Facebook Groups for Business

I first "met" Pam Moore through a SCORE webinar in April about building a Facebook page for your business.

I visited her site and signed up for her newsletter. Today a really neat idea showed up in my mailbox!


(BTW, all links in this blog open in new tabs, so you don't have to worry about losing your place.)

Facebook Groups for Business!

This is a really interesting idea.

• In the BIG picture, businesses should build their own website - owned, maintained, and controlled by the business.
• Facebook is a social media giant, and a Facebook business page is a great way to reach a wider audience ~ potentially a really huge audience
• A Facebook business page's primary purpose should be to drive visitors to the independent business web site (mentioned in the first bullet, above)
• But there is still a lot of fun marketing opportunities within Facebook.
• It's the social part of social media
• It's a way to reach the friends of friends and the friends of customers
• (I like to use Facebook for photographs and videos)
• Groups is a way to expand the reach of a Facebook business page

Pam wrote: "Facebook Groups provide a unique opportunity for brands of all sizes to build community, increase brand awareness, generate leads and even increase sales of products or services."

She added, "People don’t just buy things, they join things. As humans we want to be part of something bigger than we can be all by ourselves. This is why Facebook Groups can be very helpful to your business. They help you earn trust, nurture relationships, network and create a movement big or small"

You can listen to Pam's 35-minute audio blog using your PC at Social Zoom Factor. If you're an Apple fan, you can listen to the blog on iTunes.

In the podcast, Pam covers the following topics listed on her Social Zoom site:

• Difference between a Facebook Page and Facebook Group
• When to use a Facebook Group
• When to use a Facebook Business Page
• How to setup and start your Facebook Group
• How to choose the right type of Facebook Group
• How to build and grow your community using a Facebook Group
• How to market your business using a Facebook Group
• How to promote your Facebook Group and Community
• Importance of establishing community Guidelines for your Facebook Group
• How to choose the right privacy settings for your Facebook Group
• Tips to inspire natural community leaders in your Facebook Group

Personally, I will begin to explore how to best leverage Facebook Groups for people I advise for their business.

[Linkedin.com ~ Hmmm... I wonder how/if linkedin "groups" could be used in the same way. After all, linkedin follows the same social model: individuals create business pages.]

It's a good listen, despite the obvious (very short) commercial plugs. It's a great follow-on for her SCORE webinar two months ago.

• Windows: Social Zoom Factor.
• Apple:  iTunes.
• Also, my review of the SCORE webinar in April

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