Want to take your Facebook group to the next level this year?
With over 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook groups remain one of the most powerful yet underutilized marketing channels.
But getting people to join your group is only the first step. The real goal is to build a thriving, engaged community that trusts you and looks to you as an authority in your niche.
In this comprehensive guide, you‘ll discover 17 proven tactics to grow your Facebook group in 2024.
1. Run Contests and Giveaways
Contests, giveaways and sweepstakes should be a core part of your Facebook group promotion strategy. They are hugely effective at:
- Driving new members
- Increasing engagement
- Building buzz and awareness
The best part? Facebook group giveaways can help you grow your email list at the same time when configured properly.
For example, you can use a giveaway app like Rafflecopter and make one of the entry options:
- Join your email newsletter
- Visit your Facebook group
This allows you to incentivize visitors to not only enter the giveaway, but also join both your email list and Facebook group.
Some proven giveaway ideas include:
- Amazon gift cards
- Your own products/services
- Sponsored prizes from brands in exchange for promotion
2. Promote Your Group on Social Media
You likely already have an audience built up on other social platforms like Instagram, Twitter, YouTube etc. Why not leverage these followers to join your Facebook group too?
Consistently sharing your Facebook group on your other social profiles will expose it to fresh new audiences and help it grow organically over time.
Here are some easy ways to cross-promote your group:
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Share Facebook group posts on Twitter
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Create dedicated YouTube videos and invite viewers to join
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Link to your group in Instagram bios and stories
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Design custom graphics and pin them on Pinterest
Don‘t just do this once or twice. Make it an ongoing part of your social media strategy for maximum impact.
3. Spotlight Your Top Members
Recognize and spotlight your most active Facebook group members regularly. These influencers help set the culture while encouraging others to engage more.
When you highlight your top contributors, they‘ll often share it with their own networks – which then attracts new members to see what all the hype is about.
Some ideas:
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Give them badges/labels so others can identify influencers easily
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Create a "Member Spotlight" interview series
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Feature them on your other social media channels
Make them feel special and they‘ll likely keep referring others to join your vibrant community.
4. Use Email Marketing
Email remains one of the best channels to directly reach fans who have already opted-in and expressed interest in your brand.
Yet, most group owners completely neglect email when promoting their Facebook communities.
Here are some ways to use email to boost Facebook group growth:
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Mention the group in your email signatures
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Promote it in your welcome series for new subscribers
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Send dedicated broadcasts focused only on growing the group
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Add a link in your regular newsletters
The more touch points through email, the faster your group will expand. Just make sure your messaging is clear on who the group is for and what value members get by joining.
5. Run Retargeting Ads
Facebook retargeting ads allow you to reconnect with website visitors who didn‘t convert initially.
You can create custom audiences based on their on-site behavior, tailored messaging, and continually market to these high-intent users.
Some ways to use retargeting for getting Facebook group members:
- Target people who viewed your group page but didn‘t join
- Goal optimization for link clicks to your group
- Dedicated creatives focused solely on the group
The beauty of retargeting ads is that they don‘t feel overly "salesy" because they are already familiar with your brand. Use this to your advantage to drive group conversions.
6. Recycle Evergreen Content
Generating fresh new content constantly is tough. That‘s why repurposing and recycling evergreen content into new formats can be so powerful.
For example, turn old blog posts into video scripts, podcast topics, infographics, email newsletters etc.
You can also update and optimize old content to make it timely and relevant again. Renewed content often helps bring in brand new traffic and audience members.
Some ideas for recycling content into Facebook groups:
- Turn articles into discussion topics or polls
- Create summaries, key takeaways documents
- Ask members for feedback to refresh content
Leverage what has worked in the past while giving your community something "new" at the same time.
7. Run Facebook Lead Ads
While organic reach has dropped significantly, Facebook Lead Ads remain one of the most cost effective sources of laser targeted, high intent leads out there.
The great thing about Lead Ads is that users submit their actual name, email address, phone number and more without ever leaving Facebook.
You only pay when users fully submit their information – making it very ROI driven.
Some best practices for running Lead Ads:
- Target fans of similar groups and their members
- Create lookalike audiences from your own members
- Test interest based targeting like entrepreneurship, marketing etc
And because Lead Ads capture emails and full contact info, you can easily follow up with a personalized invite to your private group community.
8. Incentivize Members to Invite Friends
Current members are one of your best sources for finding qualified new members to expand the community. They likely have friends similar to themselves who would also get value from the group.
So why not incentivize members to refer others by rewarding this behavior?
All you need to do is create a tab where members can input the name and email address of the contacts they are inviting.
For every successful invite that accepts, you can enter members into a prize draw, award loyalty points etc. Gamifying the referral process results in higher participation rates.
9. Promote at Live Events
Attending conferences, meetups and industry events? Use this opportunity to promote your Facebook group face-to-face.
After networking and connecting with attendees, casually invite them to join your thriving community of peers. Have a signup sheet, cards or flyers handy to grab their info.
Events often foster feelings of belonging and camaraderie. People want to feel part of a dedicated group of like-minded professionals. Capture this emotion and invite them directly into your Facebook community.
10. Advertise Locally with Facebook Local Ads
Who says your Facebook group members need to come from far and wide? There may already be fantastic potential members all around you.
That‘s where Facebook Local Awareness Ads can be extremely effective. They help you tap into hyperlocal audiences who live in your specific geographic area.
Start by targeting people within a 5 mile radius, city radius or based on a ZIP code. From there, you can dial in the age range, interests like entrepreneurship etc.
Local advertising allows you to narrow in on groups near events, conferences or meetups you may be hosting too.
11. Recognize Members Publicly
To nurture a tight-knit community driven by engagement, members need to feel seen, heard and appreciated.
Spotlight your top contributors not just within the group, but also on your other public channels.
You can easily download images and screenshots from your Facebook group to then showcase members publicly:
- On your @mentions wall in your Facebook Page
- Creating Twitter "shout outs" to power members
- Sharing memorable or funny comments on Instagram
- Giving members credit for epic idea in blog content
Getting recognition drives intrinsic motivation. They‘ll likely engage more while spreading the word at the same time.
12. Collaborate with Influencers
Influencer marketing within Facebook groups can grow your community exponentially fast.
Relevant influencers often have tens of thousands or even millions of highly targeted followers. Tapping into even a fraction of this audience almost immediately puts your group on the map.
Some influencer marketing ideas:
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Invite them to host an exclusive live Q&A
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Ask to collaborate on special content or offer it exclusively to group members first
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Request shoutouts promoting the group across their channels
In exchange you can offer a flat fee, free access to your paid program/products, or agree to promote their offerings to your own group.
Partner with a few strategic influencers in your niche and watch the member requests pour in.
13. Partner with Other Complementary Group Admins
A potentially easier but still high-impact growth tactic is partnering and cross-promoting with other complementary group admins.
Chances are you probably know a few other group leaders in similar niches. Why not help each other out?
Ways to cross-promote each other‘s groups:
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Sharing the other person‘s group with your current members
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Swapping spots as "Featured Guests" inside one another‘s groups
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Co-hosting special live talks, trainings or workshops
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Presenting your groups jointly at conferences or industry events
Essentially, collaborate to expose each other‘s groups to fresh new pools of prospects already passionate about associated topics.
14. Gate Your Content
Gating or granting exclusive access to premium content only available to group members is a fantastic incentive for getting more people to join.
For example, you may offer:
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Access to special resource libraries
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Entry to secret giveaways or contests
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Ability to view full workshop replays
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First dibs on new product launches
When fans realize they can get elite access just by joining your Facebook group, it encourages sign ups. Everyone loves feeling like a VIP with perks others don‘t enjoy.
15. Advertise Locally on Facebook
As discussed earlier, running Facebook Local Awareness Ads lets you drill down geographically to people in specific areas.
This helps you blanket neighborhoods with promotions for your group. It feels more personal and relevant to locals.
Make sure your ad copy and creatives mention exactly where you are located plus highlights of in-person events, meetups etc.
For instance: "Join our Austin Marketing Mastermind to network with 500+ local business owners."
Tweak your location radius and budget to hone in on your metro and surrounding regions.
16. Grow Your Email List with Lead Ads
This tactic combines both email list growth with the promotional power of Facebook Lead Ads.
The idea is simple – create Lead Ad campaigns with the sole goal of capturing emails.
Then in your ad copy, describe joining the email newsletter comes with automatic access to your elite Facebook group community.
So in their minds:
Join Email List => Get Access to Awesome Group
Now not only are you growing your email subscriber list, but every person who opts-in will get funneled directly into your group as well.
It becomes a lead gen flywheel fueling both channels simultaneously.
17. Promote Your Group Offline
While it may seem counterintuitive, promoting your Facebook group offline can be tremendously effective.
People sometimes gloss over the many online messages competing for their attention. But physical and more personal invitations often work better.
Offline strategies to get more group members:
- Business card with link/QR code to opt-in landing page or group
- Printed newsletter/magazine ads
- Posters, signs and banners at events/conferences
- Word of mouth referrals from existing members
Despite social media‘s reach, nothing beats face-to-face relationship building. Combine online and offline strategies for the winning formula.
There are many creative ways to get more members flooding into your Facebook group this year.
It starts with having a solid promotion plan covering both online and traditional channels.
Now get out there, execute a few of these proven growth tactics and watch your group thrive in 2024!
Which Facebook group promotion ideas are you most excited to test out first? Let me know in the comments below!
