Want to Grow Your Brand With a Facebook Group?

Want to Grow Your Brand With a Facebook Group?  I have a lot to share about Facebook Groups (not pages)!  What I can tell you is how I started my Facebook Community before there was even a blog, what works and what I will NOT compromise on.

Let’s start with little history of Barefoot Budgeting.   I have always wanted a blog, a website, a way to be ‘creative’ yet I had a strong desire to help others, as many as I could in a sincere and thoughtful way.  I also have a very large problem of over-analysis paralysis!  Yeah, I think too much and get less done!  I stumbled upon a group called Freedom Hackers run by the now very famous Kimra Luna.  While most of what everyone shares in that group is waaaaaaay over my head, I had an instant attraction to Kimra’s message of ‘giving’ and freely and fully to others, giving what our natural gifts are by helping others and growing a business from there. Kimra most likely has no clue who I am, but she was such a huge motivational force for me to get out of my own way and  put myself out there. If you’re looking to kick some ass in the online business world, then I’d say this is the group for you!  They are amazing, intelligent and incredibly caring individuals and well, nearing 40k strong and more importantly active!

Flash forward, or well.. that just sounded good.  Pretty much simultaneously I was ransacking my friends and family’s Facebook feeds with my daily multiple posts about awesome deals.  REALLY awesome deals!  I was spending lots of time helping some friends and coworkers learn what I had learned along the way too.  So many wanted to learn.  Alas, only one of me!

This is where my Facebook community began.  I started a group, invited well, everyone!! and asked them to invite well, everyone haha!!  Sounds like Tupperware, right? Well, it sort of is.  If you have something great, people want to be a part of it.  If it’s free, no strings attached even better.  If it’s with ‘reasonable’ rules of NO harassment, hassles, judgement then well, that’s where the magic is!

The Fairy dust is when you sprinkle your group with conversation, sincere conversation, don’t just make stuff up. Also, really try to connect, get to know them.  Again, NO fake stuff, they want the real you and you owe it to them and yourself to be true!  Be You! They’ll notice.  Don’t be afraid to mix it up once in a while too.  We talk mainly about saving and earning in my group. However, some days we’ve just gotta share our furbabies !  We all need  break from the every day stresses, this one is a favorite in my group. I try to open up Pet threads a few times a year just for fun, giggles, oohs and ahhhhs! I’m not going to kid you, the socializing part takes hours a day in the beginning, but the relationships you build will last you and your brand a lifetime and well, the rewards of helping others is priceless!

Once we felt a bit grounded and settled in with sharing with our core group of probably about 200 I shared our group.  Yes, I shared and sometimes I was afraid it was  a bit ‘pushy’, which was really out of my comfort zone.  But you know what? I wasn’t uncomfortable doing it this time because I was doing it to help others!  I shared in groups where my ‘frugal’ community frequents.  I did get tossed out of a few groups as they thought I was a business advertising, oh well, their loss.  By the way, NO, I did not have a website/ blog yet!! (remember, I have a bad case of over-analysis paralysis).  However, on Facebook we grew and grew in a way we could still get to know one another and connect. We are now (at time of this post) around 2.4k.  That’s right, organic growth (no buying or asking for followers and no pressure at all to stay and not a single Facebook ad or blog most of that time).  For real, we went from 200 to 2.3k in a year!

Members  continued to add friends, etc..  We all learned how to hit the ‘share’ button to share the group.  We also learned how to tag the group when talking in pertinent conversations on Facebook (where others could benefit).  I’ve got to be honest, I learned a lot about Facebook too!  Did you know if you type @Barefootbudgeting on facebook, our group shows up without the @ sign! Try it!  Well, I didn’t know until about 6 months into the group haha! I’ve come a long way!  As I learned, I shared, then learned some more and shared some more.  I’m pretty transparent about saving and earning.  I believe an educated decision is so important in our lives.  No hidden gimmicks, I don’t have the time or energy for that!  I’m fairly certain our Barefoot Budgeting community appreciates my being honest about my posts, again……… Be True, Be You!  No Fake Stuff, they’ll smell it a mile away!

No kidding, the magic still happens in this group ever single day! The Fairy dust I talked about above, it’s everywhere!   I have to admit I spend much less time, maybe an hour or two a day now, than I used to.  Not because I’m not involved or don’t care, I do, I care for each one of them so much.  I have let the group take shape and trust the many people in my community to have one another’s backs and mine.  I have a couple of fabulous admins too, but they don’t have to ‘arrest’ much if any at all.  It’s a pretty miraculous thing when good and giving freely starts to evolve into something this spectacular. 

Oh, and imagine my delight when THE yes, THE one and only Penny Hoarder asked me to moderate in their group!  That was a monstrous compliment to me!  I was tickled that such a HUGE presence in the blogging community had noticed my mad ‘Facebook’ skills!

Oh, yes, I did start the blog (yeah, you’re here.. that’s obvious, right?!) and I helped others grow their Facebook Groups along the way too.  (now I actually get to charge for this gift to gab! imagine that! ) .  I don’t work for just anyone though, and no, that is not snobby.  I work with people I ‘believe in’ and believe in me.  People that are truly committed to ‘giving’ to others, helping freely and in a caring and fostering environment.  If your hiring me, you want results, more importantly you want to feel comfortable and we both need to have similar values to make it work.  Check out our community Barefoot Budgeting Group, see if the ‘vibe’ feels like it’s what you want, then contact me here and we’ll chat.

No,  have not done a single Facebook ad (yet!)

note:  Yes, the blog is doing GREAT and while I get a fair amount of traffic (about 25%) from Pinterest,  I get most from Facebook and Facebook shares!  I’m going to try and balance more with Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram this year too.  Instagram right now is more for brand building and sponsored posts right now. I reach out to other bloggers for help sharing important things on Twitter (they have larger following than I do right now).  I’ve met so so many wonderful people on Facebook!

ps.. if you are thinking of starting a blog, I have tons of great posts to help you as well as a great one for getting started! and of course, I am always here to help in any way I can.

What are your experiences with Facebook Groups vs Pages?