Facebook – the ultimate pool of opportunities, the businessman’s utopia, and the budding entrepreneur’s playground. It’s marvelous how, what was once just a social networking site, transformed into a platform for small business owners to promote their products and build a name for themselves.
Today, Facebook has a world’s worth of tools and features that can prove useful to your coaching business.
One of those extremely productive tools is ‘Facebook Groups’.
From building a network of clients and promoting your schools and courses, to letting your audience know about any upcoming features and collating constructive feedback that you can put to good use, these groups help you do it all with ease.
There are two ways to go about it – you either join the many niche groups already existing on Facebook and promote your coaching business there, or you create a brand new group focused on just your school.
But, what makes Facebook groups a cut above the rest, especially for your coaching niche?
Let’s find out…
Why Facebook Groups?
It’s really simple – Facebook is full of people, over one billion of them.
Start a group for your coaching business, build an audience, talk about your course, and you have the recipe for a highly engaged community of individuals who are likely to take your business to newer heights.
Compared to a ‘Page’, groups provide more personal engagement with your audience.
Think of it this way – most people don’t want to interact with a brand (unless it’s to complain). However, if they see a face behind the brand, in a group setting, that barrier is removed, and the hesitancy is out the window.
You can tell your members about your skills as an online coach, share your passion for learning with them, inform them about your course’s top features, and enable the members to interact with each other as well.
From the whats-hows-whys of your business to concerns about content and general queries, the possibilities of starting a discussion are endless.
Instead of an average Q&A where a page owner throws questions at the followers and they respond, groups provide a platform for audiences to interact with each other too.
As a business owner, continuous interaction fuels discussion and is more likely to convert into a purchase.
Add to that features like polls that are great for immediate feedback.
Say, you’ve just started a group for your coaching business. The initial questions you ask your members will be extremely valuable in deciding which direction to take your business in.
From concept feedback to customer experience, ease of learning to extra activities, the group has the power to generate the most honest feedback for you in an online setting.
In short, Facebook groups allow you to develop:
- Personal engagement with the audience
- Better interaction among members than a Page
- Polls for immediate feedback
Let’s look at the four quick ways you can use Facebook groups to grow your online coaching business:
1. Find like-minded target audience
Whether you are part of an existing group or single-handedly manage your own, one thing remains absolute – the members of the group are interested in what you have to say.
Whether it is introducing your course, your unique skills, starting a quiz, or starting a discussion about the niche you’re offering a course in, a group is a great way to get people talking and share ideas.
In other words, the more distinct and insightful your communication, the higher are the chances for people to pay attention to you.
2. Build your business network
Indubitably, Facebook groups are a great way to network with potential clients, influencers, and collaborators.
A simple way to do it is to collect their email addresses.
For instance, you can build a network of entrepreneurs that are employed in your niche – marketers, content creators, developers, and even other course creators.
When they join your group, ask them a couple of questions about their interest in your niche, along with their email ID for additional information that you are likely to provide.
Once you start posting about your course in the form of experience, content, and tips, more and more members will learn about your course material and how it can benefit them.
After regular participation, you can consider inviting your friends to the group and befriend those with whom you’ve been active in discussions. This way, you take your professional relationship to the next level and generate leads that you can convert.
3. Post regular updates of your coaching programs
Added a new course in your school? Notify your members with a status update and a direct link.
Want quick feedback on a new feature you’re thinking of introducing? Start a poll.
Offering limited-period discounts or inviting members to your events and any special promotions? Simply post an update.
Whatever you wish to update your client base with, you can do on the group, and they’ll be the first to know.
4. Open doors to effective Q&A / Feedback
Generic or pertaining to your product – communities are a great way to share ideas on how you can make your course better, how you can address the low points, if any, for your clients, and how you can modify and improve the overall experience you’re offering.
Every now and then, you can post a question about an aspect of your course package, and let the members answer accordingly.
You can, then, jot down the feedback, and implement it in your product.
Moreover, once you moderate a discussion about your course, there are higher chances of other participants to start answering queries on your behalf, based on personal experience.
They can share their stories, and become your customer services representatives, thus, promoting your business to others. A glowing testimonial for your course is just an added bonus!
Now that you know the power of Facebook groups for your business, ask yourself the following questions before you go ahead and create one. It’s always good to be prepared with all kinds of expectations from this new venture:
- What is your aim of creating a group?
- What are the types of postings you’ll be doing?
- Is the tone of the group going to be user-friendly or brand-heavy?
- How will the content of your group be any different from other niche groups on Facebook?
- Will you be posting blogs and updates from other sources?
- How active do you think you can be once you’ve created the group?
- Do you have the desire to partake in regular discussions, answering questions, and engaging the members?
When to NOT build a Facebook Group
While there are numerous advantages to creating a Facebook group of your own, it’s best to avoid it if you:
- Provide one-on-one coaching consultation
- Aren’t going to be active enough to answer queries about your course
Gear up and create one right away and build the community of your dreams.
