Facebook, Friends, Family, Business Pages, Groups

Lots of blah, blah, wee going on about FaceBook and 25 friends, business pages no longer the be all end all, and having more meaningful interactions with family, friends and in groups. Some folks are in an uproar (some folks are always in an uproar, or so it seems).

"Our relationship is in trouble."

Here it comes. If you are family or a close friend and the only way you maintain contact with me is through FB, our relationship is in trouble. We are both aware of this.

"My feed algorithm feels like FB tracks the posts I respond to"

I’ve never counted the number of people I see posts from. My feed algorithm feels like FB tracks the posts I respond to and shows me posts with similar subject matter from a number of different folks. Some whose posts I comment on, on a regular basis, others I don’t have any idea who they are, but I usually find their posts interesting and I’m glad to read them.

"FB is a public platform"

I have always selected my “friends” carefully. FB is a public platform that I use to engage folks who I think may eventually become customers. In the process of building a customer relationship, I have actually become friends with many folks who I follow or who follow me.

"A business page with no interaction in groups that are related to 

your business page is useless."

I do maintain a business page and it has taken me many years to understand how to use it effectively. A business page with no interaction in groups that are related to your business page is useless. This includes buying FB ads to promote your business (mirror ads are an exception). This is my current understanding of how business pages work. Find groups that are related to your business. Join them. Comment on a regular basis. Encourage folks, give advice, commiserate, compliment. On very rare occasion post a link to some helpful and relative info on your business page, website, store, blog, etc. The group folks should know and trust you by now. Some should actually follow the link. The post will say “Yasmin Sabur (me the person) posted a link from Yasmintoo! (a mythical business page).” Both your name and your business name can be searched on.

"Create your own group"

The second way to utilize your business page is to create your own group. On the group banner, you should state “Group by the name of your business page.” You can also add “group by” on the right-hand sidebar. See Upcycled Clothing Collective for how this looks. Now every time someone visits your group they will also see your business name. Groups are for fun and engagement. Be yourself. Keep it interesting. I’ve also learned that you can expect to create most of the posts in your group for quite a while. No problem. Upcycled Clothing Collective has over 23,000 members and averages 24 or so posts daily. Do the math. This means that .001 percent of the group members actually post and engage other members on any given day. Some posts will actually get several hundred comments. Pay attention to the subject of the posts. You want more of these. Within your own group make it clear that posts linking to business pages, websites, stores, blogs, etc. are welcome. Create a business post day of the week or some other regular mechanism for these posts. Then once a month or so post a link to your business or your FB business page. Once again, information is more interesting than blatant advertising. To sell you must first create a relationship with your customer, it takes time.

"Over the next month and a half, the group grew 

from 200 members to 400 members"

It took four years for my FB group “The Colour of Dyeing” to reach 200 members. Once the group hit that number, FB gave us greater exposure. At the same time, I was joining related groups. Two of the loveliest women with very large groups took pity on my poor little group. One shared a post from the group in her group, the other joined my group and began adding members. I thank them. So over the next month and a half, the group grew from 200 members to 400 members. We are now averaging 8 new members daily.

"The Colour of Dyeing is becoming  an FB resource for international dyers."

I’ve clarified the group intent. The Colour of Dyeing is becoming an FB resource for international dyers. I’ve learned a lot in the process about building a group and connecting to a business, but also I have discovered an enormous amount of new information about my craft and met some really wonderful people who share my interests.

"Change is good."

As you can see I am just fine with the new FB algorithm. Change is good, you have to work it to make it so.

"This is a mirror ad."

About the FB mirror ad thing. Have you ever noticed ads in your newsfeed that say “So and so likes this?” So and so is a friend. This is a mirror ad. When a friend likes your page and you feel that her or his friends are an audience that may include potential customers you can create an FB mirror ad based on that friend’s friends. You can set parameters. Friend’s friends who don’t fit the parameters are not targeted. Look up FB ads, lots of tutorials on YouTube on how to do this.