Selling on Facebook (A Plan for Facebook Group Owners)

If you're looking to promote your online courses, you're going need to have an audience. In the ideal scenario, you won't have to wait until the moment the course has been created to begin building your audience. One thing I've learned from my experience being an entrepreneur is that building an item and then in search of a community to promote the product to is similar to making the cart go before the horse. Better is to build a community first, find out exactly what they want, and later, sell the product.

Creating a is a great method to create an audience for your online courses. It can help you build a community of potential customers and leads who will give you a window into what they are looking for, want and want to buy. Within Facebook Groups, Facebook Group you can watch posts and learn about the needs of your customers, their preferences for the language they speak, as well as gaps in which they aren't being served - then provide them with exactlywhat they want, in less time than having to work out the details on your own.

In this article, I will teach you how to build communities using Facebook Groups. Facebook Group, tap into this group for the things they want, and before creating the group.

  An error that is fatal to stay clear of  

As I've worked for years doing consulting and online course launches I've observed one fatal mistake that I'd like to assist you in avoiding. That mistake is launching a course before you have the community.

Perhaps you've witnessed this happening in the past, or perhaps you've witnessed it for yourself. You spend countless hours building your online course. You're psyched to make sales and serve and you labor over your course online with awe-inspiring excitement - then make it available for the world to see and...

... crickets.

There is no need to buy.

It's hard to believe, but it's true. And unfortunately it happens far more often than course designers would like to admit.

Instead of focusing on what might or might not be a good idea it is recommended to invest your energy in developing your community first. If you are the head of your community, you'll find it's very simple to market and earn profits from your courses, coaching and anything else you want to offer.

As I was beginning to develop my company, I had to struggle to figure out a strategy to establish a social network around it. Happily, I placed the focus on my Facebook community over everything else, which includes podcasting. Looking back, I can see what helped me sell my course online with incredible impact, it's my Facebook community. This group has become a solid lead for contacts, networking, socializing, and tapping into what an already-built audience was looking for.

  Create A Community Around Your Topic  

If you are planning to market your online course to members in the Facebook Group, you first need to build a group that is highly pertinent to your business and its niche.

In my case I've set up many groups. One of the most profitable ones for me is my Secret Weapon for Podcasters group as well as my Pay2Podcast Group (the latter being a paid group). A group that is specifically designed that is specifically for podcasters has enabled me to make sales to individuals who are in the niche of podcasting.

Had I built communities that were dedicated to fasting weightlifting, dieting or anything else unrelated to my niche - I'd have a community of folks who wouldn't want to take my online classes on podcasting.

If you don't previously done so, login to Facebook and create a new Facebook Group. When you've completed this process then you'll have to choose the title of the group. That brings us to my next suggestion:

  Make Your Facebook Group Name To Improve SEO  

When many people create a group, they try to come up with catchy names. For Facebook that doesn't work so well. If you think of Facebook as a type of search engine, then you'll notice that it's super savvy in crawling for details - instead it uses words that are more literal.

For example, if your group was named "Fantastic Beasts" and the group is specifically for those who love gyms, Facebook doesn't know that. Instead, name your group, "The Weight Room" or "Gym Enthusiasts - Who Want to Get Rid." You can use the name when searching for your topic within your group's name.

If your group is specifically for Instagram or digital marketing users - put those keywords at the start of the group's title. The only reason you'd do well to get fancy with titles is if you've got a strong following and have a large flow of fans into the group. If you've established a strong following with a significant following (like Lewis Howes or Hal Elrod, for example) it's good to include your name as your title. If you do not have many followers that are likely to search for your name on Facebook or email to your group through ads, email, your podcast, or other media Use the words which reflect the subject of your class in the name of your group.

  Set A Specific Focus for your Facebook Group  

In the same way as my initial tip about creating groups that are niche-specific and relevant to your target audience for your online course Your group should also be able to have a mission.

Your group's purpose isn't to market products (including the online course) to members. Yes, you'll want to use this group to build leads, acquire customers, and also sell more courses, - however, don't frame it in that in a way that isn't logical.

One great example of a community with an important purpose can be found in the Order Of Man Facebook Group. With more than forty thousand active members, and growing Ryan Michler's page is now a community on the internet that is different from other groups on the internet. There are many posts within the group that have a range of 50 comments, to hundreds. Men who are focused on their work can to gather and discuss a clear topic: what it means to be a man as well as how to improve as a man.

If you decide to create a Facebook Group to build a community of your target audience, make sure your group has a clear focus. You've probably noticed that that all of the groups I've discussed are extremely targeted and are driven by a specific purpose. This focus can aid you in the future when it comes time to promote your course to your community.

  Invite People to join Your Facebook Group  

The process of building your community can be a laborious. If you don't already have a community in another location, you'll need invest some time and effort in it - but in end, the effort will pay off. Like Arne Giske, one of the Facebook Group Growth Hacker told me during my Thriving launch Podcast: "At first it'll take a lot of work. If you're new you're going to put some effort into it. But once you have the community, you'll be able to get a community that will buy your products. In addition, you'll be able to have a community which will let you know what they'd like and you can just build it and sell them that."

The work required upfront will be worth it in the long run.

One of the most effective ways to create the community you want is to start by making Facebook posts. This is how my friend Tim Hoover did with his Elite Fitness Group. Without an email address and a community that was not yet established Tim Hoover made use of this strategy of just making posts and asking his community to join his fitness group, and now he's had over 500 very involved members. This is exactly the way I approached it at first, but within a brief period of time I stopped requesting members to join since my members began to recommend and add their friends.

It may sound intimidating or time consuming to build an online community, especially if you do not already have an audience - but all of us have started from scratch. Consider Arne Giske as an example. When he started his group he was just 23 years old, still living in a basement with his parents, unemployed and new to the online marketing world. He adhered to his approach of continually inviting members of his intended members to join the group. Today, his group boasts over fifty thousand attentive members. If you're a Millennial entrepreneur, go join and see how he's working so you can mimic his strategies for your own group.

  Here are some other ways you can tell your friends about your neighborhood:  

• Video ads are available on Facebook (if you're new to online advertising, don't get too excited with this)
• Send an email to your followers or friends whom you believe would be interested.
• Private Facebook message inviting people you believe would like to join the group as well as its content
• Link to your group in your menu bar or information on your website
• Posts on social media with hyperlinks to your organization
• Shout outs on your podcast regarding your organization
• Inviting friends to inform their circle of friends, and then create posts on your group

  Increase Group Membership By Giving People Incentives To Join  

Membership can be rewarded by giving away giveaways or offering exclusive video tutorials, training materials as well as content you don't release elsewhere.

It is also possible to give a bit of extra time with you via the group - time that isn't available anywhere else. The specialness and exclusivity also helps you position you and your group as a go-to-spot for outstanding service and knowledge within your area.

  Here are some ideas for giveaways:  

• Special PDF-based reports
• Unseen or coveted hacks that you typically only give to customers
• Video training and walkthroughs that people would like to see
• Courses online for free

It's the type of stuff that makes people wish to offer their email addresses the time, consideration as well as support. This is exactly the reason people choose to join a community.

Giveaways and special gifts are exactly what Ryan Levesque was doing when he was building his Next Level Mastermind group (it's part of a paid-for course However, he still exemplifies this model to the highest degree). When he was launching his group, he gave away an array of exciting prizes for giveaways. He gave gifts to the people that contributed the best post in the group (which inspired members to post and they were willing to!). In addition, he gave affiliate prizes for those who joined the most people.

This tactic Ryan Stewman utilized to grow his Sales Talk with Sales Professionals group to be the largest and active sales group on Facebook. Incentivize people to sign up. Make use of whatever you can. It may initially seem like you're giving away every piece of artillery in your arsenal However, once you've built a community of devoted and grateful members, it will yield dividends.

Giving so much value to a free group may appear exhausting, but it's the way you're attracting the attention of others. That's the way you're earning fans. If you think it's tiring and you're not used to giving the attention you deserve, consider what Gary Vaynerchuck has to say in this video: "I Day trade for Attention." When it comes to the sales world it is crucial to pay attention. This is the reason why Coca-Cola, TMobile, and all the major corporations spend billions on running ads and getting your attention.

The value you are trading in exchange for loyalty and attention - and later that can help you build a community of committed customers and loyal supporters.

Use the Facebook Group You're in to Conduct Market Research

Now, we're getting closer selling, but we're not there yet. You're currently in an account. It's a targeted group, and it's moving along and more people are joining. It's a great way to build the trust of your customers and fostering engagement.

Next is to start asking the people you know about their issues. Ask them about their needs. Learn about their needs and find out the details of them so you can create an online course that's specifically what they're looking for. This ensures when you go present them with an offer, they'll take it.

Keep track of their comments, struggles, pain points, and all the essential details to sell a course.

  Here are some methods for conducting market research for your company:  

• Conducting polls within your group ( here's how to do that)
• Asking questions about pains
• Inviting discussions
• commenting on the statuses of others and provoking greater dialog

The market doesn't have to be difficult, it's just as simple as asking. Keep track of the things that are stated and what's being asked for.

  Make Use of The Data Sell Your course  

I'm not a big advocate of the old saying "build it and they'll come." I'd rather invite them to come to gather and make them buy what they want.

As Russell Brunson has said in his book Dotcom Secrets, where people gather there are opportunities for business. Where it used to be difficult to locate communities to join, you can now tap into them and use them ethically for selling - Facebook Groups enable you to complete this task independently with minimal cost.

Once you've reached out to a community you know what they are looking for, they trust you and are more likely to buy from them.

The process of pre-selling doesn't have to be difficult since you've done the legwork to build trust, create communications, and draw attention.

Now you'll have to start talking about your plans to develop an online course that meets the interests of your customers (which you've spent time with and your studies have assisted you to collect the information). With posts and content you can how you're going to create an online course to help them solve these issues.

Instead of putting together the course, only to have it fail with no revenue - you can pre-sell your course to a set of beta members. Since the course is currently being tested and live this means it's less expensive, live and offers specialties which won't be offered at a later date. If you've done your research well, you're aware of what your target audience are looking for in the online courses and the pricing won't be hard to figure out.

As you've gained trust and awe-inspiring attention, people are going to read your blog and interested in what you're working on (which is vital to sales). Since you've given value for free, there's no reason to doubt that your paid content will be even superior and more worth the investment.

For me I've accomplished this through the help of my Paid2Podcast course and also my ProfitFromFB course. The two courses have been validated via actual sales, which then made it logical to create a proper way of promoting these courses to people outside the confines of my Facebook Group.

  Build Your Community Before You Create Your Course  

If you stick to the guidelines I've provided in this post There's no reason to not develop a network of involved people who have an interest in your course area. By doing this you'll be able to avoid developing a course nobody buys, by confirming their needs upfront, then creating a course that teaches them exactly what they want to learn.

Luis Congdon is a digital marketing expert in business. Congdon has been quoted and featured in Chicago Tribune, Forbes, JP Morgan, Entrepreneur Magazine, Inc. Magazine, Huffington Post, Huff Live, Elephant Journal, and numerous other publications. For the free training in digital marketing and make more sales online go to ThrivingLaunch.com