How to Create and Grow a Successful Facebook Group

Last Updated on May 4, 2020 by ellduclos

Are you wondering how to create and grow a Facebook group? Did you know that creating your OWN facebook group actually has a lot of benefits? In this article i’m going to teach you how to create and grow a successful Facebook group that has thousands of engaged members.

Most of you know of me because you are a part of my Boss Girl Bloggers Facebook group! Ever since my Facebook group started to grow, I have been asked MANY questions about how to grow an engaged Facebook group. In two years I grew my Facebook group from 0 to over 37,000 members. I am about to answer all of your questions!

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First, Why I started a Facebook Group

In April 2017 I first created my blog … I have ALWAYS watched youtubers and was inspired by what they did. I knew that I really HATED hearing myself talk, and I am not a great video editor…That’s when I decided to take a different path which lead to my blog.

I always loved to write and wanted to pursue blogging as a career path! You know what they say,

“If you love what you do, you will never have to work a day in your life.”

I wanted to make this come true! So what did I do? I read MANY articles on how to go about starting a blog. Of course there was trial and error, BUT one of the main focus points that bloggers would talk about is joining blogging Facebook groups. SO I DID! I joined about 15 or so.

As I was participating in these Facebook groups I realized that they weren’t exactly what I expected them to be. I didn’t feel a sense of community. That’s when I decided to create my own Facebook group. I thought, HEY IF THEY CAN DO IT SO CAN I! I bet you are thinking the same exact thing!!! IF I CAN DO IT SO CAN YOU!!!

At the end of April I created my Boss Girl Bloggers Facebook group! Let me tell you, it was the BEST decision of my life!!! It is my own community of amazing ladies who support and empower one another. We all have a dream of pursuing our blogs full time, and we help each other get there! I have loved helping everyone, theres not a day that goes by where I feel as if I made a poor decision.

Why you should create your own Facebook group

Let me be the one to tell you creating your own Facebook group WILL help grow your blog. WHY? Because you have the ultimate power to create and utilize it any way you’d like! You can share your own blog posts, monitor what’s being shared, inspire others through your Facebook group, build connections AND if you build strong connections with your group, they will trust and value your opinion. They will want to hear more from you! It’s an amazing feeling and I would not be where I am today without my Boss Girl Bloggers Facebook group. 

How to Grow Your Facebook Group

Boss Girl Bloggers started off with 1 member. By month 2 I was at about 1,000 members. After that I lost track, but here I am at month 6 with – 20,000 Boss Girl Blogger members and as of February 2020 Boss Girl Bloggers is at over 37,000 members. It was overwhelming for me to see the numbers continue to increase, some days I had to approve over 500 member requests! If I can grow a successful Facebook group so can you!

Just like anything else, keeping up with your group is A LOT OF WORK. It can be exhausting but, it’s rewarding and can fill you with so much joy!

Let’s jump into the tips!

Be Active

I can’t stress this enough, if you want to grow your Facebook group you need to be active. You want your members to look up to you, value your opinion, and appreciate the work you are putting into your Facebook group! If you value your group and support your members, you will get the support in return. This will result in your Facebook group growing.

Make sure you are engaging with your members. Take the time to establish connections, and take the time to help your members when you can! There are many Facebook groups that I am a part of where the admins aren’t active at all which results in inactive members. This doesn’t establish the “community” vibe. These Facebook groups will get over looked.

Figure out your target Facebook Group Members

What is your facebook group going to be focused on? Maybe you are a MML marketer and have a product you swear by that you want your members to get hooked on. If it’s wellness you need to target those who are also interested in a healthy lifestyle.

Maybe you want to create a place specifically for those who love fashion. When I first started my group it was a lot of work, I personally messaged those who I knew were into blogging. I thought maybe they would be interested in a community of bloggers who support one another. This may not seem like the best way, maybe it will seem spammy but honestly you have to start somewhere! To my surprise almost every single person that I reached out to directly, joined!

DO NOT ADD PEOPLE TO YOUR FACEBOOK GROUP WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION. Nothing is more irritating than being put into a Facebook group without joining on your own. This is something that drives me nuts. Always invite, but don’t force others to join.

Make Your Facebook Group Known

Wherever you can promote your Facebook group, do it! I will add my group to most of my blog posts. It doesn’t hurt to add to the end of your post “Have you had a chance to join my free community?”, or something of the sort! You should also add that you have a free Facebook group for others to join at the end of any email/newsletters you may send out monthly! No one will join if they aren’t aware it’s there in the first place! Even a landing page that has a JOIN MY FREE COMMUNITY can help too! I also like to have a link to Boss Girl Bloggers in my main menu on my blog.

Word of mouth

Once you establish connections and create a Facebook group that has a sense of community, your members will spread the news for you! This might be my favorite way to grow a Facebook group. Trust me, if your members enjoy your group they will want to have their friends join.

I like to ask members 3 questions before they join. One of the questions I ask is “How did you hear about Boss Girl Bloggers?” I will never forget the time one member mentioned they heard about my Facebook group while talking to a stranger at Starbucks. How cool is that?! That’s the sense of community I strive to create.

Before you know it your members will create blog posts featuring your group, etc. The blogging community may have some bad apples but for the most part everyone is so supportive and kind! Create a space where your target audience feels a sense of community and you will go far.

Have a searchable name and description

Make sure that you have a name for your facebook group that will stand out and be remembered. Don’t make it too long or complicated. Make sure your group description is clear and includes keywords that people might search for. If your blog is about fashion, you probably want to include the word fashion somewhere in your Facebook group name and description. Since my group is for women who love to blog, I thought Boss Girl Bloggers would be a perfect fit. Surprisingly, it’s searched often too!

Send an e-mail to your subscribers

This is one of the most effective ways to grow a Facebook group. Your email list is subscribed to you for a reason. They love your content and want to hear more from you. Once you create your facebook group send out a newsletter that is focused on your group. Let your subscribers know what it’s all about and invite them to join you. Chances are, they definitely will.

Share your Facebook Group on social media

Don’t be afraid to share a link to your Facebook group on all of your social media accounts. Promoting your group on social media in the beginning is crucial. Like I said, no one will join unless they know about it. Tweet it, create a Facebook post,  and add a link to your Instagram bio.

Ask your members to invite others

If you have an established connection with your members, it doesn’t hurt to ask them to share your Facebook group with their friends! If they value your group enough they will want to support you. There is  nothing better than a community who supports one another.

Create Pinterest pins

Pinterest is your best friend in the blogging world. If you want to learn all about Pinterest and growing your blog traffic with Pinterest then you need this course. You can grow your Facebook group by linking it to a Pinterest pin you create. Once you create the pin, then you would pin it to your related Pinterest boards. This REALLY DOES help. Pinterest is a visual search engine. If you use the right keywords, your pin will get seen and people will find your Facebook group!

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What you should avoid doing when growing a Facebook group

Promoting your Facebook group in other groups

This can be a frustrating to other facebook group admins. You would think it’s a great way to grow your Facebook group however, sharing your group in someone else’s group can be a little frustrating to the group admins who have worked hard to grow. Most admins will actually say that it is against their rules to promote other groups in theirs.

Adding members to your Facebook group without their permission

It’s frustrating to realize you are suddenly a member of a facebook group that you didn’t request to be in. I see a lot of  MLM coaches do this. I will magically be a part of MLM groups that I didn’t want to join in the first place. Make sure you are INVITING them rather than forcing them into your Facebook group.

Allowing members to submit posts without approval

You will thank me later. YES, it’s a lot of work to keep up with approving messages but, it will save you from your Facebook group turning into a spammy, pitch fest. The amount of spam posts that are sent into my group for approval a day is pretty frustrating. If I didn’t have my “admin approve posts” turned on, the group would be FILLED with spam. It also allows you to keep the group as organized as possible. You want to make sure your group is filled with the right content and sometimes not every member is there for the right reasons, especially once your group grows very large.

Don’t disappear from your group without reason

I think one of the biggest contributions that helped me grow my facebook group is staying active. If you decide that your facebook group is too much to keep up with and you go inactive in your group, so will your members. You must participate in your group DAILY! Even if some days it’s only for a little. I can’t stress enough how important it is to communicate with your members. Make sure they know that you are there for them. Be friendly, don’t be a stranger.

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What should you do once your Facebook group grows

Connect your Facebook business page

If you have a facebook group that is doing really well you should connect your facebook business page to it. This will help you also grow your Facebook business page. Once I connected mine to Boss Girl Bloggers, my facebook business page took off. It helps your members to notice your page, and if they support your group, they will support your business page too!

Have rules and make them noticed

Once your facebook group begins to grow, it can become very overwhelming. It’s okay to set rules and make those rules known to your members! It’s hard to keep up with 37,000 members but I make sure I try to keep my group as fair as possible. If there are members who are breaking the rules, make sure you address that to them and remove them if necessary. You want to keep your group as peaceful as possible.

Thank your members

Let’s face it, I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t have my Boss Girl Bloggers members by my side. I can’t even say thank you enough to all of my Facebook group members. They support me unconditionally and I value every single one of them. Make sure your members always know how much you appreciate their support. Kindness goes a long way!

Don’t ignore your members

Your members want to feel welcomed. If they go out of their way to talk to you or message you, make sure you are answering them. Once your group grows larger, I will admit it does get difficult to keep up. Just try your best. That’s all that matters.

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What to expect from running a successful Facebook group

Lots of messages

I receive a ton of messages daily and it can becoming overwhelming. The messages are repetitive, usually asking why a post hasn’t been approved yet. You have to get used to the messages and repeating yourself A LOT.

Running a Facebook group can get stressful

It’s not easy running a larger Facebook group but it is worth it. It can be stressful especially when you are trying to run your blog and group at the same time. I still find it worth it.

You will find friendship with your members

I have met some of the most AMAZING ladies because of my Facebook group. It’s hard because I don’t have any close friends who blog like I do. Sometimes it can feel lonely so having my group and meeting people who are doing the same things as I am is truly amazing.

You might have occasional drama

Some things are out of your control. Growing a Facebook group might lead to drama. Members will make it known when someone is acting up, being cruel, or not following rules. This WILL happen and it will be up to you to try and find a way to prevent it from happening. BUT IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT. You can’t help what others do. However, you can remove them from the situation before things get worse. These are things that I have dealt with and wanted to warn you ahead of time.

You will get spam

There will be members that will join your facebook group SPECIFICALLY to spam it. That’s why I approve posts first. I don’t want my Facebook group to be filled with spam. Always remove members who are trying to spam your group.

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I know some of these may have seemed pretty obvious, but there really isn’t a secret trick. This is exactly how I went about creating and growing my Facebook group. I hope it helps you to grow yours too! I am so glad I went for it and I think you will be too.

 

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