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We're continuing on with our why even bother series this month. So today we're going to chat Facebook groups, and why you should even bother creating one to help market your teacher author business.
So teacher authors, go ahead and reheat that cup of coffee, because I'm your host, Cassandra Foster.
And we're about to get schooled in socials. Welcome back to school in socials, we are talking all about the why behind creating and running a Facebook group for your teacher, author, business. And I want to jump in and say that Facebook has gotten a lot of bad rap, I feel like over the last few years, people have been saying that Facebook's dead, Facebook groups are dead. And that's just not true. Facebook is still a very relevant platform for marketing your teaching resources, specifically Facebook groups. And here's why that is, there is a booming teacher community and Facebook groups. Let me throw some stats at you. I did a few quick searches on Facebook for groups related to education. The first one I just did was TPT. So these are things that you guys are probably a part of. And the first few groups that came up, they had 7000 5000 3000 members, those were just the first few of those groups. Then I searched just elementary teacher, there were lots of groups, and the first few that came up, get this one group had 89,000 members, another 49,000 members, 16,000 members. And these were just in the few top results that I was looking at. And don't forget, I did not leave you out secondary teachers. I simply searched secondary teachers, and the first few groups that came up 12k 8k 4k. Okay, so teachers are in groups. And I was just the first few, there were so many that I could have scrolled through. And this is just so much proof that teachers are hanging out in Facebook groups. And even though there are a lot of teacher based Facebook groups already, that doesn't mean that you can't grow your significantly because the majority of people are in more than one group. In fact, stats from the Search Engine Journal say that more than half of all Facebook users are in five or more groups. So there are definitely plenty of teachers to go around. There's no worry about saturation here, when it comes to creating your own Facebook group. And plus teachers are the kind of people who are consistently seeking out new information and resources and connection. And so that makes the setup of a Facebook group even more appealing to the teacher community. Plus, when it comes to building a social media community, you want to be where your people already are. And they are definitely on Facebook. And they are definitely in Facebook groups, contrary to what any other social media gurus might be saying. Going off of that since teachers are already on Facebook, and in Facebook groups, there's easier growth in Facebook groups, the community is already there. So it tends to be a little easier to grow your audience. So for example, I had a client come to me who started a Facebook group, and they weren't sure if they were going to continue with it or not. And with some focused but not overwhelming effort. We've grown that Facebook group into over 5000 active members. And now she's relaunching a course and she is so easily able to conduct all of her market research right within the group, because we know that all the members are her target audience, it's really the gift that has kept on giving. Plus, unlike other social media platforms, you aren't the only one responsible for posting and putting out content. With good guidelines. You can have a thriving group where group members post frequently and really run the majority of conversations in those comments. And that connection is so beautiful to see. I mean you could have 20 posts happen in your group a day or more. And you didn't even have to post like things are are happening, things are moving and grooving. And you didn't have to create all of that content. In fact, going back to my clients example, we typically post three to four times a week. And that's it. We monitor the conversations, we offer advice and resources, when needed. While we aren't having to create a ton of content to help make the group grow. There is so much pressure this time of the year to buy more stuff from Black Friday sales to Christmas ads. But I don't want you to buy more stuff, I want you to get the right things you need to uplevel your business in this season. So that's why I've opened up my mini Social Media Console scheduled for the next three months. So that we can make resources that are going to get stuck in your downloads and courses that are going to go immediately to your desktop graveyard, a thing of the past. Instead, you're going to get my brain and your business for a focus 30 minutes, so that you can make sure you have a solid plan moving forward. And you know, your social media will help you reach your business goals. This is not a one size fits all solution. Instead, you're going to get targeted advice that is focused on you and your business. And for Black Friday. And until these spots sell out, you're going to be able to get it for $47, which is the lowest price point these mini consults have ever been. We're talking transformational advice that will make your social media work harder for you. For less than a night out. This isn't stuff, it's the thing, you need to get clarity and move forward with your social media marketing, you can grab your discounted spot right now in the show notes. But hurry, because once these spots that I've opened up for the next few months are gone, this price point will be gone too. I can't wait to make 2020 for the year that your social media marketing helps you reach all of your big business goals.
Alright, let's jump back in and talk about one last reason why you should even bother with Facebook groups. And that is market research. We're always trying to figure out what teachers need from us in order to help them in the classroom. And Facebook groups offer a really unique opportunity for easy and effective market research. So the first thing is for your group, you set up membership questions. If you're starting a group, please do not skip this part, you might want to make sure that you vet the people coming in to your Facebook group so that you know that it is your target audience that is included. And you don't want like any spam going on. So setting up those membership questions are a great way to help you gather some market research, you can ask them how they found you, you could ask them why they're joining the group so that you can see what their pain points are from the get go and what they're looking for. Right from when you let them enter your group. The second piece is that in Facebook groups members post so you're able to note the kind of help that they're looking for what kind of support that they're needing, what things other people offer to them that they might have already tried. And you can know all of those things and use them to help write blog posts, create podcast, create new resources that you know are actually going to help teachers because you see them asking for it in your group. And since you can easily see what teachers in your group need, you can share some of your paid resources with them in a timely way. That's going to help increase conversion. So if you see a really big conversation about how someone or several someone's are looking for a social story about transitioning from home to school, and they can't seem to find exactly what they need, that is your cue you can hop into that you can gather a little more information about what they're looking for. And you can either say hey, actually, I have something like that and post it to the whole group and say, Oh, I've noticed that everyone has been asking about social stories. Here's one that I think might be helpful for all of you. Or if you don't have something like that yet. You can put it on your list to create and you can bring it back to the group when it is created. And you can get their thoughts and ideas on it. It's a really a great way to introduce your resources to people, and to also test out resources to see if they are going to work in the long run. So, in my opinion, Facebook groups are truly the hidden gem of social media marketing for teacher authors, they can yield so many results for your business, monetary and otherwise, without as much effort as some other platforms, you get to take advantage of a booming teacher community that already exists there. You can experience easier growth in some cases, and you have a treasure chest filled with market research at your fingertips. Plus, it's always so nice to get to connect with other teachers in your Facebook group. Facebook Groups allow you to directly interact with people know their actual names and not just their username, and can be a cup filler for you, instead of just another to do on your list. So if you're intrigued by the idea of creating a Facebook group, or maybe you have one and are thinking about ways to take full advantage of it, I'd love to chat with you. Many social media console will be a great option for us to work through your ideas and make a solid plan for using Facebook groups in your marketing strategy. You can find all the info about these consults in the show description. All right, cool coffee friends. Thanks so much for listening. If you're loving getting schooled in socials, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode. Also, I would love it if you left a review so that other teacher authors like you can start getting schooled in socials too. All right, I'll see you in the next episode.