We haven’t covered Facebook groups too often here on TBM, and that’s because for awhile I had just one group I actively engaged with, and it seemed a little overwhelming to join many more. These days I’m in four or five groups, with two I stay pretty current on. I found that there are certain ways to make the most out of these groups so they don’t just become more status updates clogging your feed, and actually provide inspiration and opportunity to me as a blogger and freelancer. So this is kind of the guide for anyone like me, who doesn’t have much time or energy for even more social media updates!
Take Advantage of Saving Posts
When you log onto Facebook for personal or work reasons, you might not have time to scroll through all the user updates in your feed. Whenever I let groups distract me, I end up paying half attention to them anyway, and it defeats the purpose of connecting with anyone. Luckily, Facebook has a “save link/post” option at the top right of each status, so you can bookmark updates for later. That way you don’t lose the interesting link or discussion someone posted when you don’t have time to review. FB will remind you when you haven’t revisited a post you saved recently, too.
Set Aside Time to Connect
A Facebook group is basically a forum for collaboration, chatting, and finding resources, so it does require some time commitment. I don’t have time to check into groups daily, but I’ll pop in every few days if I can, and if not I just wait until I have an hour to check out all the posts I saved from all the groups I’m in. I also like to scan through for anything I may have missed. You definitely don’t have to spend all your time on Facebook to benefit from the discussions in these groups, but it helps to catch up every now and then. And because of Facebook’s relevance-based feed, if you aren’t actively engaging you’ll miss a lot of what goes on in these groups. So if you’re busy and not engaging, you definitely want to go through your groups’ main pages.
Ask Questions / Start Discussions
I’m a reader much more than I’m a poster, so it took me awhile to realize that it can be insanely helpful to ask these different pools of people (in my case, usually creative women) questions that I don’t have anyone to ask in my daily life. Facebook groups aren’t just about chatting with likeminded individuals. Actually, a lot of time it’s about having a resource and support system when you need it. Even simple questions like where to get certain craft materials or shops to support locally have come up in my FB groups, as well as countless job and creative opportunities. Don’t be afraid to ask them yourself, too!
Offer Tips / Advice
I like to engage with interesting Facebook posts by answering questions and offering my advice or perspective whenever I’m inspired too. We’ve both found in our groups that the topics we write about on TBM come up quite a bit, so it’s nice to have another place to offer our insight. Not to mention, it’s always helpful to share our resources with someone who might need them! Never underestimate how much you’re helping someone just by offering advice. Whenever I see people offering business advice or resources, I’m always so grateful I saw it pop up. Your answer might just be to one person, but it’s often seen by many more.
Leave if It Doesn’t Serve You
Lastly, there’s no reason to stay in a group that isn’t serving you. If you feel like the discussions are not what you thought – whether they’re just off topic or not relevant, or it just doesn’t feel like a supportive environment – don’t waste your time! Groups aren’t so personal that people will really take offense, so don’t worry about that, and it’s one less distraction you’ll have filling up your feed when you log into FB for other reasons. Plus, then you can spend time finding spaces that you do benefit from.
If you’re in a Facebook group, what do you like most about it? Do you post or comment regularly?
Sheila Joy says
These are great tips. I just joined Facebook groups and had to leave some that were either too spammy or weren’t providing me with information and connections I was looking for.
http://www.insearchofsheila.com