“A great way to create a following and engage with your students is creating a Facebook group. But what are the exact tips and benefits to having a highly engaged Facebook group? How do you start a Facebook Group that’s actually engaged and active?” 

I am here with Thinkific covering some awesome information based on building a Facebook community for your online course. I’m going to share with you why you should start a Facebook Community, and tips on how to start one. Are you ready? 

Why should you even start a Facebook group?

Built-in Customer base 

It took me a while to understand this but Facebook gives you access to a built-in customer base. I can’t tell you how powerful it is to actually build deeper relationships with your people. You can do so much by having a Facebook Group to connect with your audience and getting to know them a little bit more. 

Lead magnet for the email list 

You’re also able to use it as a lead magnet for your email list. We all know how important email lists are, especially when you’re launching an online course or getting people on a waitlist for something that you have created so that they can get a notification of when it launches. 

And especially when we think about creating something right. And having people waitlisted so 

Research on your students 

So, you want to be able to use this as a way to kind of vet people, to see if they’re right for your online course. It’s so cool to actually be able to create a community around your service or the online course that you’re probably developing. And the coolest thing is that you actually can do research on your students. 

Whether you think you have your online course all figured out, or you’re actually putting the pieces together, people in a Facebook group or community can actually let you know exactly what they want from you instead of you giving them what you think they need. So, if you have a good online course idea, you’re able to start a Facebook group to actually validate that idea and have an audience to sell to. 

Launch your offerings or webinars to an audience that is used to you

Now, I mentioned launching before, but imagining launching your offering to an audience that’s already used to you and an audience that wants the actual step-by-step solution of what you have to offer. 

You can do so much inside of a Facebook group. You can actually even host the workshops and webinars.

Extra support for your online course material 

The other thing is you can also use a Facebook group for helping people through the online course material. So easy to set up a group and attach it to your online course so that you can get that feedback.

For example, let’s say you’ve created the course already and you have people going through it. You can actually get instant feedback by going live in a Facebook group, connecting with people, and asking them, how are they getting through the materials or what support do they feel like what’s missing or r what do they need?

There’s so much you can do with feedback so that you can create the best results or improve your online course as you go along. 

How to start a Facebook Group 

Invite only your ideal client to your Facebook Group

The first thing is you don’t just want to invite everyone. Your goal is to add your ideal customer. Make sure that your group is based on a very specific topic. This way, if someone knows that they’re interested in this thing, they’ll be joining the group. I know you’ve gotten requests to join groups that you’re not even interested in joining or that person who is a part of 5,000 groups, and now they’re requesting to join yours. You don’t want that kind of person. You want someone that you know is perfect for your actual online course. 

Create your Facebook Group with your business in mind 

Here’s the thing, you’re actually creating your Facebook group with your business in mind. One thing that you can do is create your Facebook group membership questions before you let anyone in because you want to learn more about what your audience is struggling with, and if they are an ideal client for your group. This will help you get an insight into how you can best deliver your message in the group. Some questions may be: 

• Are you struggling with XYZ? 
• who are you? Are you a coach? Are you a course creator or you’re a photographer or your nurse?

Make your group about your audience. 

Make your people feel really comfortable and you can do this by setting aside 20 minutes every day, just to engage, just to check in and see what everyone is doing.

Set up times to go LIVE

Facebook really pushes polls a lot. So, you can use this feature and add questions so that you can know how you can serve your audience through LIVE. I like to ask questions pertaining to the struggles that people are having. With that. Right. 

How to Grow your Facebook Group

Create an Email Opt-in 

I know people collect their emails on people entering groups using those membership questions. But let me tell you a game-changing tip. Create an email opt-in for your Facebook group and let people actually sign up for your email list and then get the Facebook group link after they sign up. This works wonders. So you’re actually growing your list and growing your group at the same time. 

Another cool tip is to actually set up an email sequence after they joined the group to actually warm them up about what the group is going to be about, who you are, and how you help your people. This way they’re getting in and they’re not totally confused about how you can actually help them. 

Go Live every single week

 Create a visibility day where you go Live and connect with your people every single week. This was tough for me to do, but now I can’t see myself not doing it. And it’s actually part of my weekly routine. I do my #AskXayLi lives weekly. So, get on camera Live with your people, create a specific date and time every week where you do this and I promise you it is going to grow.

So here’s the thing. Why is it going to grow daily? Because you’re actually going to give a lot of value. And when people get a lot of value, they end up talking about you and I get a lot of people inviting their friends or business buddies into my group as well. And what’s better than word of mouth. It’s one of the best forms of marketing out there. 

Also, you can go Live inside and outside of your Facebook group and invite people. When you start talking about how bomb the inside of your Facebook group is, the people on the outside will want to join in. 

Stay Committed to the growth of your Facebook Group

I want you to stay committed to the growth of your group. It takes time, but it’s going to be one of the best things you’ve ever done for your online course. And you want to make sure that you are actually using your group to stay accountable to your business growth goals. Trust me. It’s a game-changer.

Check on your group analytics. This way, you know what your people like videos better than graphics, questions better than polls, or vice versa. 

Go Live in there and pay attention to analytics so you can give your people more of what they’re actually looking for. 

I hope you find this useful. 

P.S. If you’re ready to create your online course, head to Thinkific, the best platform that I still use to this day, to create your online course simple, easy, and effective. You can get started for FREE here.