Having just recovered from the information overload that is Brighton SEO, we thought it about time time to share some of the insights we noted during the course of the jam-packed day.

One of the topics that really stood out for me was the rise of the Facebook Groups delivered by aptly named agency Digiterarti!

So here’s the thing… organic reach on Facebook pages is falling, in fact it’s averaging around 7%. This means only a small amount of your followers actually get to see your posts, so you either need to make sure every post is incredible and gets loads of comments and shares from those who do see it, that would then mean a bigger reach, or you need to combine it with advertising (probably what Facebook wants you to do) or you need to do something else….

Facebook is rewarding groups more than pages with greater reach and visibility. This is because groups have more of a community feel and people feel this is a safer place to engage and give away information about themselves. For you as a group admin, rather than a page owner, you have less control, and you become more of a facilitator than the driver of content. Members can create their own content – which might sound like a scary prospect, but once you get into it, it can make your life much easier!

A group is a great place to get feedback to help improve your product or service, and can generate unprompted testimonials. It’s a place where you can position yourself as an expert within your field and gives you the opportunity to tell the all-important stories behind the brand. You should also have a few content ideas in your back pocket for days when the group is a bit quiet.  How about #FreebieFriday where you give out some useful content, or users can post about their own businesses?

Here’s a few tips to help make your Facebook Group a Success:

• Link your page to a group

• Schedule a few posts here and there to keep the momentum going

• Put in the online of what is expected in the group and what members can expect

• In your description include: who can join, group rules, tags

• Post as yourself, but also post as your page within the group

• Don’t auto add people to the group

• Don’t PM loads of people asking them to join the group – it only takes 3 or 4 to report you as spam and you’ll be put in FB jail!