How to create an engaging Facebook Group

Discovering a Facebook Group that you instinctively know that you’re going to enjoy immensely is quite a rare find these days. But they do exist and when you join them and start to interact, you’ll be amazed at the value they add to your life – both professionally and personally.

This week, I’ve had the pleasure of talking to Sue France, owner of ‘Creative Connecting in Cheshire’. I’ve known Sue for a while and she really is the best person to answer the question, ‘how to create an engaging Facebook Group’. Sue is a networker aficionado with an innate passion for connecting and supporting people. Nurturing those within her network really is her superpower!

Sue manages the incredibly successful Facebook Group that has the same title as her business. Here she can showcase her credibility, values and insight to the max as well as provide her Group’s members with wonderful opportunities to promote themselves to a large – and enthusiastic – audience.

In this blog, I’m going to share with you her wisdom and experience so you too can enter the world of Facebook Groups with confidence!

The purpose of Facebook Groups for business: Delivering what the members want

When Sue originally started the ‘Creative Connecting In Cheshire’ Facebook Group the main reason was to support the ladies in her networking group. It was a safe space for them to share their ideas, thoughts, insights and to promote their businesses. Around this time, Sue had 249 members – this also suited the Facebook algorithms of the time!

But then lockdown hit, and everything changed.

A few days after the UK went into its first national lockdown Sue was due to host a physical networking event with speakers and stalls. It was going to be a wonderful balance of fun and education.

With the venue no longer possible and social distancing as it’s highest level, the event could no longer take place as planned. But it could happen within the Facebook Group!

It was time to master zoom and digital technology and head online! And it was time for the Facebook Group to have a bigger purpose; to keep everyone occupied, entertained and connected

Since the events shifted from being physical to digital, the number of followers grew – and has kept growing. To date the group has welcomed over 1000 ladies from all over the country who have all benefited from meeting each other and collaborating.

Sue has proved that there is no limit to what you can do in a Facebook Group – you just need a spot of creativity! There can be livestreams, training events, opportunities to buy and sell from one and other, and of course time to have a bit of fun and laughter along the way. The perfect mix!

Difference between a Facebook Page and a Facebook Group

A business Facebook Page is a bit like a website. You, the business owner, have complete control over it and its content. With a Facebook Group, you still need to provide your own content, but your community can post comments to spark relevant conversations too.

Sue’s top tips for Facebook Groups

Here are 11 of Sue’s Facebook Group tips and tricks.

Be selective on who joins. When you receive a request to join, have a look to see if the person will fit in and that they share the same values as the rest of the members.
Set rules – more on this later!
Try to post daily, but don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t. With interactive groups like Sue’s, you’ll find that the members will post too to keep it active.
If you’ve got the time and recognise that planning content isn’t your strong point, that’s ok, set a few minutes aside every morning to think about something to post – this could be while you’re in the shower, the bath or making a cup of tea. Find something that’s meaningful right now and will resonate with the group.
If you lack time, set aside time each week to plan your content in advance. You can also schedule posts too. Remember, if you do this regularly check in on the page to interact and to check that everyone is happy.
For Facebook Group content ideas, Sue proudly displays Bec’s Special Days Of The Year UK Social Media Wall Planner in her kitchen for inspiration too!
If you really can’t think of something relevant to post, don’t! Always aim for quality over quantity.

Never stray from your purpose. Sue’s purpose is to connect people, so she spends a lot of energy and time identifying people within the group to connect. So should a post appear, and Sue knows of someone in the group who would be interested, she’ll make sure to do some tagging to bring people together.
If you have a niche, promote that. This will really pull in the right crowd.

Before starting the group make sure you have the time and are fully committed to manage it. This is the only way to offer the best value to your members.
And finally, join in with the fun and the conversations!

Sue’s rules on how to run a successful Facebook Group

While her rules aren’t strict, they certainly help create a safe, fun, and effective space.

The most successful groups have rules. Without them, it just becomes a free for all where every post appears to be of a selling nature. What a turn off!

In Sue’s Group, members can only actively promote on Selling Saturday. This leaves 6 days to focus on interacting with each other to build relationships and trust. Most days have a theme, so members know exactly what to expect on each day.

TOP TIP: Really think about the rules before starting your group. You’ll find it hard to change them once your members are used to them. It pays to get it right first time.

Pay to join

Sue puts in a lot of time to make this group a success and really gets to know her members as best she can. No mean feat when you’ve never met! She never ceases to connect people who she knows will benefit from each other. It’s for this reason that Sue now charges a one-off joining fee.

I think we can all agree that £10 is great value! And that’s for life too.

All new members are given the opportunity to promote themselves – this can be through a livestream, a pre-recorded video – anything they like. What a great way of telling lots of people what you do.

To join Sue’s Facebook Group, head to Creative Connecting in Cheshire.

Final Facebook Group tips!

When you do join, make sure to change the notification settings to “All Notifications” from “Highlights Only” so you never miss anything!
Go into your profile on the group and add a description of your business into “Edit profile” so if other members look you up , they can see what you do .

Need post ideas for your Facebook Group?

If you’d daily inspiration for your Facebook posts then have a look at this Special Days of The Year Wall Planner.

This wall calendar lists all those special days of the year to help you plan your marketing campaigns and social media posts. Everyday there is something being celebrated/recognised across the UK/The world.

Dates such as Beer Day Britain and Yorkshire Day. There are health awareness days, charity events, religious dates and key sporting occasions too.

You can add your own dates to the wall planner and plan your social media campaigns for the year.