Facebook is noisy.
Since the recent changes to Facebook’s news feed, many businesses have reported a significant decline in the impressions and engagement they are getting from their posts.
The chart below represents the findings from a one-month study by EdgeRank Checker. The study concluded that the average page reported a decline in impressions, likes and comments.
In addition, every business’s customers are connecting with more and more people everyday, AND to make matters worse, their friends are sharing more information. And that matters because it means that businesses are competing against more competition for their customers’ collective attention.
As overall sharing increases, it’s harder and harder for any business to be heard among the noise of the feed.
During Web 2.0 Summit, Mark Zuckerberg was quoted as saying, “I would expect that next year, people will share twice as much information as they share this year” (see Zuckerberg’s Law).
What does this all mean?
Our customers are becoming inundated with content, and it’s only going to get worse.
If we are to succeed using Facebook as a customer relationship tool, we must first capture our customers’ attention.
And that’s a real challenge.
But there could be a solution to this.
And it might be easier than you think.
Facebook groups might just be the perfect tool to help you solve that problem.
Why Facebook groups?
Facebook groups are highly accessible.
As you can see with the screenshots below, groups have a prominent position on all versions of Facebook (desktop, native app and mobile).
Your customers are more likely to interact with your group because they are constantly being exposed to it.
Facebook has also built in a more robust notification system.
When your customers become a member of the group, they are notified via email and Facebook notification when there is any activity within the group. This creates a powerful “pull” that draws your customers back into the group.
My personal experience:
On March 15, 2011, I launched my first Facebook group.
I had a seemingly simple and obvious idea of creating a place where real estate professionals could seek help for their technical problems. I called this group the “Tech Support Group for Real Estate Agents.”
In the last 11 months, the group has surged to more than 3,400 members.
It has become an amazing place where real estate professionals can connect and engage with like-minded people.
When I launched The Frugyl Club this past month, I created the same type of environment for my customers.
By creating a Facebook group for The Frugyl Club, I’ve been able to gain an intimate knowledge of what my customers care deeply about. I have used these new insights to create a better experience for them. This knowledge has been an invaluable asset to the successful launch and early-stage growth of my business.
Why build on Facebook?
Simple: because it’s where the people are, and it’s where they spend the most time. To add some perspective … of the 70 billion minutes being spent on social networking sites, 95 percent of that time is devoted to Facebook.
And if you can do that, you have an opportunity to create an amazing experience for your customers and build true customer loyalty.
