HOW TO STAND OUT AS AN EXPERT IN FB GROUPS
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How to stand out as an expert and authority in Facebook Groups and get the best results out of them.
So maybe you feel like you have a decent idea of how to interact in Facebook Groups at this point…But how the heck do YOU STAND OUT as the expert and authority you are in the first place?Like everything else I share with you, you HAVE to have a strategy when it comes to showing up and not only attracting, but connecting with your audience…the right audience in the Facebook groups you’ve researched, joined and now want to be part of.If your intention is to grow your online business, or to grow your business ONLINE, then it’s time to really get intentional about it. That’s what we’re talking about in today’s episode.
In the past few episodes, we’ve talked about reasons why you should join FB Groups in episode #16, The types of FB groups you should consider joining episode #17 and how to search for these groups to join in episode #18…and before I forget, I also covered How to make a GREAT first impression when you show up in those facebook groups in episode #12…I’ll link to those episodes in the show notes ok.
Today we continue with our podcast mini-series about How Facebook Groups can play a critical role in growing your business online.
I want to give you some best practices to stand out as an expert, an authority in your industry when you show up in Facebook Groups to get the best results out of them – as soon as you join the community.
You may have heard some of these tips before, but I promise you, they work.
We start out with the first one:
1. YOU NEED TO BE CONSISTENT
Consistent not only with the frequency in which you show up online for your audience, but also consistent with the foundational message you share with your audience. Ok, by now, you may be asking yourself, ‘foundational message? What’s that”. I’ll get to this in a minute, but first let me say this.
Being consistent is a something you MUST adopt right from the start of your business strategy to grow your business in the online space.
The frequency is something we can work on to fit our schedule and overall business workload, but the consistency of the message is something you need to be very intentional about.
This is where knowing who is your ideal client, who is it that you serve, that you help, that you help to transform, comes into play along with knowing how YOU help them. What is YOUR special sauce, the system, formula, process, strategy that you share with your client that helps them to get through their challenge or obstacle?
What are the 3 PILLARS of your message? Pillars are the foundational topics you will cover in order to establish your credibility, your level of expertise on a specific subject matter. This will make it so much easier for your ideal clients to connect with you but also for others to refer business to you since you’ll be known for that one area of expertise…
LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE:
As you know, I’m a business strategist, but I don’t work with everyone, I don’t work with employees who are thinking about starting a business, and I don’t work with product based businesses. I focus on working with Consultants, Freelancers, Independent Contractors, in other words, Serviced Based Business owners who already have a business, most likely in the offline space with clients in their local region…and they are ready to scale and grow their business by adding an online element to their existing business.
That is who I work with. I help them to transition to the online space, I help them to maximize their time because they already have a business to run and need to know how to make the most of the little time they can dedicate to making the transition. So I would focus on 2-3 primary topics to start with and under each of those primary topics, of course I’d have subtopics…that would all end up being content I’d share in order to attract and connect with my clients.
In this particular case, I may speak on topics such as Reaching burnout as a consultant, wanting to grow a business but not having any more hours in the day, smart online marketing strategies in less than 15 minutes a day, increase your revenue not the hours you work. Create service offers for your online clients…but all of these topics would actually be subtopics of my main point:
Transition Your Offline Business Online, How To Grow Your Business Online, Using Smart Marketing Strategies to Scale Your Business & Revenue Online.
I know coming up with your message and content may feel daunting and wonder how the heck are you supposed to do this when you already have a business to run and clients to serve…
BUT, by joining the FB Groups you researched, you have a way to get in front of your ideal audience over and over again by showing up and start engaging with the community you just joined. This is the way to start building that trust factor – have the community see you showing up regularly so that when it comes time for you to make an offer, they will already have gotten use to you being part of the community giving value, support, encouragement, and they’ll be a lot more open to what you have to offer.
I’ll tell you what doesn’t work: Posting every once in a while. This is why you need to choose a schedule that will work for you and that you can sustain in the long run.
I don’t have to tell you how fast content moves in the online space. As soon as you share a piece of content, you can bet others have done the same and so your masterpiece will get pushed down in the feek or pushed out of mind…You’ll soon be forgotten ESPECIALLY if you don’t engage with your audience often.
Keep in mind that joining a Facebook Group means you’ve joined to become part of a community. In order to be pat of this online community, you have to show up, engage, contribute, support, celebrate, be there, on a regular basis.
My second tip for you to make strong impact and show up as the expert you are is
2. CREATE AND SHARE ORIGINAL CONTENT
This is what truly makes you stand out as the expert you are, not only in Facebook Groups but in the online space.
Look, we all know that there are many experts (in your particular field you may be targeting or your specific Niche). But there’s only one you.
I think back to when I was in college studying to become an accountant. I remember looking around the classroom and thinking, ‘there’s a lot of us in here, are we all going to get jobs?” the answer, of course, was yes, but when the time came, we all interviewed with different companies, private, public, large, small, some local, some out of state, some in a particular industry such as tax, or audit, others in general accounting…there’s only one YOU, only you can say things the way you say them based on your background your experiences, your education, your perspective, your point of view.
So don’t let the fact that there are other ‘consultants, coaches, teachers, tax preparers, nurses, yoga teachers, nutritionists, freelancers, etc, discourage you…focus on the fact that there are plenty of people you can help and you won’t be for everyone. Nor do you want to.
So create the type of content that will showcase your expertise, combine that content with a personal or customer story and deliver it in your style…that original content is the type that ONLY YOU can connect with your audience in your OWN unique and special way.
Sharing your original content allows you to shine in your area of expertise, your zone of genius…
In the beginning, while you get your feet wet, you may be tempted to share different types of content such as blog posts others have written, videos others created, articles in online magazines, but don’t stay in this safe space to long. Get busy creating and sharing your own content, your own message. SHOW U, LEAD BY EXAMPLE, PUT YOURSELF out there and let people see who you are, who you help, how you help and what you have to offer.
Moving on to my 3rd tip:
3. SHOW UP FOR YOUR FANS, YOUR AUDIENCE, YOUR FUTURE CLIENTS
(show up for the right reasons)
If your focus in on how many likes, reactions and comments your own post gets, then you’re focusing on the wrong things and you’ll be disappointed with the results.
The content you create and share should be focused on providing value, being of service to your potential clients. You need to show up with intention of being of service to your ideal client and not on the materialistic metrics of likes and comments.
If you focus on creating and sharing content that showcases your expertise while also providing value, it’s only a matter of time before your content attracts and connects with your audience. Show up with the intention to help and the consistency of your message plus how frequently you show up will get you noticed.
Showing up to connect, continue conversations and being part of the community will truly help you sand out in the FB Groups you’ve joined. Not only will your fellow community members notice you showing up and engaging, but they’ll start to think of you as someone who is resourceful, helpful, and if you’ve done a great job of creating and sharing your message that showcases your expertise, other members may even start tagging you or using your name as a resident expert in your industry.
Show up for the right reasons, give it time and be consistent.
And last but not least…we have tip #4
4. START AND CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
– be and stay curious
I can’t stress this enough, especially when you first join a new FB Group community. Yes, You have to show up, but don’t do a drive by where you publish your own content, and then take off…that’s not how you build those important relationships online.
Engaging with your audience in Facebook Groups means taking the time to actually have conversations with people in the group. So as you decide what time of the day and which days of the week will work best for you to check in and engage, remember to BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
Get to know the members of the community…
Here are some ways you can engage and ways to be curious about your community:
Like other posts
Give thoughtful responses to posts
Reply to all comments left on your own posts.
Help others to celebrate
Lend words of encouragement when you see someone could use it
Participate in fun posts to let others get to know you and of course
Don’t forget one of the best ways to start engaging, INTRODUCE YOURSELF…I shared a lot more details about how to introduce yourself in new FB Groups or to re-introduce yourself in FB Groups you’ve been a member in for a while…Go to Episode #12.
Remember that each time you respond to a comment, it’s an opportunity for you to share your voice, your message, start and continue a conversation, be thoughtful with your replies ok.
Yes, it takes work, in the beginning, it will take a little more time, but you’ll get the hang of it and then it will become second nature. This level of quality engagement will help accelerate your know, like and trust factor which is key to building your online relationships which will ultimately convert to paying clients.
BONUS:
Showing up consistently in your newly joined FB Group Communities, sharing original content, and connecting with your audience, WILL Catapult Your Online Visibility, SO GET READY FOR THAT LITTLE SIDE EFFECT.
Getting visible can feel intimidating, especially when you’re first showing up and don’t want to waste time or make a bad impression. Wasting time are things that my clients struggle with the most.
When you’re already running a business and have limited time, you want to focus and make the most out of your strategy to show up online, make an impact, connect with and start conversations with your audience.
This is exactly what I did when I made the decision to transition my Offline Consulting practice to the online space. I wanted to make the most of the little time I had available to show up in the right place, where my potential clients are in, I just knew I had to have a strategy and not just show up to throw spaghetti at the wall with no plan, I wouldn’t get good results. So, this is me telling you that IT IS possible to show up, get found, get known and start building those online relationships you need in order to build your business online.
But you do need to have a system, a strategy in place and that’s what we’ve been talking about in this episode as I walked you through the 4 Tips to show up in your newly joined FB Groups to show up like an expert and make the most out of your time in there…this is how you keep from spinning your wheels and feeling overwhelmed.
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN…
I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode, I’d love to hear from you. Go to the comments section and let me know which one of these tips resonated with you the most? Have FB Groups been working for you?
Before we go, have you subscribed to my podcast yet? It takes less than a minute and future episodes will be automatically downloaded so you won’t miss any future episodes.
Imperfect action is always better than waiting until it’s perfect and never starting at all.
I thank you for showing up for me, for yourself, and for your business.
LINKS TO PODCAST EPISODES MENTIONED:
Episode #12 – HOW TO MAKE A GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION WHEN YOU JOIN A FACEBOOK GROUP
Episode #16 – 9 REASONS YOU SHOULD JOIN FACEBOOK GROUPS TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE
Episode #17 – 5 TYPES OF FACEBOOK GROUPS YOU SHOULD JOIN AND WHY
Episode #18 – HOW TO RESEARCH FACEBOOK GROUPS WHERE YOUR CLIENTS ARE
FOLLOW VERONICA HERE:
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