10 Tips to Grow a Thriving Facebook Group

In the last month and a half, I’ve started my Grow Your Influence Facebook Group and have watched it grow from 0 to over 3100 amazing ladies.

It blows my mind how quickly it’s all happened! But I’m so thankful that it has because it gives me, and many others, a lot of different opportunities.

One of the main things that I love to write about is blogging. Even though my roots started in fashion, I’ve expanded to trying to help other people learn to create and grow their blog because I know how wonderful that is to do!

My facebook group is a perfect group of ladies for me to help. They’re all at different places in their journey, and I can provide something useful to all of them.

And even if I personally can’t, there has to be SOMEONE in those 3100+ ladies that can offer them what they’re needing.

I started Grow Your Influence with the intention that I would develop a women-helping-women community that was all about empowering each other and helping each other with our strengths while improving our weaknesses along the way.

It’s become exactly what I wanted it to be, and it makes me so happy to check in with my group and ask how they’re feeling about things and not only receive really great suggestions, but also to hear how much they love being apart of this community.

So, how in such a short time has my group grown so significantly? I want to share my tips with you today!

1. Check in with your members. Ask for their feedback, see how they like things. This group should be helping them in some way and offering value to them. Make sure that it is and make them feel heard.

I love to check in with my group and ask for their input on what’s going well and what isn’t because the group is about the members and I’m just there to make sure it goes smoothly!

2. Ask them about themselves. The fact is, people enjoy talking about themselves. When I was learning sales a few years ago, one of the best things they taught us was to ask people about themselves. Their lives, what they’re passionate about, their families. It builds a connection and helps build trust.

When I hit big benchmark numbers, I check in with my group and ask people to share a bit of their story. Why they started blogging, what they hope to accomplish with it, etc. it allows me to learn and connect with my group and they all have such different but so interesting stories.

3. Set up a posting schedule and stick to it. Consistency is everything in all walks of blogging. I have a schedule that is posted on the page and I make sure I stick to it as much as physically possible so my group knows they can rely on me.

Everyone is human and sometimes I’ve been a few minutes late but for the most part, they know what will be posted and when!

4. Try to monitor the posts. I’ve asked my group to send me their issues if people aren’t completing the threads. Knock on wood I haven’t actually had any issues with that so far! But I do try to check through the threads to spot issues.

One issue I found was I had asked everyone to number their actions. This was difficult if people had to come back later, so I changed it. I had a few group members reach out and tell me this was much easier for them. It’s the little things! The group is about the members, so help make sure they get what they need and want from it.

5. Set up Post Approval. I initially wanted to be that lax group where people could post whatever, whenever. But as I grew quickly I decided that might not be best as people were posting things that I didn’t want up as it seemed spammy.

I created posts for promotion, so I wanted people to stick to that. This is totally up to each group admin, but that was my choice and I think it’s gone well. I still share some of the posts that come through, but this also gives me the chance to be the first person that answers if someone has a question which I really like!

6. Utilize the member questions. You can ask people to answer 3 questions before they join the group. I’ve personally asked people to follow me on IG and like my FB page, if they agree to follow the rules of the group and the best one: to leave their email if they want to receive freebies or promos from my email list (this is optional, of course, and not required to join).

Using the questions helps me to grow on autopilot as  I don’t get a chance to participate in many of the threads. That’s my way of doing it in bulk.

This has not only grown the reach of my own blog fb page, my IG but also my email list which is my #1 priority in my business.

I have way more people not answer any question than ones that do, and I used to just accept everyone in the beginning. But as the group grew quickly, I started only accepting people who at least agree to follow the group rules because it’s so important to me that people read and acknowledge them!

GYI is about women supporting women, so if someone is dropping links and running, this group isn’t the place for them! I want people to know there is weight behind the rules.

Bonus: for the people that do opt in to join my email list, I offer them special promotions/freebies/first hand things that no one else has access to as a thank you for joining. Do something unique to make your group members feel special!

7. Promote your page the right way. As much as I wanted to get the word out, I refrained from going to all the groups I was a part of and posting my group on there.

I wanted to be respectful of the other admins in the groups I’m apart of. So I would wait for the “promote yourself” or “facebook” threads where I would share it and gain new members that way.

I also promote my group on my Pinterest account and my Instagram. There is a link to it in my IG bio and it’s one of my story highlights. When new bloggers follow me, they can see the directions for how to join!

8. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! My group grew so quickly that it was impossible for me to keep up on my own! I was nervous to ask for help because I didn’t think anyone would really want to help. Turns out I was WAY wrong.

When people like being part of the community, they’re thrilled at the opportunity to help out! I talk to everyone before I add them as a moderator and make sure we’re on the same page, but I’m really glad I did ask for help because it’s given me a lot of my time back AND they have the ability to remove people who break the rules which keeps everything fair.

9. Set rules and enforce them. I have a list of rules for the group for everyone to follow, and if they don’t, they’re removed. Plain and simple.

I don’t like when people can just drop their link and run, taking advantage of others and not giving back. The community I run is all about supporting one another and not being selfish!

I do try to give leniency to people as I know things come up and life happens. I’ve created a 3 strike rule that if people break the rules 3 times (no matter what the time frame), they’ll be removed. I am understanding when people reach out to me and explain, but that’s not the norm.

Everyone that’s a part of the group knows that the rules are enforced and know not to drop their links if they won’t be able to (or don’t intend to) finish the thread!

10. Answer their questions and messages. I get a LOT of DMs from my group. People want clarification on something, or they want help, or they just want to say hi or thank you.

It’s so important to interact with your group! Respond to their messages and thank them for being a part of your community. If people are reaching out to you, it means they trust and value your insight! It’s a huge compliment, so the least you can do is reach back out and help them how you can.

This can also apply to questions that are asked in the group. Like mentioned above, I have to approve all posts that come in to avoid spam. If people are asking the group a question that I know the answer to, it’s great if I can be the first one to respond and build that relationship with them a bit further. You should be the expert for your group!

So, there you have it. My top 10 tips for growing a thriving Facebook group!

The key to growing on any platform is consistency. So just allow yourself to be consistent and that is the biggest (and sometimes most difficult) step!

If you’re not already a part of the Grow Your Influence Facebook Community, I’d love to have you!

Have an awesome weekend!!

XO,
Dani