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While any company can sell their customers a product or a service, a great branding offers something more: a sense that they are part of a larger community. Customer retention is a key goal for any business. This is the ability to have loyal customers who return to your brand over and over again.

This type of relationship can be built in many ways. One way is to create an emotional connection with customers. The Harvard Business Review states that customers will be three times more likely than others to purchase from your brand if they feel an emotional connection.

Facebook Groups are a great way to do this. A Facebook Group allows you to connect in a more intimate way with your fans. While it’s possible that not all people who follow you on social media or your small business will join your Facebook Group for your brand, those who do tend to be the most invested in your products. Facebook Groups are used by over 1.8 billion people each month. This proves that millions of people turn to Facebook Groups for more intimate connections with other people.

We will discuss the benefits of creating a Facebook Group for company and show examples of businesses who have benefited from this type of community.

These brands have seen the benefits of Facebook Groups.

According to The Washington Post, “Community” is the new number of followers. Instead of focusing on how many likes they get, content creators are creating niche spaces for their followers on the internet. It’s not only influencers that are thriving. Brands are using online communities to connect with customers. You can expect more brand loyalty if your customers are more active and engaged.

Saie, a brand that makes clean makeup, has experienced tremendous growth over the past two and a quarter years. They recently began selling their products at Sephora. Similar to What’s Gaby Cooking, a small business that started as a blog and has grown into a food empire. Gabby Dalkin will soon be releasing her third cookbook.

Both What’s Gaby cooking and Saie have large Instagram followings. However, they have still had great success in Facebook Groups. This is due to the intimate nature of the group.

These are just a few of the many ways that a Facebook Group can help to improve your relationships with your members.

Create deeper relationships with your core customers

Sometimes, it can feel like you are talking to an empty space when you post on social media. It may not be possible to personalize interactions with people because of the large number of followers you have. Depending on the algorithm, and the fact that people are constantly inundated with content, it’s possible for your followers not to see all your posts in their feed.

You can also get to know each member of your private Facebook group. Saie, for example, has more than 146,000 Instagram followers, while What’s Gaby Cookin boasts an impressive 860,000 followers. Each brand has approximately 3,000 to 13,000 members on their Facebook groups. This is a great way for you to build stronger relationships with your followers.

Your main social media channels are where you will post content – product photos, TikToks or Reels, and polished graphics. Your Facebook Group doesn’t require you to provide users with tons of media assets. They likely already follow your main channels so they are familiar with them. Instead, you can focus on building community and relationships with your followers.

Laney Crowell, the CEO, posted a personal message in Saie’s Clean Beauty Crew Facebook Group and asked followers to share their skincare routines. It is not often that someone so high up in leadership can get to know their followers in a more intimate and closed environment. Laney is a regular guest on Saie’s Instagram. However, Laney would find it difficult to answer the question individually on the brand’s Instagram Stories. Their Facebook Group allows for much easier responses. Below is the post that received 15 likes and 60 comments. This is significantly less than the brand receives on Instagram posts.

In this instance, less is more. Lauren Lauigan, Saie’s Head for Community, replied to many comments and asked members questions about their morning routine.

Lauren also asked for community suggestions on clean deodorants. Saie’s leadership team makes their community feel valued by interacting with them and getting their opinions, feedback and recommendations. The beauty group’s purpose is not to just share information about Saie products. It allows members to learn from one another and share their experiences.

Gaby uses the What’s Gaby Cooking Friends! To connect with her fans on a deeper level, Gaby uses the What’s Gaby Cooking Friends Facebook group. She asked her followers to contribute to her book in February.

This post received a lot of engagement and many of her followers shared their favorite Gaby quotes. Gaby made sure her members felt more connected to her brand by asking them directly in her Facebook group. Gaby received many comments from users, sharing their favourite sayings about her. These included “this little incident,” “this is amazing,” and “I am obsessed”. Gaby also replied to some comments, something she might not be able to do on another platform.

You can create a private Facebook group to allow you to have a smaller space online that is easier to manage, which will result in more time with your members. This allows for more interaction between you and your followers. You can also ask them for their feedback.

Your followers can share their passions & interests in a place you create

A Facebook Group can be a great way to foster and grow relationships among your customers. Instead of your customers only being connected to the products that you sell, your customers will also associate your brand with the friends and community they make within your Facebook Group. This is exactly what happened to Influencer Ambar Driscoll when she created Bamby Collective, a group that helps young women around the world.

Ambar discovered that Facebook Groups made it easy for members to be vulnerable with each other. Ambar was a fan of most of the members who joined the Facebook Groups, but one member told us that the reason she still interacts with the group is due to the friendships she made.

A well-designed Facebook Group will help you connect with your customers and allow them to talk about topics that are not related to your business. Your Facebook Group provides a sense of community for members where they can share and ask questions.

A member of What’s Gaby Cooking Friends! A member of What’s Gaby Cooking Friends shared a post on the Hulu show, “The Bear.”

This post was very popular. Users were actively engaging in discussions and sharing their thoughts about it in the comments. This is a wonderful example of community members bonding over shared interests.

Saie’s Clean Beauty Crew Facebook Group allows members to ask one another for makeup suggestions from other brands. The following post was started by a user about the best eye primer. This product is not even made by Saie. It’s a more open space for makeup fans because the Facebook Group isn’t just about Saie.

Nobody wants to feel that their only value is money. Even your customers. Your followers will feel valued by your business if they can connect with each other. Your community will develop stronger relationships between itself and each other through these intimate spaces. This will help them value your brand more.

Your Facebook Group can be used to distribute user-generated content

Your small business’s Facebook group members have one thing in common: They like your brand. This online community has one advantage: your followers will naturally discuss your products, including promotions and special events.

Clean Beauty Crew member shares her excitement over Saie’s Friends & Family Sale. Users shared their plans to purchase items during the sale in the comments.

Another user asked for feedback about Saie Sunvisor, a popular sunscreen. The Facebook group allows users to ask for product recommendations and feel more trustworthy than looking at reviews on other websites that may include product gift recipients. It’s easier to trust the Facebook Group because all members can see each other’s names and photos.

Gaby Cooking Friends members share their favorite recipes and news about Gaby’s cookbooks. One Canadian user shared a link that took her to Gaby’s new book at a discounted price.

User-generated content is more appealing than regular marketing content because it feels more real when customers and fans share positive product reviews without any incentives.

You can also use your Facebook Group to promote your brand with marketing content, but only do this sparingly. Your Facebook Group should not be about promoting your brand, but rather to improve the experience of your members.

Management of the community and moderation of content

You may be curious about the best ways to make your Facebook Group a success. Here are some tips to help you make your Facebook Group as valuable as possible.

Establish ground rules

Your business’s Facebook Group is an online community. It has a major goal: to make sure that everyone feels safe and comfortable. Establishing ground rules from the beginning can help set the tone. These rules will be the first thing your members see when they join the Facebook Group. These are the basics: No hate speech, bullying, or personal promotion of brands and businesses.

Here are the rules for Saie’s Clean Beauty Crew Group.

Be an example

You may initially find that members don’t engage as much with the group than you would like. You can create discussion posts, engage users, get feedback, and start a conversation between your members.

Be friendly and kind to all people. Take the time to learn about your community and respond to their comments and posts. You will eventually see an increase of user contributions.

For your business, create a private Facebook Group

To ensure that your Facebook group is not spammed, we recommend keeping it private. Saie’s Clean Beauty Crew as well as What Gaby’s Baking Friends are available! Each member must be approved by an administrator before a group can be created. You can monitor who joins your group and make sure everyone is there for the right reasons.

We hope you find this article inspiring to start a Facebook Group for small businesses! This space should give your customers the spotlight so that their voices can be heard.

Did you know that you can link your Facebook Group with your Buffer account. Start today and get started free of charge to create, schedule, publish, and share content to your Facebook Group.

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