A group or community in social networks is a successful tool that allows you to worthily present your business in the virtual space and take your share in the online trade market. For large companies, such a group partially replaces the official website.
With proper design and management of the group, you can significantly increase sales. The creation of online stores, which are now available on VKontakte, Facebook and even Instagram, has significantly simplified this task.
1. Research the interests of your target audience
When designing a group on a social network, it is important to remember that this is essentially a business card of the company, and therefore the design must be thought out to the smallest detail. Harmony of color, convenient arrangement of tools, fully filled sections – all this significantly affects the popularity of the group. When choosing a design, it is important to take into account the interests and needs of the target audience of the group.
Work seriously on this issue, clearly define what needs the group visitors, your potential clients, are interested in satisfying. And how your offer – a product or service – can satisfy them. If you correctly define your priorities, you will be able to unite thousands and tens of thousands of users in your social network group.
Dissemination of information in such a community already works on the principle of “word of mouth” – the client used your service, bought a product from your company. He liked it and in private conversations with his friends, colleagues, relatives, he recommends your brand. And the easiest way to share information is to give a link to a group on a social network, where all the necessary information plus contact information is collected in one place.
2. Provide opportunities for communication and respond to criticism
The best and fastest way to spread information is through group communication tools. Every user who has visited your page, i.e. shown interest in your brand or the topic under discussion, should be able to express their opinion.
Don't be afraid of negative comments. Don't delete them if you are being criticized constructively. Take note, correct the shortcomings and… be sure to respond to all comments! At the same time, don't “play around” with users. Give short, meaningful and worthy responses to criticism.
This encourages live communication and users will see that the group in the social network really works – is regularly updated and developed. Replying to a comment is an expression of interest in the user himself, an indicator of his own importance. Feeling involved in the process, the user will feel the need to come again and again. Treat the group members as partners, and they will be happy to take part in building the communication you need.
A group in a social network can be compared to a club, a community of interests. If its members have all the opportunities for interaction – to participate in competitions, discussions, leaving comments, perhaps adding thematic photos and videos, then they will use them, especially if they are convinced that their actions have a response. Your task is to show the user your selfless interest and his importance.
3. “Dose” information and use unique photos
When creating a group on a social network, it is very important to formulate a development plan in advance. Firstly, you will always have a program of actions in front of you, you will know exactly how to respond to various user actions – a client has placed an order or simply posted a response, positive or negative. And most importantly, you will know exactly in what volumes you need to give out information.
For example, you are presenting a new service, product or some significant event in the company's activities. A good illustration is a must in such a publication. If possible, use unique photographs. The easiest option is to find a beautiful photo on the Internet. Even better, buy an image on a thematic site. The ideal option is to take a photo yourself.
If corporate ethics allow, involve company employees in the photo shoot. Show life! Are you announcing a seminar? Take a couple of shots of the organizers heatedly discussing something. Are you advertising a yoga class? Ask the instructor to perform an asana and take a beautiful photo. Are you launching a new lingerie collection? Briefly describe the benefits and accompany it with a bright photo. Avoid blurry, poorly cropped photos! Never. This should be a rule.
4. Show why it is beneficial
And let's return to the previous rule: don't forget to comment on the publication and encourage group members to do the same! Discuss the topic until interest in it fades. After announcing an event or service, you can publish short posts about positive feedback.
Tell us about how you personally decided to test the functionality and convenience of a new service. Do not publish empty posts like “Good morning!” with a photo of a morning cup of coffee. Unless you are a representative of a tea company and are presenting a new variety of coffee beans brought to the market.
It is indeed necessary to update publications in the group regularly, but (!) each of them should contain useful information for your potential client. Have you exhausted all publications on the topic? Remember the authorities! Tell the story of a famous person who is directly related to the topic of your group.
There is no need to publish canvases of text. A couple of interesting facts, a short story about how a celebrity uses the same services or prefers to buy products from the same series, and a high-quality photo – all this together stimulates lively interest, makes you want to know more about what is being discussed.
Never deceive the user by promising to “reveal all the secrets” in an article or post. This technique will work once, but once the text is expanded and the user does not find the promised information there, he will simply ignore posts with such calls.
