Facebook Groups has become a popular Facebook tool by bringing private space for communion with select groups of people. It’s one tool at the land of Zuckerberg with real usefulness and where you can discuss things privately (or so we assume) with people you truly care about. In the world of business, it’s a tool that particularly has possibilities in creating a sense of community. And with customers a very valuable commodity, your own business can use Facebook Groups in creative ways to help bring a sense of community with the customers you value.
Take a look at how you can use Facebook Groups as a form of a town hall to gain immediate collective opinion and interaction.
Creating a FAQ Group
Even if you already have a Frequently Asked Questions section on your business website, customers are inevitably going to have some questions that aren’t there. A Facebook group designed specifically to answer questions from customers can be a great feedback tool without having to pay a cent.
If you hire someone to run the group, they can field questions from customers and answer them all at one time. Because they’ll have more space to write answers, they won’t have to worry about squeezing an answer into limited character space as on Twitter. Facebook Groups also allows more of an inclusive feel so it gives the aura of a town hall.
Create a VIP Group
Your loyal customers should mean everything to you, and providing a Facebook group that’s members-only for them is the least you can do. Opening a room just for them also gives you a valuable tool to gauge their thoughts on what they think of your business every day. It’s a place where even you can join in on the conversation to give your input. Because it’s an exclusive group, you also don’t have to worry about troublesome outsiders coming in to disrupt things.
Public Groups
Entrepreneur.com recommends you take the chance with a public Facebook group, if only to find more varied opinion about your business. While it could get potentially brutal, you need to have honesty about what people are thinking. It works much better than the customer review of Yelp where replies to negative reviews don’t always get read. Having one forum where everyone can join in allows you to get more involved in the discussion and find real-time solutions to issues that the public may be stating.
It doesn’t have to be a grievance hub either and instead be a place to network with others in your industry. Facebook allows you to create a description in each respective group so people can find you and join in on a networking discussion. These groups can be made hyper-local as well so you can find experts and peers from your local area.
References:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224154#
https://www.facebook.com/about/groups/
http://topdogsocialmedia.com/facebook-for-business-groups/
