Share this post!

Did you know that there were Facebook groups for bloggers filled with people who will share, like, and comment on your blog posts?

There’s a Facebook group for everything. Actually, there are several Facebook groups for everything. There are so many Facebook groups for everything because they work. Blogging Facebook groups can help to grow your blog in a variety of ways and this post will teach how to use Facebook for bloggers.

What is a Facebook Group and Why You Should Join Them

A Facebook group is a place where like-minded people come together to share their thoughts on a particular subject. In such a group, there are opportunities to learn from people who have more knowledge and experience on the group’s subject matter.

You’ll be able to share your own thoughts as well as network with those on different experience levels.

A Facebook group is either closed, private, or secret. If it’s private, you won’t be able to see any of the posts or members of the group unless you join the group. But you can find the group by using the Facebook search feature or searching for it on Google.

If the group is secret, you won’t be able to find the group at all even if you search for it by name. You’ll have to get the invite link from the owner of a secret group.

Or, the group can simply be a closed group. The info in the group is still public and accessible but you have the option to join the group so you can post on the wall, engage with the content posted and get notification about group happenings.

Facebook groups have become so popular for a bunch of different reasons. The one you care about the most as a blogger is the fact that it’s become quite a task to grow your audience via Facebook pages these days.

Blogging is STILL one of the best ways to make a fulltime income online. Take my free course How to Start a Profitable Blog today to learn how to create a blog that makes money from the start. 

It’s understandable, Facebook is a business and we are the products of such. We have to pay to play. My lifestyle page has well over 6000 likes, however, reaches less than 5% of these likers when I post on my page. Ugh.

In a group, the engagement is much higher. You have a much better chance of your content being seen and engaged with, even in larger groups.

Most groups also have days where you can promote your own content to be engaged with by other group members.

Finding High-Value Facebook Groups for Bloggers

Not all Facebook groups are created equal. When I discovered that these groups could potentially be game-changing for me,  I joined a bunch of them all at once.

I immediately started to drown in notification hell and got lost in daily share threads. The time suck was immense and I quickly had to take a step back and evaluate several things:

• Are these groups actually bringing me traffic?
• Am I learning anything from the members of these groups?
• Could I be doing something better with my time that would make my membership in these groups unnecessary?

Like I said, all Facebook groups are not created equally. You will first need to determine what your ultimate end goal is and decide if the group you’ve joined can help you to achieve that.

Different groups have different end-goals and can be used for different purposes.

[mailerlite_form form_id=13]

How to Use Blogging Facebook Groups to Grow Your Traffic

There are blogging Facebook groups that have several different purposes and some for singular purposes. All beneficial. All you need to do is narrow down your focus and decide what groups best fit your needs. The ones I have decided to stay in provide a few different solutions:

Instant Likes

There are a few closed Facebook groups that I am a part of that follow a strict schedule. In these groups, you are able to add links to your latest Instagram or Facebook page post and all the people on the thread who also add links are required to click on your link and like your post.

This helps with your engagement rates on these platforms. If you time your posts to the schedule of these groups your fresh posts may receive an instant boost. Facebook and Instagram will see this post as valuable since so many people are liking your new content.

Repins

Repin groups are great because the more people repinning your pins, the better chance you have for a pin to go viral or at least be seen by a vast audience.

Stay away from groups or threads that require you to repin all pins that are added to the thread. You want to pick and choose the highest quality and most relevant content to repin so that it will be beneficial to your audience.

Blog Comments

I used to feel real cheeky joining threads requesting others to leave a comment on my blog posts. I think commenting should be something you do when the content really interests you, not because you are somehow required to.

However, I’ve come to realize that these threads are particularly beneficial when thread members get to choose which posts to click through and comment on.

This is where the Facebook preview of your link is super important as well as the pitch you use to introduce your post.

I use the opportunity to let others know why my link would be a beneficial read and usually get people who are genuinely interested and leave finding the content helpful and worth their click. Some of these people end up on on my email list too!

Guidance and Advice

Yet other Facebook groups are useful even without promo days simply for the invaluable advice from bloggers seasoned in their particular areas of specialization.

No matter how good we get at something, there’s someone out there even better at it or who approaches the subject from a different angle. It helps to be able to connect with them, ask them your blogging questions and consume the content they share.

Tips on Maximizing Your Facebook Group Membership

I keep a spreadsheet on all Facebook groups I have joined. I’m still a member of a great deal of them so there’s no way they will all pop up in my feed.

My spreadsheet notes their promo day so that when I have new content to share, I can. I also make note of the groups that are good for advice and networking and make sure to visit these groups at least twice a week.

I’d hate to miss out on the opportunity to learn from the discussion happening in these groups because they are stellar. Also, as someone who blogs about blogging, I like to see what issues other bloggers have so I can either address them or write about these issues on my post blog.

I don’t participate in Follow for Follow threads. I actually leave groups that encourage this because there’s no point.

I don’t want to follow people all willy-nilly. I’m only interested in following people with helpful or at least funny or pretty content and I only want people to follow me who are actually interested in the content I post.

Follow for follow threads boost numbers but what about engagement? Engagement is so much more important. You’re more likely to get engagement from people who chose to follow on their own volition.

I do participate in threads like that ask you to follow 5 or 10 accounts. Those give me the option of picking and choosing who to follow and hopefully people who follow me will do so because they like my profile and content.

I save threads that I participate in. When you drop a link in a share thread, save the post by clicking on the three dots in the right-hand corner of the post. It will be saved to your links so that you can go back and finish your threads. Here’s a visual:

The red arrow shows the three dots to hit. Here you’ll find the option to save the post. The black arrow shows where you’ll find it later. I usually go to my saved posts at the end of the day or first thing the next morning to finish my threads.

Many threads have a 24hr turnaround time so it’s safe to revisit it at these times. I finish the thread then hit unsave post.

Saving the post also gives you the opportunity to turn off notifications for the post. This prevents you from drowning in a sea of notifications every time someone leaves a link in the thread.

Please do take the time to always read the group’s rules, usually located in a pinned post or in the sidebar. Respecting a group’s rules is a simple courtesy to offer to the admins who take the time to ensure a rewarding experience for you.

It’s also important to read the rules of the thread you’re participating in and follow these rules to ensure a fair playing field for all. You wouldn’t want to be banned from a group for not reciprocating because members will remember you in other groups as well.

Starting Your Own Facebook Group

Eventually, or maybe right away, you will want to start your own Facebook group. Every blog has an audience or is building an audience, of people who are interested in your content.

Your readers all have one thing in common. They’re interested in the type of content that you share. That’s if you niched down well enough. They may want to interact with you on a more engaged level whether to ask questions, get your feedback or just hear more from you.

They may also enjoy interacting with others in the same target audience to share their own stories and network with each other.

Creating your own Facebook group is similar to creating your own email list. Your Facebook group gives you the opportunity to share your content with an audience that’s already showed their interest. Groups can work for any niche blogger.

If you’re a food blogger, this can be a place that you share recipes that don’t always make it to your blog. You can share recipes of other sources that you want to try and provide feedback to group members who may want to ask questions about your recipes. It’s an amazing place for people to share their creations from your blog too! They’ll love that.

If you’re a lifestyle blogger, share your favourite tips on curating your best life. Share your best finds and deals you come across. Share books you’re reading, share your morning routine. You know what your audience wants from you, share more of that.

Every type of blogger can benefit from building their own tribe of loyal followers and this is just a very engaging way to interact with those that care about your content.

Of course, Facebook groups are just one small aspect of your traffic driving strategies, albeit an important factor. Click here to read my guide to creating killer content and beginning your close and personal journey with SEO. SEO should be a huge chunk of your overall traffic driving strategy.

Pinterest is also a major traffic driver for blogs. Click here to read my extensive guide to Pinterest!

With all that said, I’m sure you’re now interested in finding your own groups to join. The list I’ve put together is dear to my heart as I’ve weeded out groups I determined to be unhelpful.

I’ve taken out groups that I call spamfests. The wall is nothing but links to blog posts with no rhyme or reason and absolutely no interaction on them. A waste of your time. In fact, if you find any group on this list unhelpful I’d love if you dropped me a note so I can review.

I would also super love it if you joined the Help a Blogger Out Facebook group. We’re an awesome bunch of bloggers who help each other to grow. I host Facebook lives weekly to share blog feedback and tips on growing your traffic.

Recap

• Join Facebook groups specifically for bloggers
• Participate in the discussion providing help by answering questions posed by admins and other members
• Ask questions and solicit feedback where allowed
• Share content from yourself and other resources that can help group members
• Share your blog posts on promo days in relevant threads
• Connect with other bloggers in your niche who may now become a part of your audience
• Find ways to collaborate with other bloggers
• Promote your social media channels in relevant threads, find other users to follow and connect with

[mailerlite_form form_id=13]

Share this post!