How to Use a Facebook Group as a Promotional Tool

Step-by-Step Guide

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   Step 1: Decide what community you would like to develop or promote.

   Unlike the Facebook business (Fan) pages, groups are designed to highlight the members, promote discussion and create opportunities for networking.
   
   Even if you are a business, you can create a community of people based on your business and services, and the following are some ideas for companies, bloggers and professionals:
   Create a Facebook group of referrals for your business.
   
   If someone is very excited about the service you have provided, ask them if they would be interested in being part of your "Company Name Review Community." Become the administrator, decide if you want it to be public or by invitation only and then invite your past customers and new customers to interact.
   
   Create a Facebook group around a product.
   
   Be careful not to announce the product through a Facebook group, as this is against Facebook's 2011 updated promotional rules.
   
   However, after a product has been released, create a community where people can talk about uses for the product or stories of when they used it.
   
   For example, if your company makes cooking utensils, invite people to share their favourite recipes through a Facebook group, and announce this option on your website, in ads and in emails.
   
   Create a Facebook discussion group for your blog, library, book store, club, magazine and more.
   
   Creating a Facebook group around 1 subject, such as a book, an important test, an article, a craft or a club will allow you to move past the "comments" section of a blog, website or Facebook wall.
   
   People who are interested will join the group and it can be a more intimate setting than just leaving a comment and an email address under a blog.
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   Step 2: Create a Facebook group for market research.

   Use your personal or fan page to invite people who like your product or service to be part of a community, and you will ultimately network with your target audience.
   
   Communicate with your group daily, and ask them opinions on what changes they would like to see.
   
   Gather demographic information about the people who join your group.
   
   After seeing who is interested in interacting with your product or identifying themselves with it, you can create a Facebook Ad on through your Fan page that targets the same demographic. , Look at your group's home page options.
   
   Purchase a link with your credit card.
   
   This link will host ad content and message boards.
   
   Once you create a Facebook group, you become the "Admin" who can assign other administrators and approve content and members. , Although you are not allowed to hold contests on Facebook, you can promote some exclusive information for your members.
   
   Discuss sales, opinions and favourite products. , This is a great way to create buzz around yourself as a professional.
   
   Choose a catchy name and target friends who share the same interests.
   
   After a while, you may find friends of friends asking to join your group.
   
   Sometimes, creating a private group creates a buzz and a desire to join.
   
   For professional networking, you want to create a semi-exclusive club.
   
   For example, you can create a group of "Boise Marketing Professionals," that can discuss industry information and network.
   
   Use your Facebook group to go the extra step in marketing.
   
   Create regular in-person meetings, book clubs and meetings at large industry events.
   
   You cannot create a Facebook event using a group page, but you can create one by discussing it on your group discussion board.
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   Step 3: Sponsor your group on Facebook.

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   Step 4: Build buzz for new products by hinting at them through a Facebook group.

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   Step 5: Create a Facebook group to promote a profession or region.

Detailed Guide

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