Facebook Groups: How to Develop Engaging Communities

Want to create an engaged Facebook group?

Are you looking for creative ways to develop a loyal community inside a Facebook group?

To explore how to develop an engaged and responsive community with Facebook groups, I interview Caitlin Bacher.
More About This Show
The Social Media Marketing podcast is an on-demand talk radio show from Social Media Examiner. It's designed to help busy marketers, business owners, and creators discover what works with social media marketing.

In this episode, I interview Caitlin Bacher, a Facebook Groups expert who has helped many people start and grow successful Facebook groups. She hosts the Social Boss Facebook group, and her course is called The Fab Facebook Group System.

Caitlin explains how to choose a niche for your Facebook group that complements your business goals.

You'll also discover tips for promoting engagement and moving group members into your marketing funnel.

Share your feedback, read the show notes, and get the links mentioned in this episode below.
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Here are some of the things you'll discover in this show:
Facebook Groups
Caitlin's Story

Shortly after her daughter was born, Caitlin was looking to earn extra income for her family. She started freelancing as a social media manager because she loved social media and always had an affinity for building communities, whether they were on- or offline. By 2014, she had attracted a few steady clients and joined a couple of Facebook groups for social media managers.

These groups were a godsend to Caitlin, not only because they offered valuable information, but more importantly, they allowed her to connect with other social media managers in a meaningful way.

By the end of 2014, Caitlin had decided to switch to social media coaching and knew starting her own Facebook group would be an important component of this business. Caitlin started without an email list, social media following, or team. But she did have a really clear vision for the community that she wanted to create and a 100% commitment to making it happen.

Caitlin typically chooses the content she teaches based on her experience and uses the lessons she learned to make things easier for others. When she started coaching, she focused on Instagram so she had a big Facebook group geared toward talking about Instagram.

However, as her group evolved, Caitlin saw her Facebook group had more traction than her Instagram, where she sold her Instagram coaching and courses. People were obviously in the Facebook group to learn from Caitlin, but they were also there to connect and support each other.

Caitlin sensed a difference between her group and other groups. In groups that focused on facts or tips and tricks, people came in and out for content or help troubleshooting something specific. However, people visited Caitlin's group to see what Caitlin and their friends were doing while having their morning coffee or after they dropped off the kids at school. It was an amazing shared experience.

Since then, Caitlin started coaching people on running Facebook groups.

Three years later, Caitlin's attention and focus on her vision have paid off. She's running a million-dollar business that fully supports her family and helps thousands of others grow communities to support their businesses.

Listen to the show to learn how Caitlin used Periscope in her group before Facebook Live existed.

How to Start a Facebook Group

When Facebook announced changes on January 11, 2018, Mark Zuckerberg himself said the news feed will prioritize posts from friends, families, and groups over pages. For those of us who value community, the news feed changes are a real opportunity to go all-in with Facebook groups.

If you're thinking about starting a group, it's important to understand that the group isn't all about you. You're building something bigger than yourself. Create a group only if you have a real desire to connect with peopl...