Lesson #8: To Use Or Not To Use Facebook Groups for Your Business

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In our previous issue, we discussed how you can earn money from Facebook. In this issue we are going to talk about using Facebook marketing and Facebook Groups for your business enterprise.

This Facebook Group Application has recently been revamped by the social networking site, allowing it to be more practical and beneficial for its users. As a strong point, the Facebook Group Application can not be used for professional purposes in order to build a target market. A Group can be kept hidden from other Facebook users in case the moderator chooses to do so. The Groups feature of Facebook lets the members of that group to connect with each other through various discussions as well as post links, photos and even documents.

Unfortunately, at present the Facebook Group Application has limited efficiency if you are using a Fan or Business page, although one is still allowed to open groups using the said pages. To get the most out of this application, some businesses either assign a team to maintain it using a personal account or be watchful when adding contacts to their Facebook business page. The business owner can also perform this directly.

Let’s quickly look at a few ways to apply social media management and using the Facebook Group Application to your advantage:

– As Connection to other Industry Figures

Regardless of what industry you participate in, a solid discussion on the key points and issues of the community is one way to establish your reputation whether through conventional community forums or through casual discussions in a medium like Facebook. Though one might argue that you are indeed talking to competition, it is unwise to cut corners on ideas as this is one way to make a buzz in the network. So don’t hesitate to share and moderate a closed or open discussion (whatever you prefer) with other online marketers. You might just reap some positive aspects you wouldn’t have had otherwise.

– As a Support Group

Do you have many concerns regarding marketing campaigns and other characteristics of running a small business? What about if you need to openly discuss an internal problem in the management department? With Facebook for Business you can effortlessly do this with as much openness or privacy as you want. Your team will be thankful for the written support. It is also a way to celebrate milestones in the department you belong to or with the company at large.

– As a Call for Corporate Social Responsibility

Are you arrangng for a fundraising activity? Or what if you want to associate with the charity or advocacy group that you’re business is involved in? Facebook will give your efforts a strong sense of accountability. Not only that, it will also help you become more organized should there be a need for some volunteers from your team. If you decided to make the discussion open or accessible to everyone, your customers and other companies might even involve themselves.

As A Way To Keep Up With Staff Members Frequent interaction among the staff is an important element of any business. All businesses must be able to communicate with everyone in the team quickly and easily. Any matter that need to be handled within the staff can be done online with the use of Facebook Groups. Discussions can be done through chats as well as publishing of updates at the wall.

That’s it for today’s issue. Make sure to read the next one. We will talk about the proper ways to get in touch with your Facebook friends and fans.

Are you already taking advantage of Facebook for Business? If not, you better benefit from its potential right away. Find out more about Facebook marketing here.