Should you start a Facebook group?

#entrepreneurship #facebook #facebookgroup #marketing #marketingstrategy #occupationaltherapy #onlinebusiness #onlineot #ot Mar 15, 2024

"Should I start a Facebook group for my business?"

I get this question asked ALL the time.

I started my Facebook group, Taking OTs Online, about three years ago. But I only started intentionally running it as a way to pour value and a TON of free resources into OTs/OTAs looking to start an online business about a year and a half ago. Can't believe we're 6k members strong now!! 💪

From a marketing perspective, the idea of providing value and serving your audience is (in my personal opinion) the best way to market a business because you get to organically build trust with your audience. I love that we get to do that in our group in a way that makes our community engaging and enjoyable unlike a lot of other static Facebook groups that don't necessarily nurture community.

The short answer... 🥁

Is starting a Facebook group a good business strategy overall? Yes. I know lots of business owners who have had great success with their groups.

But is it a good business strategy for everyone, or for you specifically? Not always necessarily, and here's why.

Are Facebook groups a good fit for you? 🫵

There's no module on Facebook group creation and management in our Business to Boss coaching program curriculum at all. And that's intentional. I truly believe that to meet people where they are, we shouldn't limit people or pressure them to market their products or services one way or another.

I will teach to it and support clients on an individual basis if I think they can handle it, but I don't want anyone coming into our program thinking they HAVE to start a Facebook group when all it's going to do is overwhelm them.

It's not the best move for people already overwhelmed by social media and technology. What's the point of admitting people into your group if you never post in it? All you'll get is crickets. 🦗

But if you don't like Facebook groups, you can still deliver all this content in other ways. You can try a different social media platform. You can deliver via email, a blog, a podcast, etc. Just pick one or two of your favorites and go from there.

Figuring out where your ideal client lives 👩‍💻👨‍💻

Starting a Facebook group doesn't make sense if you know that your audience doesn't spend a lot of time in groups anyways. 🤷‍♀️

If you see that your ideal client likes engaging in other Facebook groups, then I think it's a good move to start one for your business, so long as you can sustain the amount of work and/or eventually outsource that work to others.

One of my clients that I'm working with right now knows that OTs love being in Facebook groups, so that's why she worked with me to decide that she's going to create a Facebook group to reach her people. You have to really understand where your ideal client lives first before deciding where you want to market.

Choosing a feel-good marketing platform 🤝

If you enjoy cultivating community, creating engagement, and doing live trainings, then a Facebook group is probably going to be a good marketing platform for you.

If you don't like these things, that's okay too. At the end of the day, you need to choose a marketing strategy that aligns with:

- your identity

- how much time you can pour into it

- how much energy you have

- where your head is at in your business game

Then, you need to show up consistently in whatever marketing approach you take wholeheartedly to build real connections with people and and compel them to eventually pay you for your expertise.

Keeping your group alive 📈

To make your Facebook group successful, you need to be creating educational content multiple times a week, show up in your group consistently, or have someone else be in your group for you.

If you have no idea where to get started with your content creation, check out our free Social Media Content Calendar template.

In the long term, see if you can hire someone to manage the group for you when things get overwhelming. I personally have a Group Specialist and an Executive Assistant helping me manage my Facebook now since it's gotten so big. They admit members for me, announce live trainings, schedule posts multiple times a week, and respond to comments so that I'm not on social media 24/7. Now, I get to spend time in the group more intentionally like going live once a week or popping in spontaneously to post about spending lunch with my girls outside on a work day. 🥰

That's all for my personal take on starting a Facebook group for your business. I hope you found this content helpful!