NOTE: This is part 2-part discussion. If you haven’t read or listened to part 1 yet, please do so before continuing.
Taking the Plunge
Now, it's time to officially set up your group. You don't have to fear this process at all. You already have plans for what your group will be about. You just have to choose your group's name and go ahead and set your group up with Facebook’s easy process.
One of the great benefits of Facebook is that it's not technical at all. It should really only take minutes to get your group up and running. Don’t worry about this process… I promise you it's not difficult.
I'm going to go through a few of the most basic steps below, though Facebook has fantastic tutorials and will be the most updated.
How to Create Your Own Facebook Group
It's very simple to create your own Facebook group, as I mentioned. Of course, you'll first need your own Facebook profile.
Then, simply go to your Facebook homepage to create your group. Then, go to the group section on the left side menu. Then, click Create Group. Click Create New Group at the top of the page. A window will appear where you can add a group name.
From there, you can also add members (you have to add at least one member besides yourself to start) and choose the privacy settings for your group, which is something we've already discussed. If you're unsure of the privacy settings you should choose, go with a closed group. Go ahead and click ‘create’ and you're done – you've created your group.
Once your group has been created, you'll be taken to your group. You can change additional settings at this time. To do so, click the gear icon at the top right of the group and select Edit Group Settings. From here, you can add your group's description, tags, a group email address, and a group picture. You'll want to spend some time adding a nice group description.
You really want a lot of members to join. That means you should be very specific with your group description so they’ll want to. If you know anything about copywriting, that means writing enticing text that will get people excited about joining your group. Be specific with what your group is about, welcome all members, and describe who should join.
You should also add tags, which are like keywords that describe what your group is about. At this time, you can add three tags.
You should also create your group email address, which you get to select. When someone sends an email to this group email address, it will be posted to the group. People can also reply to that email, which will also be posted to the group. It makes it easy for people to post directly from their email, which can encourage more interaction.
You can also add a group picture, which should be branded to the group. You can have this created somewhere like Fiverr.com or by your favorite graphic artist.
Admin-ing a Facebook Group
There are some special things you'll need to pay attention to as the admin/owner of a Facebook group.
There are some changes you can make to your group in the future if you ever need to. For instance, if you ever need to change your group's privacy settings, you may, as long as your group has fewer than 250 people (with a caveat that I’ll get into below).
Simply click the gear icon at the top right of the group and click Edit Group Settings. Then, choose the new group privacy option under the privacy section and save. Members will be notified that the privacy setting has been changed.
Note that if your group has more than 250 people you can only change a public group to closed or secret and a closed group to secret. You can only change this once, so choose wisely.
As an admin, you can also limit who is added to your group. To do this, choose the gear icon and select Edit Group Settings. Select ‘Any Member Can Add Members, but an Admin Must Approve Them.’ Click Save. You can also remove or block someone and add additional administrators.
Also note that if your group has fewer than 250 people, you can change its name. Be careful in doing this, however, because you don't want to confuse anyone.
Optimizing Your Group
Remember to add tags so your group has a better chance of being found. If you didn't do this during setup, you can go back through your settings to do it now. Go to the gear icon and select Edit Group Settings. Select Tags and enter words that are related to your group. You can choose three tags for your group.
Remember that your group name should be catchy and it should brand you. It should call out to the people of your niche so they'll want to join. Facebook does a nice job of suggesting groups to Facebook users. Would it excite people if they saw your group name in their sidebar? If you have a catchy group name, they will probably want to check you out. But, if your group name does not call out to them, they will just ignore you.
If you haven’t yet added a cover photo, that's something you'll want to do as well. Remember, you want your group to stand out and having a cover photo is a great way to do that. To change your cover photo, hover over the top right of your group and click on the photo icon you see at the top there. Choose one of your group's existing photos or add a new one. You can also have one made by a graphics artist – which is probably ideal. Your cover photo must be 400 pixels wide and 150 pixels tall.
As admin, you can also pin a post. Sometimes, there will be a post you want all members to see. You can pin a post to the top of your group’s stream until you want to unpin it or remove it. To pin a post, go to the post you want to pin and hover over it until you see a little ^ symbol. You can click this for a drop-down menu. Click pin to pin the post.
Another thing you can do is set up your group's email address if you did not do that during setup. To set up an email address, click the gear icon and select Edit Group Settings. Choose your group address and enter in the address you would like.
There are a lot more in and outs you'll find as an admin. But, these things should help you get started. Facebook was designed to be very user-friendly and intuitive. Remember that everyone from the very young to the very old uses Facebook successfully every day, so you're sure to figure it out very quickly. That's definitely one of the benefits of using Facebook to set up a group. It's extremely user-friendly.
Also note that Facebook is always adding new features. For instance, you can share via Dropbox and Facebook, which wasn't always possible.
Now That You've Started a Facebook Group
Now that you started your own Facebook group, let's talk a little more about your role as admin. You're going to be seen as the leader. People are really going to look up to you. They're going to turn to you with questions. They'll want support, help, and advice. As their leader, they'll expect you to guide them at every turn.
This is a good thing – it's why you've created a community in the first place, and puts you in a position of authority.
There are so many good things that can come out of being the leader. You'll see people who come into your group from the very start of the process. They'll come to you desperate for help and you'll help them and they'll achieve. They'll thank you and attribute their eventual success to you. That's a great feeling. Some people will be incredibly desperate and in despair and you will have a very positive effect on their lives.
The experience will not always be rosy, though. Sometimes, you'll have to keep the peace. Whenever there are multiple personalities in a community, there will sometimes be disappointment. Sometimes, certain members of a group will not get along with you or they won't get along with each other. You'll have to make the difficult decision to set ground rules or to request that certain people no longer belong to your community. With the ups come the downs. You have to come prepared for that.
You also have to keep people coming back. I've mentioned that some people come into my community and I can see that they already belong to thousands of other communities. You have to really make sure your community stands out. A big part of this is daily interaction and making sure that there is always value in your community. You'll be surprised as to how many leaders don't truly lead. I have daily topics and interact constantly. I recommend you interact daily too.
Keep the conversation going and raise people's spirits. Give praise when it's warranted. Answer people's questions when they ask. It doesn't have to take that much time to check in every day and to make sure people are feeling good. It can really help if you have other admins to help you out. You might find that you have some really active members who would love to help you out as well.
As the leader of the community, you should build relationships and make that your focus along with giving a lot of value. In this way, running a Facebook group and your role as admin is just as it would be with any other type of group. You have to make your group matter in members’ lives.
Adding a Lot of Value to Your Facebook Group
There are a lot of things I'm proud of in my business and with my Facebook group. One of those things is that I'm known for adding a lot of value. People know that I'm there to answer their questions and they know that I'm going to give them little surprises here and there that add value to their lives. You should think about what you can deliver that would really wow your group.
There are so many different things you can do. It could be as simple as posting daily discussions. I can't tell you how many people say they really look forward to the daily discussions I provide. Discussions in your community alone provide a lot of value.
Another way you can provide a lot of value is by giving your community free reports. These can even be list builders for you. People love to learn and free reports can give a lot of value.
Infographics are extremely popular in social media and all over the web. You can give infographics, which are quick ways for people to digest information. These don't even have to be infographics you create.
You can even provide value by sharing great, helpful links. People love when you curate information for them. Again, these links don't even have to be full of information you've created. Just the fact that you're thinking about your community and sharing links you know will be beneficial to them is a good thing.
If you know the members of your group have questions about things, you can create tutorials that will help them. Simply thinking about ways to make the lives of your group members easier goes a long way.
Above all, think about ways to be present when people ask questions or need help and support. This is extremely important and necessary for you as a group leader.
You have to be a leader and all that entails. There are a lot of ups and downs. It's going to be trying and is going to be ultimately very rewarding. Focus on adding a lot of value and the people of your group will absolutely adore you.