This is the second case in a series about using Facebook Groups to grow your brand, engage with your community and of course, ultimately, market your business. Today’s case is:
Internet Marketing Super Friends, founded by Mike Hill.
Why did you start the Internet Marketing Super Friends Facebook Group?
To prove that we could take the largest group of people who were thought of to be “greedy†and make “giving is the highest currencyâ€.
Why Facebook Groups over a forum on your own site?
Because everyone was doing forums and not coming to the people where they were! I had told many clients to build a group, but none listened. So I did it myself to prove it can grow, and boy has it. We are moving members to a forum as an addendum to the group, but not in lieu of the FB wall.
Why did you choose to have an closed group?
It was originally open for years so that those who we did not immediately “approve†could still see the content. Only in 2014 did we close it to the public to encourage more open sharing.
What’s one thing you’d suggest people do to grow their groups?
Be the change you seek. Set your intent and know that people will follow you if you are not afraid to lead and be yelled at. We were scolded and yelled at for years, but we stayed true to our rules and in the end, people just keep coming.
What are some suggestions you can give to help keep the group orderly and not overrun with SPAM or off topic chatter?
Zero Tolerance Policy. Do not set precedence and don’t break your own rules. If you have sponsors, thats one thing, but don’t spam your own group.
What’s the one thing people must do to keep their group members engaged?
Engage yourself, set the culture, and be sure to feed the soul of the group. Know that its not “their groupâ€, its the groups group.
What’s the one thing people should avoid in setting up or structuring their groups?
Vanity, it will kill you.
How does having a group translate to growing a business, (increasing sales, reaching new customers, etc) which is the end goal for most of us?
Depends on the intent. For us, the business is secondary to the groups intent and a by product of giving.