How I Used Facebook
This topic contains 12 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by 
Julia Rotgers 6 years, 8 months ago.
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I’ve been seeing a few disconnected threads about Facebook so I wanted to do one about how I put together a list to get registrants to opt-in for a workshop.
This was over a year ago, but Facebook, in regards to how it’s designed to work, has not really changed.
The thing to remember is that Facebook is SOCIAL – it is not inherently a business platform.
People go their to be entertained, catch up on the “news”, check in with people they like, get recommendations, etc.
So, if you approach Facebook with an attitude of building your list or making a sale… people will feel it.
Not that you can’t lead people to a sale, you can and sometimes pretty directly, but I think the mindset is key.
There are plenty of people looking for solutions on FB and yours might be the one they need.
Ok, to the steps………….
Well, before I go there – one more thing – and that is, this is not an instant fix.
Because FB is SOCIAL you have to take some time to build relationships to follow this method.Expect some interaction and being helpful for a few weeks before you ever make your first offer to sell anything (or have them opt-in, invite them to a webinar, get them on a call, etc.)
The first thing I’d suggest you do is join 20 groups (yes 20 – I’ll explain why in a min) that would be related to your niche or you think would be good candidates as a client.
Once you start joining groups, FB will suggest more, this is the easy part.
What you want to look for is;#1 – Engagement – are people showing up and communicating? It does not have to be a large group – I’ve got a lot of personal recommendations from smaller groups (in the 300 – 1000 member range). But I find that groups with 3000 or more tend to have a bigger reach and are more likely to have multiple people engaging.
#2 – The general tone of the page – ie, how much crap you can stand 🙂 – I’ve joined groups that have great engagement and were right on topic but the language was so foul I couldn’t take it. And then I’ve been in some where the group coordinator seemed to think the F-word made an impact but the members did not follow suit (I’m still in those groups). Lastly, if you see a page where the engagement is only to have the leader of the groups input – a type of celebrity status – you won’t gain any traction because they aren’t looking to hear from anyone but the coordinator.
#3 – The group rules – some groups allow NO promotion. Some allow promotion only on certain days. You must follow the rules to remain a part of the group. Some leaders are very strict and some give you a few warnings, but believe me, making friends with the person on who’s platform you want to promote is a good idea. You want to look for groups that allow some type of promo since you will begin to promote in the upcoming weeks.
Why 20 Groups?
You’ll need at least 20 groups to be able to choose 5 that will work for you.
Ultimately you want 3-5 good solid groups to post in regularly.Then engage in those groups for 3 – 5 weeks……what??!! Yep, make yourself visible, helpful, introduce yourself, welcome the new folks.
Basically you want to be the helpful, social person in the group. There to do nothing but connect, welcome, help where you can, congratulate people, post on posts that don’t have engagement, laugh at peoples jokes, tell funny stories, etc.No selling (I know it’s hard).
But don’t you think people will remember when you are the only one who replied to their post?
– People DO look at who likes their posts.
– The new people to a group will see your name early.
– Listen, have fun, be social before you EVER turn on sales mode.This is the key to success on an inherently social platform.
2 Things you Must Have in Place First
Before you begin your social engagement (not necessarily before you start joining groups) you need to update your profile to include a little about what you do.
This can include a URL to your blog, but I’d recommend a URL to your about me page and then tell your story there.It’s social, remember? So if you reveal a little about you on your “About Me” page they get even more connected to you.
#2 Have a good photo of you that represents who you are now. When you are getting ready to connect you want a recent photo that is a representation of who you are in normal life. You don’t need a business head-shot, a selfie or someone catching you with a nice smile would be more appropriate.
The next step is to get them to opt-in to your list, but this is getting a little long.
Any question on this first step?
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Thanks Julia, I’m watching for when you add more. Looks like a great approach to the ‘social’ scene.
If you're looking for a someone to bounce things off of in the IM world, I'm your guy and I really would love to help you out. Helping others is just who I am!
To Change Your Life Forever check out me out at http://IM-Specialist.com
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Very helpful, Julia, especially because you offer a specific getting-started (or starting-over) plan. Also appreciate your reminder about the “social” aspects of Facebook – so easy to get caught up in the marketing and lead-generating that it’s easy to forget the importance of socializing – even more important with FB’s upcoming changes.
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great strategies
Very wise strategies and helpful to others and yourself.
Robert -
Facebook Step 2
Before I give Step 2 I want to emphasize that my focus here is on “free” traffic.
In other words – paying with your time instead of your dollars.Also, if you focus and get things done while in FB and don’t get sucked into your feed, it does not take that much time.
My biggest time chunk was outlining my ideas and writing quick posts to copy/paste.
Which I did either early mornings or one weekend afternoon.Here goes……
First you might be thinking;
Can you start getting people to your offer sooner?
Maybe.Are you showing up in the group often and being super helpful?
If so then you might have enough exposure to start offering a link to your blog or free e-course after a week or two.But if all you’ve done is join the group but are not working to become a part of the group, your information won’t be well received.
Once you have spent a few weeks developing relationships you can start promoting.
Some not-too-in-your-face ways to promote in groups is;
– An image or meme with your URL embeded in the image
– A link to a helpful blog post
– Send people to where you have an article on someone else’s platform, podcast, interview, etc. (Then your resource should send them to your site)
– Or simply make an offer to help when you answer questionsRemember too that you have the option to message people and that friends will be more likely to see your messages.
I made a conscious effort to “Friend” people in the groups that I enjoy to make communication easier.
Next – you’ll need to post regularly, so how do you come up with all the content?
I never added curated content, I always wanted to refer people to my own stuff or write something specifically for the groups I was in.
I worked on a 5 day schedule. (My groups tended to be quieter on the weekends.)
And I developed several posts per week.Either by coming up with 3 quick posts a day during my morning writing OR developing posts over the weekend.
I would quickly post three times a day and then spend 30 minutes in the evening being social.
The key is to get in and get out – it’s all too easy to get sucked into reading and chasing articles.
It’s helpful to adopt the mindset of a content creator NOT a content consumer.
So back to how I distributed the content.
You don’t want to post the same content in every group at the same time so I use a rotating schedule.
It all starts with 5-7 main post ideas and then when you jump in (quickly) during the day you can either add a comment to your original post or post something similar.
I usually had 3 distinct posts that kind of worked together and referred to each other throughout the day.
I cut and pasted the posts and images I used so I could jump in and out of the groups quickly.
Some groups will move a little slower, so one post a day is plenty.
In some groups your post will move down the page fast, so posting the same post or something very similar will give it some new views.When I was there to post, I did not read anything I just got in and got out.
My daily schedule took about 15 minutes at 7am, noonish and 7pm or after dinner.
Then if I had time I would ‘like’ and comment for a bit in the evening.
Honestly, after my first few “socializing” weeks I rarely socialized more than twice a week for about 30 – 45 minutes. (Usually while watching TV.)You can see in the image how I rotated a limited amount of content through the groups to avoid multiple of the same posts in a single day.
(This spams your friends’ feeds)You’ll have to do a planning session before the next step so I’ll stop here and ask.
Have you got any questions or want to know more?
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Wow Julia,
It seems you are super organised and have become super disciplined. Without developing those skills I don’t see how anyone could make it work.
Your approach may well, in the future, compare with all the foundational groundwork and massive amount of posting done by Sean Mize to ezinearticles that, ultimately, kicked started his path to success.
I understand clearly what you explain in your first two sections because they are so well explained and very detailed.
Detailed enough, in act, for me to NOT want to use Social to the same degree as you. Yes I am cash poor and time rich, but as you kept reminding us it’s a Social Platform. I like people but generally I am not a FB person. And there is more than one way to skin a cat.
But that is not to say that I can’t take part one of your teachings and run with it. Creating the relationships and helping people for several weeks within FB groups. After that, however, I would want to start building an email list from people I could most help within the “20” groups, direct them to a blog and also get them onto an email list.
I don’t want all my best stuff just getting posted within FB groups for all to see, I want my best stuff to be reserved for those joining my list, so they could feel special and privileged and in the “know” for being on my list.
That is not to say I would not post excellent, actionable stuff in the FB groups. But just good enough to wet their appetite for more, and for more they would have to join my list. Upon joining they would be richly rewarded, immediately, with a quality, free, information product. From that point I would build upon relationships made in the FB groups, and therefore increase levels of trust, before offering my own, or suitable affiliate, products that help them, precisely, with what they are crying out for.
Looking forward to Part 3.
And a couple of questions:…How do you motivate,and discipline yourself to spend weeks within FB groups, some of which you can’t really condone, due to “iffy” behaviour and language?
You made it clear that you need to be single minded with an eye on your ultimate goal, but do you have any secrets…meditation. time management tricks and tips etc etc etc…that help to keep you sane and your mind laser targetted on the task in hand.
You are in and out of FB groups, nowadays, after all that preliminary hard work, using your own, unique system, but you needed steely discipline to achieve that….How did you build up that habit…especially when dealing with groups that became distasteful to you?
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Thanks Leslie, great questions.
I’ll tackle them one at a time before moving on to part 3.
1) I don’t want all my best stuff just getting posted within FB groups for all to see, I want my best stuff to be reserved for those joining my list.
I think the days are gone when you could give people just a taste and it would be enough for them to sign on to try more.
If you want loyal followers you have to give your best stuff. Also there is no way to give it all away in a post of a few paragraphs.You can also reserve some secret insider stuff for your subscribers – this is natural – a person would not be able to understand or put into practice your higher level stuff before they know your basics.
When I was assisting with seminars for a local economic development group more than one trainer came in and told me they had no fear of giving away their secrets for 2 reasons.
#1 Mediocre information is available everywhere and I (the seminar trainer) want to stand out.
#2 Less than 2% will ever act on the information anyway, so there is no real reason to fear your best stuff will all of a sudden be public knowledge.And I’ll say #3 Post disappear quickly in Facebook so you would actually have to post it many times for the whole group to see it just once. But I also believe that the people who need to see it will, if you’re diligent to ‘get it out there’.
2) How do you motivate,and discipline yourself to spend weeks within FB groups, some of which you can’t really condone, due to “iffy” behavior and language?
See #4 – As far as motivation and discipline I think that is the same for just about everything – it comes from a deep rooted reason to do it.
Why does a person stay at a job they don’t like?
Why does a person keep working at a marriage that’s having trouble?
Why do you keep teaching a difficult child?
Why do you get your car to the mechanic (or fix it yourself) even tho’ it will cost you (time or money)?Because there is a reason why…
You need the $ to take care of your family, pay the mortgage etc.
You have a love and commitment that’s worth fighting for.
you see potential in the child they are not ready to see in themselves.
You don’t want to walk 🙂3) Do you have any secrets that help to keep you sane and your mind laser targeted on the task in hand.
My biggest “secret” is not that I stay laser focused but that I’ve disciplined myself to get BACK ON TASK.
I can’t always help what gets thrown at me, but I am in control of what I do with it.
So the biggest habit I’ve built is to check in with myself to become aware of whether or not what I’m doing is leading me to my desired outcome.4) How did you build up that habit…especially when dealing with groups that became distasteful to you?
I don’t stay in groups that are distasteful to me. I see how that could be misunderstood by the way I phrased my earlier input.
But the reason I encourage you to start with 20 groups is so that you can find the 3 -5 groups you really click with.
People you like and who you want to help. there is no reason to stay if you don’t.I’ll add step 3 in another response.
Take care,
JuliaHave You Been Struggling, Thinking You Don't Have Enough Time To Build Your Business???
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Julia
thanks for creating AMAZING Content and posting it here . . It’s hard to find good entry level facebook strategies that actually work, and you’ve created something concise here that folks can follow!
Sean
Do you want to learn how to start a coaching program that stabilizes your income and changes lives? If so, visit http://www.AnyoneCanCoach.com
Sean
1 user thanked author for this post.
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Part 3
I think many of you have looked at Step 1 and Step 2 and determined that this is all way too much work.
And in one way all agree.There are more hands off ways to become visible on Facebook and you can use the same principles with this technology.
I’ve actually given you all the steps you need, even if you use the sharing tools.
It’s not that difficult.
The key is to create shareable content whether it be visually or in written form and share it get it in front of people on a regular basis.So in this step I’m not so much going to give you what to do as a how to think.
It’s all too easy to share our product or service features or to share the benefits.
And there’s a place for that.But I found there are two things that work in Facebook number one is to be open or you might call it vulnerable.
Sharing Insider secrets telling stories of how you messed something up and how you discovered new way to fix it or even a childhood story that taught you a lesson.
Remember the key is Facebook is a social platform and to really be effective in Facebook you need to work within that social frame.
And # 2 – Like anything you would write to get people’s attention you want to have a strong opening line.
Facebook post is not literally have a headline but you do have an opening line.
You want to grab their attention get them to keep reading and then give them an action to take.
So a good format is;
– An exciting or strong opening line
– A story in which you learned a lesson.
– Then tie that story into your offer
– And give them a call to action.One last thing about how to think when you are writing your Facebook post is that you need to speak to a very specific problem.
For example as one person shared with me when I was learning this myself the difference between considering the purchase of a toothpick sometime or wanting a toothpick now is whether or not I have something in my teeth.
What is the specific issue that your client has and that you are there to solve?
So to recap the thought process of your sharing and post is a strong opening line or you might consider it a headline
You want to grab someone’s attention and get them to want to read more.
Tell a story and the story can be about some kind of transformation it should give an idea or sample of what you can do or maybe a breakthrough that you had that you also teach your clients.
Then make sure that you are speaking specifically to a pain point and always give a call to action.
The exception of course is when you are being purely social.
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What if "Not Having Enough Time" Was A Thing of The Past?If You're Ready For a WHOLE NEW WAY of Thinking About Your "Available Time" Click
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Thanks Julie, for the great answers and all your work taken to get this FB strategy to us.
The only thing I would say is that I am entirely aware that you have to put excellent stuff out there, and indeed the best of my entry level materials would be better than most paid products currently being offered and this, of course, should be given away freely. However (And as I said before) after tending and caring for my potential customers for a coupe of months, I would erratically want to get them off FB and onto my website and list ASAP.
So I would make use of the greater part of your system, but only as a means to an end. Once tehy are on my email list they will be given the detail instructions that are not suited to FB.
On that list I would give away far more detailed a top rate content. You can’t really do detail on FB. Eventually high end courses would be offered, but I would continue to feed my growing list with the very best information possible to help with their specific and associated needs
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Yes great point, Facebook is a means to an end – as a way to get people ON your list.
You can send them wherever you want. Your blog, a squeeze page, article, video, or another site/page within Facebook.
Any of these strategies can be used to take the conversation OFF FB where you have more control.
But it’s the same with many platforms. If you publish a guest post, advertise, do an interview, etc. you also want to bring people back to your list.It’s just one of many places to find people to engage with.
Keeping in mind with FB you won’t have much success if you don’t first do the work of finding engaged groups that have the need you serve.Have You Been Struggling, Thinking You Don't Have Enough Time To Build Your Business???
What if "Not Having Enough Time" Was A Thing of The Past?If You're Ready For a WHOLE NEW WAY of Thinking About Your "Available Time" Click
ThisChangesTheGame.com and start finding the time you need to get your business off the ground, even if you time is limited.1 user thanked author for this post.
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Julia
have you considered making this into a giveaway or even a paid product?
Sean
Do you want to learn how to start a coaching program that stabilizes your income and changes lives? If so, visit http://www.AnyoneCanCoach.com
Sean
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It would make a good smaller product.
I’d love a little more feedback and questions on the topic first to know what people want to have more detail on.
Plus I’m furiously working on extracting my already finished products to get them in a sellable and easily deliverable form.
Since they were previously delivered to small groups via email then need central download pages.Have You Been Struggling, Thinking You Don't Have Enough Time To Build Your Business???
What if "Not Having Enough Time" Was A Thing of The Past?If You're Ready For a WHOLE NEW WAY of Thinking About Your "Available Time" Click
ThisChangesTheGame.com and start finding the time you need to get your business off the ground, even if you time is limited.
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