Many health and wellness businesses still believe that creating a social media presence means slapping up a Facebook profile, only using it to announce their latest blog posts. If you are only using Facebook as a space to distribute your business announcements, then you are not fully using all that Facebook has to offer.
Health and wellness professionals who don’t understand social media forget the operative word, “SOCIAL.” To be social means to engage others in what they are doing. Take the time to learn about who your followers are and what they need. ENGAGE them by adding value to their daily lives.
What I like about interacting in Facebook groups is that the group does not have to belong to you — meaning that you are not responsible for the set up or management of the page. You are simply another member looking to help make the lives of other group members a little better by sharing your knowledge. Take a look at some of these tips that can help you to get the most out of your time interacting with people in Facebook groups.
- Know what you want to get out of engaging with people on Facebook. You want to get more people on to your email list, YES. But what else do you want to know? Are you a fitness trainer who wants to know more about what your target client is eating that is keeping them from weight loss? Are you a women’s health expert who wants to know more about your target client’s top health complaints? Having a goal in mind will help you to find the right group that suits your interests.
- Find relevant Facebook groups. Finding Facebook groups that are relevant to your area of expertise is essential to your Facebook marketing success. There are literally millions of Facebook groups out there, but honestly not all of them are any good. Many groups wind up being nothing more than a place for people to spam the group about their business and provide absolutely no value to group members. So be selective about what groups you join. Try joining 2 to 3 at a time and just linger around for a few days to get a feel for the quality of the group. Ask yourself, are the group members genuinely engaging with each other? If yes, then go ahead and introduce yourself to the group and tell them a little about your expertise. Remember, you are not there to sell, just offer yourself as a resource.
- Decide how you can add value to the group. Joining a Facebook group is not the time for you to tell everyone about your services and let them know about all your latest sales. Your approach should be a bit softer in a Facebook group. You want to woo them with your knowledge and make people remember you because of all the great information you were so forthcoming with. If you are a weight loss expert in a group for women who want to lose weight, have some practical tips ready when group members ask questions. If you created a blog post that is relevant to the group member’s questions, feel free to post it if it does not break the group’s rules.
- Make sure you are commenting using your business profile. If you are offering value to the group on a regular basis, you will find that people will become naturally curious about who you are and what you do. Make it easy for them by using your business page as the page you are commenting from. Make sure that all your contact information is available — including your website, email, phone number, and other ways to get in touch with you. You can even put a link on your business page tabs that invites people to join your email list from you Facebook business page.
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If you implement these tips, you should get people who come to your website and join your email list. People will become naturally curious You will also notice that when group members have a specific question about something pertaining to your expertise, people will tag you on the post asking you to chime in. That is when you know that you are successfully branding yourself as a valuable source of information.
Want to know more about how to engage Facebook groups as part of your business marketing strategy? I currently have 5 spots per month to offer free 30-min consulting sessions for health and wellness businesses. Contact me today before those spots disappear!