Facebook Group Best Practices

TL;DR

  • Create a strong community and connect with your members in your Facebook group

  • Encourage community-generated content that pushes meaningful interactions

  • Share parts of your life while asking questions to keep your community involved

Your Facebook group is a safe space for your fans to connect with each other and with you. Your group should be a positive, empowering online forum where there is no such thing as a “dumb” question or a comment that is too small.

Every quote, photo, and video uploaded will reflect on your brand and your app, which is why it is so important we review some best practices to ensure your Facebook group is beneficial to both you and your community.

In case you need a refresher on how to set up a Facebook group, click here.

Your Facebook group is a way for your members to have access to you in a smaller, more intimate setting, but it is also a place for you to build a community with them. It is important for you to like and comment on user-generated posts, reinforcing positive engagement. However, do not go overboard and comment on every single post because you want to make sure your interactions are meaningful and intentional.

4 Ways to Encourage Community Engagement

  1. Reward your community for positive engagement. Make sure that you are liking/commenting/sharing good content and user-generated content on all platforms.

  2. Make the engagements personal. Tag them by using their first name and make sure that you are addressing whatever was in their post.

  3. Serve content that users can engage with. This includes Q&As, polls, and going live in your group. Make sure that the content that you are posting allows for conversation.

  4. Encourage cross-platform engagement. Mention that you have a Facebook community on other channels, like Instagram, to encourage followers to join.

You can also encourage community engagement by prompting users to share:

  • Progress updates

  • Before and after pictures

  • Pictures of their food

  • Sweaty selfies

  • Post-workout pics

  • Recipe prep

  • Jam of the week

  • Articles

  • Things that are funny

  • Motivational videos and quotes

  • Cool new gear

  • Failure and struggles

  • Written reviews

  • Affirmations

  • Questions for fellow group members

  • Questions for you

Here are a few specific prompts to pose in your group:

  • I want to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly. How do you remain resilient when faced with challenges?

  • Polls with yes or no responses. For example: Who worked out today? Who was struggling this week? Did you overcome it? Who is training with me today?

  • Is anyone currently facing any nutrition challenges? What are they?

  • What’s your workout intention today?

  • Favorite workout motivation?

  • What are your health goals?

The goal is to encourage a response with each of your posts. You want your members to engage by commenting on, not just liking, the post.

Here are a few great examples of active engagement from a few Playbook creators’ community Facebook groups.

Creator Julian Smith engaging with community member post:

Creator Gabriella Guevara prompting engagement from community by using a hashtag:

4 Types of Engaging Questions to Ask:

  1. Decision Support: Choose a graphic, photo, or piece of content and ask your group about it. For example, “Do you like this logo?” “What time should I post this workout?” “Do you like this guide idea?" Then, listen to their answers and be prepared to engage with them. It's likely you'll have different opinions, so hear them out.

  2. Opinions: Ask your group members about their favorite podcast, favorite workout equipment, one thing they never leave home without, food recommendations, etc. to encourage discussion.

  3. Prompt: Ask your group members fun questions that will show a more personal side of them and yourself. This can be a great way to get to know everyone beyond their fitness interests.

    Here are a few examples:

    - What are you currently reading?
    - What are your top productivity tips?
    - What do you think is standing in the way of you reaching your goals?
  4. Share: Articles, memes, music, etc.

    For example, "I came across this and thought you ladies would love it! Give it a read and let me know what you think."

The idea here is to lead by example! You cannot expect your community to do something that you are not doing. Once you begin posting and asking questions, your community will surely follow suit and begin to do the same by engaging.

Another great way to push engagement in your community is to follow the “Cue, Routine, Reward” framework.

  • Cue: Prompt your members to post. You can push your members to post by saying “Share your progress with me! I’ll repost.”

  • Routine: Your members will follow up by posting what you asked for.

  • Reward: You then reward your members by liking and commenting on their posts. Your reward is that by highlighting this group member, he or she is now more likely to remain a dedicated fan because you made them feel good!

Posting Frequency

We recommend posting to your group at least four times per week.

Create a content calendar and set aside time every day to post, like, comment, answer questions, and discuss with your community.

Here’s an example:

What to Post

We know that coming up with fresh ideas on a regular basis can be tough, so here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • Daily updates, long-form pre-recorded video, and content similar to what you are posting on Instagram

  • Quizzes, surveys, and polls

  • Welcome messages to new members

  • Exclusive video/photo content that cannot be found anywhere else

  • Multiple live workouts per week

  • Cooking with you

  • Meditating with you

  • Share your routine getting ready for the day

  • App updates, such as new programs or challenges