Facebook groups are a great way to network and grow your business online. They are often run by members of the group community who give up their time to assist other group members converse, share interests and connect.

As the founder of the Facebook group Business Business Business and a member of other groups I have learnt a lot about people and groups. The roll of Admin can be rewarding and at times unforgiving so here are some tips on how you can stay on the good side of the group admin.

Groups are about people:

  • Facebook is all about “people interaction”.  This is especially so with groups, so you need to be you in groups (you can only use your personal profile in groups), not your business page. So make sure your profile reflects how you want to be seen. And if you are in business link to your business page in your about section.
  • Facebook don’t like duplicate profiles or profiles in business a name, so stick to one profile
  • People are people and emotions do get involved but before you ball someone out or rant at admin, take a moment and check if what you might say is really that important. (My hot tip is if you are emotional, walk away)

Be polite

Manners are something we are all taught as a child and you will get a lot more support from a group if you use them.
The people offering advice, the admins who run the group and your fellow members all deserve your respect and manners and remember that what you say is a reflection on you and your business.
As a BBB member said to me once, “it is not a ‘right’ to be in a group”, so be polite, show respect and follow the guidelines of the group.

Read and Follow the guidelines

Group guidelines are there to help groups run smoothly, and I can tell you admins don’t sit in an “Admin” tower working out how we can make it hard for you. Admins set guidelines so the group can run smoothly and keep to the purpose it was created for. Guidelines are what allow groups to work, large and small.
Once you have read the guidelines please follow them and if your post is deleted please read the guidelines and check for glitches before reaching out to an admin. (Business and Family life still needs to happen for the admin team too.)

Be clear with your posts

Vague posts make it hard for all members to know how to help you so be as clear as you can with your posts and remember to include things like:

  • What is your location
  • Your business or market
  • What you do – if you are asking for help
  • And explain who your opportunities are with

Don’t Sell Sell Sell

This seems to be the one that people forget the most. By Selling all the time, people turn off and miss your message, so interact, too. The rules at BBB are pretty clear: interact first and promote second.
We have a great community of business owners who work well together and it works well that people get to know you first.

In the end Facebook networking is no different to Face to Face networking expect you can do it in your PJ’s. You need to listen, add value, take part and join in and if you do that your business can grow and the admin of your groups should be happy with you!