How to create a stellar Facebook group and stimulate a thriving community

Wouldn’t it be great to have access to a social media audience that’s 100 percent engaged in what you have to say?

What if this audience actively contributed relevant content that built interest in your real estate brand? Sounds too good to be true, right? By creating a Facebook group, you actually can have all of this and more – if you’re willing to put in a little work.

Targeting your audience

Before jumping in and creating a real estate Facebook group, it’s a good idea to think about what you’re trying to accomplish and whom you’re trying to engage.

As a real estate agent, you’re primarily trying to engage potential clients. With this in mind, why not simply create a group dedicated to your real estate business and be done with it? Well, I’m sorry to tell you this: No one would be interested in joining.

Creating a group that people are genuinely interested in joining and participating in is the key to building a popular group that lasts. For lead-generation purposes, you also want your group to appeal to people who live in your local real estate market.

As long as your group captures the attention of local residents, it’s likely to grow and generate business. Community-focused groups, such as neighborhood groups, are often created by agents because they generate genuine interest at a local level.

Creating your Facebook group

Once you’ve come up with an idea for a group, it is time to create it. Compared to all the thought you (hopefully) put into coming up with a Facebook group, the act of creating one is a piece of cake. Here’s how to do it:

1. After signing in on Facebook, click the drop-down arrow at the top right corner of the page.
2. Click on “Create Group.”
3. Name the group, set the privacy options, then invite friends to join.
4. Click “Create.”

It really is that easy to create a group. One last note: You will have the ability to make your group public, closed or private. Since you want your group to be as visible as possible, make it a public group.

Stimulating your group

Unless you are willing and able to stimulate your group, especially in its early stages, there’s no point in creating it. Facebook groups have the potential to generate plenty of organic interest and activity, but getting them to that point requires time and effort. Here are a few ways you can continuously stimulate your new group to generate the interest of potential members, while also retaining the members you already have:

• Engage Facebook users. Posting new content regularly is the best way to encourage repeat visits and participation. When members do participate by commenting on content or asking questions, be sure to respond. Eventually, if your group becomes popular, you won’t have to constantly engage individual members personally, as they will be interacting with each other.
• Help your community. While getting more clients may be your ultimate goal with this Facebook group, this shouldn’t be your only objective. Aim to help the community you create by posting useful, hyperlocal information. Examples of this could include community or neighborhood events, opening dates for new restaurants and businesses, etc. Sure, some of your posts can be real estate related and focused on the local market, but these need to be informative, not salesy.
• Encourage activity. While you can and should be posting content regardless of how popular your group becomes, encouraging member activity will help keep your group buzzing with less effort on your part. Ask your members to post relevant content, and be sure to engage with this content when they do. Doing this will generate more group activity and encourage members to continue posting.

If you take the time to start, grow and nurture your Facebook group, the potential rewards are great. You’ll have access to (and control of) a bustling community that benefits you, your business and the people who join it. Just remember, keeping your group active and focused is the key to its success and longevity.

Pat Hiban is the author of NYT best selling book “6 steps to 7 figures – A Real Estate Professional’s Guide to Building Wealth and Creating Your Destiny”, the founder of online real estate sales training site Rebus University and the host of Pat Hiban Interviews Real Estate Rockstars an Agent to Agent Real Estate Radio Podcast with Hiban Digital in Baltimore, Maryland. Follow him on Instagram or Twitter.

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