Why Groups are Facebook's ONE Redeeming Quality

It's hard out there for a social media manager.

And Facebook isn't playing.

They've cut organic reach down to the bare minimum.

Growing an audience on that channel seems like you're swimming against the current.

I've launched many pages over the last ten years, and the number one complaint I hear over and over again is just how dang hard it is to get ANYTHING DONE on Facebook for Business.

In 2017, however, a shining moment happened. Two years ago this month, I launched a Facebook Group. And its performance and growth exceeded my wildest expectations.

2018 saw a HUGE surge in Facebook Group participation. In fact, it's estimated that 200 million people have joined Facebook Groups that they derive value from.

When organic reach for pages is diminishing, and news feeds are cluttered with fake news arguments and other nonsense, Facebook Groups seem to have finally found their place in the social stratosphere.

Here's why:

1. They help people find others with like-minded interests, better than most other social media networks or features. Yes, you can search for people by interest or location on Twitter, but with the issues plaguing that platform, it's not the best (or safest) place to network these days.

2. They help people de-clutter their social media feeds. Over the past 10-12 years, people have merely collected too many friends, brands, photos, articles, and JUNK in their profiles and news feeds. Groups provide a way to clear out mess, and start somewhere new and fresh.

3. They provide an alternative to social media's emotional intensity. I dare someone to argue with me about this one. But rather than giving up Facebook entirely, Groups allow people to continue to use the platform, but in a way that's much more engaging and ... FUN.

4. Admins can see how effective their content is in real time. How many people saw that post? How many people engaged with it? There are no sophisticated analytics to decipher. You can see your content's effectiveness then and there. You know who looked at it, and you can quickly pivot your content strategy based on those numbers.

I will admit that some Facebook Groups features do have their drawbacks. They can also get somewhat spammy if you're not careful. But in this world of irrelevant, obnoxious, and otherwise super-negative content flying at us via our news feeds, give Facebook Groups a chance to prove themselves to you and become a part of your marketing strategy.

You just might be surprised.

Yeah, I know a thing or two about Facebook. But I don't want to keep all of that knowledge to myself. Click here to find out more about some upcoming social media classes I'm hosting.