It's easy to create a Facebook group. Just follow these simple steps:
Click on Create in the top right of Facebook and select Group.
Enter your Group Name, add group members, and choose the privacy option for your group.
Click on the Create button and PRESTO!
Social media strategist, Lizzie Davie, suggests, "Choose a group name that people will understand right away so your group is easy to find in a Facebook search and your audience will instantly know that your group is for them."
Lizzie describes how to find Facebook management tools in this article, How to Manage Facebook Groups: 8 Management Tools.
Personalize your Facebook group by uploading a cover photo and adding a description. A strong description will help potential group members find you on Facebook.
Include vivid image with your Facebook posts. Many attractive and attention-getting images can be found on Canva. I like Canva because it provides tools that easily allows me to size images for my website. BluLeadz lists several leading websites where you can find quality images.
I created a Facebook group called VIPKID Mental Health and Wellness. As a TED speaker, educator, and mental health advocate, I help youth and adult audiences throughout the country talk about tough topics like mental illness. I formed the group because I wanted to provide a safe space for VIPKID teachers to talk, discover mental health and wellness esources, and find encouragement and support with one another.
Inviting new members to join your social media group is as easy as creating a group. Keeping them engaged within the group is more difficult.
I created my first Facebook group years ago when social media groups were starting to become popular. I broke all of the social media courtesy rules. I over-promoted my products, over-advertised my services, and saturated viewers with means to contact me. The contents of my group was like many fashion magazines: way to many advertisements and not enough content.
In an article written for business leaders, How the Best Leaders Energize Their People Every day, Lolly Daskal explains tips for engaging and motivating employees. These tips also apply to those who want to engage and inspire social media group members like a boss:
Tap into what inspires them. The status quo is usually a pretty comfortable place, and it’s never easy for leaders to get people to move forward. Ask yourself what inspires your team. Is it the mission? The camaraderie and teamwork? Personal ambition? Tap into what you know of them to help them make the leap from impossible to possible. Let them know it’s going to be hard at times, but the rewards will be great.
Celebrate the big things—and the little ones too. Great leaders are constantly finding ways to honor their people and celebrate their individual and shared successes. Don’t wait for an excuse to inject energy into your people. Let them know you see their progress and do everything you can to celebrate it—and them.
Reward their effort. Too often leaders focus rewards only on results; they forget how much energy and effort people put into making something work, even if it’s just part of the daily grind or a project that didn’t pan out. Be the kind of leader who rewards effort as well as results. Let your people know that little things make big things happen and that you value their discipline and effort.
Listen with curiosity. Most people don’t listen with the intent to understand but with the intent to reply. To energize your people, listen with curiosity, speak with honesty and act with integrity. The most successful people are the ones who do more listening than talking. When people know they’re being heard, they feel vital and valued.
Show respect. The highest form of respect you can give someone is to recognize them for who they are. Let them know you see their strengths—not just when they excel, but even through mistakes and bad outcomes.
Appreciate them for who they are. Recognition is a fundamental human need that reinforces positive actions. When you let people know you appreciate them for themselves and their role in the work you share, the more involved they will feel.
Show your gratitude. The single greatest cause of happiness is gratitude. If you want to keep your team motivated, make it a point to express your thanks to them as often as you can, in private and in public.
The best leaders energize their people in as many ways as possible, sharing with them the feeling that every day is a great day to do amazing work together.
Lead from within: At the end of the day, your energy and ability to energize others are among the most valuable resources you can share.
Managing a strong social media group includes much more than self-promotion and creating updates. It's about building relationships. Consider these questions if you want to create a social media group:
What quality content can you offer to members of your group that answers their questions?
What meaningful services do your followers want?
How can you connect followers to other members of your group?
Karen Lyon, vice president of brand marketing at IdeaPaint, says her company not only retweets and reposts blogs and social mentions from customers, they also share customers’ photos of their products culled from social media sites to use as success stories.
Lyon adds, “We are much more interested in talking about who our customers are and how they use the product than we are about just talking about ourselves."
Give people reasons to engage with you and one another. Build community. Focus on building relationships with members of your group. Provide opportunities for members of your group to connect with one another.
Franklin Roosevelt once said, " If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships."
Strong relationships are at the heart of every successful social media group.
Would YOU like to be a VIPKID teacher? Curious? Or are you asking, "When can I start?"
Go to the VIPKID website and enter my referral code, JULIE0530. I will answer your questions and help you throughout the hiring process.
If you've already signed up but haven’t done your mock class yet, you can add my referral code, JULIE0530 (JULIE zero 53 zero), when you log in on the VIPKID website!
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