you.
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