There are over 10 million Facebook Groups on the social media platform as of 2024(1), some with over 100,000 members in one single group.
Many local United States towns are host to their own Facebook Groups for community updates, news, and frequently asked questions.
As a local business owner, you can tap into these local online communities to increase brand awareness and land new customers. The golden rule though... do not directly advertise in these groups-- you must tell an insightful/emotional story that make people want to learn more.
If you don't create the posts properly, you can be rejected and banned entirely from the Facebook Group.
Why Should I Post in Facebook Groups?
There are many great reasons to post in Facebook groups, especially to drive sales and brand awareness for your company.
This is especially true for B-2-C brands whose main target customer are people that live in residential areas.
These groups allow you to reach a specific group of people that all have something in common, many of which live in the same community or area, so if you're a local service business Facebook Groups are a great spot to fill up your calendar in one area.
On top of reaching people in the same area, your posts stand out compared to regular Facebook ads. These posts look like regular Facebook posts and can be personalized to each town or specific group that you post in instead of spending money to run general Facebook advertisements.
Lastly, posting in Facebook groups allows you to reach people that don't follow your regular Facebook page, so you're able to find new potential customers that haven't seen your business before.
Let's Recap -- The Benefits on Posting in Facebook Groups:
Reach the local community with a story
People WANT to support you
Stands out from a regular paid Facebook Ad
Reach new people compared to just posting on your Facebook page
Increase sales and brand awareness to people who did not know you existed
How do I not get banned or removed from Facebook Groups?
Now, unfortunately, posting in Facebook groups is not as easy as just creating a graphic with text and clicking "post."
A lot of Facebook groups have rules that everyone must follow, especially if you plan to publish posts. If you do not abide by these guidelines, then you may get banned or blocked from that specific group, which means you cannot post or view posts in that group again.
How to write a proper Facebook Group Post
It may seem simple to write a post about your business and create a graphic to post in Facebook groups, but successful posts (and ones that don't get removed) replicate the formula below.
You DO NOT want to write an advertisement or solicitation for your company's product or services, these posts will get removed right away, and if they do stay up, you will not receive a lot of traction or convert customers.
Your goal should be to create compelling and helpful content around your business that focuses on your story and the impact that the community/ group that you're posting in has made on your business. Here's how to write a great Facebook Group post:
Introduction
Your introduction should be one quick sentence that sets the scene for the story that you are sharing. For example, for our client A&W Junk Removal's post, the first sentence was:
"It's officially been 1 year since my friend Will and I began our mission to make [Town Name] as clean and sustainable as possible with our junk removal service!"
This is a quick and easy to read 1-liner that tells the reader exactly what this post is about. Plus, it shares an impressive milestone (that college students have been in business for a year now). Lastly, it can be updated with the specific town name of the Facebook group that the boys are posting in.
Section II
This next post section is what I call the "Meat and Bones" of the Facebook post. This is where you get your target customers excited to support your venture. You will want to expand on and share more about the story that you introduced. For example, we followed A&W's introduction up with:
"We have learned an incredible amount about reusing, donated hundreds of items, and helped community members remove unwanted junk! We love doing this, and it is all possible because of YOU!"
This is a great follow up to the introduction because the boys shared some of the important lessons they learned, while also giving credit to the community for helping them. Now, residents feel like they're apart of Will and Andreas' business and personal growth. Who doesn't want to support an initiative like that?!
Call to Action
Lastly, you will want a strong call to action on your Facebook group post. Now, again, you need to be careful to not be TOO sales oriented, but a brief call to action is generally accepted in Facebook groups, especially because it is not what the entire post is about. Make sure to keep this short and simple as well. For example, we wrote:
"Thank you for always keeping us busy.
phone number
email"
We didn't ask anyone to hire the boys or refer them to people that they knew. We simply thanked the community and left A&W's contact information on the post. This makes people reach out their own time and power. Generally, people will click away if they see a call to action that is too focused on driving business.
The Results of Posting in Facebook Groups
Once your post is up across 15-20+ Facebook Groups you should start to see the reactions, comments and shares come rolling in!
These will soon lead to comments asking for your services or that they bought your product and they cannot wait to try it out. Make sure to reply and like every single one! This will incentivize people to revisit your post and strengthen your relationship with this potential customer.
In addition, you will start to see your follower count grow on your main Facebook page, so these people will begin to see your regular Facebook page posts!
Need Help?
If you think posting in Facebook Groups could help you sell more products or get more bookings for your service, but you still feel like you could use some help, we're here to take care of this for you!
Feel free to reach out to us to book a chat or ask us questions free of charge!
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