Kassaundra 0:00
Last month, we spent a lot of time chatting, Instagram data, but I couldn't leave all of you out there with a Facebook group hanging. That means today we're diving into what data you should track in your Facebook group.
Kassaundra 0:14
So teacher authors, go ahead and reheat that cup of coffee, because I'm your host, Kassaundra Foster. And we're about to get schooled in socials.
Kassaundra 0:24
Welcome back to schooled in socials. In last month's episodes, episodes 57 through 60, we took an Instagram data journey together, chatting, everything from the why of collecting data to what the most important piece of data there is to keep your eyes on. And since data driven content doesn't just stop with Instagram, we have to chat about Facebook groups, and how you can use data to leverage them as effectively as possible. So as a social media strategist, I actually like to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from Facebook groups for my clients.
Kassaundra 1:03
And we're going to start our discussion with quantitative data. Because that is what most people think about when thinking about gathering data from social media platforms, they think numbers and averages and percentages and charts. So here is a rundown of all the data points I gather for my clients in their Facebook groups, on the posts that we post, I am not scrolling through every single members post and gathering the numbers of likes, comments, etc. I'm really concerned with the content we specifically created for the group. And if it's doing what we want it to do, for those posts, I gather the reach of the post. So how many people from the group actually saw that post, I gather the number of engagements on the post, which for Facebook represents the number of times people engage with your post through things like reactions, comments, shares, views, and clicks. I also gather the number of reactions, which covers how many people liked, hearted, laughed at, you know, all of those reactions, you can choose under the thumbs up button, those are shown under reactions, then I take note of the number of comments. And finally, I take note of the number of link clicks, if applicable. So if we had a post that included a link, we wanted people to click on, then the data for that post would show me link clicks. And I'm also tracking those to see if people are taking that next step to move out of our group and to the place where we want them, whether it's a blog post, or resource page, lead magnet, landing page, etc. Basically, I want to know how many people saw this post. And out of those number of people, how many people engaged with it in some way. So how many people feel like this post type or post topic resonates with them, right, because we're talking specifically to the members of our group. So I calculate the averages for these based on the number of posts, we added to the group over the month, and then compare them to previous months, so that we can see growth. And like I said, we can see the type of content that is resonating most with our members. So if a lot of people saw a post, but only a few people engage with it, then I can kind of conclude that that type of post or that topic of the post wasn't that engaging for our members at that time. On the other hand, if a lot of people saw the post, and the majority of them interacted with it, then I can conclude that this might be a post type or topic that our members are interested in. And I can create more content like that down the road, to get more interaction and to get more conversations going in that group. If you want to start taking a peek at this data, too, you can find all of these metrics by clicking on the blue view insights button below each of your posts. And then finally, when it comes to quantitative data in a Facebook group, I also like to track group size to make sure that the group is continuing to grow and bring in new members that we can nurture.
Kassaundra 4:28
So beyond numbers in our Facebook group, we have a really great opportunity to actually gather some qualitative data, because we have a lot of people actually talking back to us in this scenario, right? You are not the only one posting in this group members are also posting in this group. And they're voicing their ideas and their needs and what they're interested in and we Should have really capture that information. Because as long as you have strong membership questions, all the people in your group are your ideal customer. And by paying attention to who they are and what they are talking about, you can gather a lot of really great information that can help make your posts and your marketing within that group as effective as it can be. So first, if you run a group that isn't specific for grade level, or subject, so for example, if you have a group for special education teachers, right, there's a lot of different types of special education teachers that could be in that group. Or if you run a group for upper elementary teachers, right, there's third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, and maybe some of them only teach ELA or maybe some of them only teach social studies, right. So there's kind of even more niches within that group that you have created, You will want to establish the grade levels and or subjects that your members are teaching. And you can do this through a membership question engagement posts, or just keeping an eye on the kinds of things teachers are talking about and asking for. Because knowing the majority of your group works in say, elementary special education, or the majority of your group teaches upper elementary ELA can help you really hone in on what kind of resources you can provide to them to help them get the transformation they need. Along with this, I like to keep an eye on what kinds of resources people are looking for when they post in the group. This is the perfect opportunity to look for trends among your members, and then post a resource that's either free or paid, that can help them. Also, it is great market research to help you decide what resources would be best for creating in the future. If you're noticing a lot of teachers are looking for an IEP goal bank. Or if they're looking for hands on reading lessons, or whatever it may be, you can add that type of resource to your list and know that is actually something your ideal customer wants and needs. Finally, I like to take note of what kind of questions people are asking, what topics are they looking for more information about? Again, this will help dictate what we post about in the group, and what resources we offer up as solutions. And if there are a lot of questions about a topic, and you don't have a resource for it. This is gold again for figuring out new products, but also potentially new long form content. So gathering topics for blog posts, or podcast episodes. So just taking a little time to read through the posts that your members are putting up in your group. And just taking a note of what they're talking about what they need. That is going to help you know what kind of content to post in that group, and even what kind of things you can create in the future to continually grow your business.
Kassaundra 9:05
So when it comes to Facebook groups, we can definitely use data to create strategic content and leverage those groups in our favor. Looking at the quantitative data gives us an idea of the post types and topics our members are most drawn to while being a little bit of a detective and gathering that qualitative data really helps us hone in on how we can help people in our group and beyond since those members are our ideal customers.
Kassaundra 9:35
Now, if you're a teacherpreneur with a Facebook group, and you found this episode to be helpful, I would love it if you could leave a review for the podcast, head over to Apple podcasts, drop your ideas in the review section. And at the bottom of your review make sure to let me know the name of your Facebook group. So I know you've heard this episode. This is actually a way that I gather qualitative data from all of you In order to make sure I'm serving up exactly what you need.
Kassaundra:Alright, cold 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.