How to Sell on Facebook (A Methodology for Facebook Group Admins)

If you're planning to market an online course, you're going need to have an audience. And ideally, you don't have to wait until after the creation of your course to start building that crowd. One thing I've learned in my time as an entrepreneur, it's that creating a product and then going and finding the audience to sell it to is like making the cart go before the horse. The best approach is to build a community first. Find out what they want, and then sell them this.

Making a course is an excellent method to create an audience for your online course. Even better, it can help you build a community of potential customers and leads that will provide you with an insight into what they want, need, and will buy. Through the context of a Facebook Group you can watch posts and tap into the desires of your followers, their the language they speak, as well as gaps in which they aren't being served - then provide them with the exactwhat they need, and with less effort than trying to figure it out in your own.

In this piece I'll teach you how to build a community using Facebook Groups. Facebook Group, tap into the group to find out what people want, and before you create it.

  A fatal mistake to steer clear  

In my years of doing consulting as well as online course launches, I've seen one fatal mistake that I'd like to guide you away from. That mistake is launching an online course without having a community.

Maybe you've seen this happen, or worse yet, you've witnessed it for yourself. It takes you a long time to create your online course. Your heart is set to serve and sell, and you process your online course with incredible excitement - then release that course to the public and...

... crickets.

There is no need to buy.

It's hard to believe, but it's true. Unfortunately, it's happening far more often than course designers want to admit.

Instead of laboring to that could or won't sell it is recommended to put that focus into developing your community first. If you are the leader of a community and you'll discover it's easy to make income from coaching, courses, and whatever else you want to offer.

As I was beginning to develop my own business, I was struggling to find a solid way to build a community around the business. Happily, I placed my attention on the Facebook group than just about anything else, which includes podcasting. As I look back on how I was able to sell my course online with a tremendous power, it was my Facebook group. This group has become a solid lead for contacts, networking socializing and tapping to what an existing audience wanted.

  Form A Community around Your Course Subject  

If you want to sell your online course to members of the Facebook Group, you first must create the group in a way that's relevant to your and niche.

In my case I've set up various groups. One of the ones with the highest returns for me has been my Secret Weapon for Podcasters group, as well as my Pay2Podcast Group (the latter of which is a paid group). A group that is specifically designed for podcasters has allowed me to market to those within the field of podcasting.

If I had created groups dedicated to fasting, weightlifting, dieting or anything else unrelated to my niche I'd be able to build a community comprised of individuals who would not want to take my online training on podcasting.

If you don't yet, I suggest you log into Facebook and start a brand fresh Facebook Group. When you've completed this process you'll need to come up with a title for your group, which is the reason for my next suggestion:

  Name Your Facebook Group To Improve SEO  

When many people create a group, they try to make catchy titles. For Facebook that doesn't work so well. If you think of Facebook as a type of search engine, you'll know that it's not particularly adept in crawling to find information - rather, it employs more literal phrases.

If, for instance, your group was named "Fantastic Beasts" and it's a group specifically for those who love gyms, Facebook doesn't know that. Make your group's name, "The Weight Room" or "Gym Enthusiasts - Who Want To Get Ripped." Make use of the option in the search box for your subject in your group name.

If the group you're in is one for digital marketers or Instagrams users, then put these keywords into your group title. The only reason you'd do better to think about fancy titles is if you've got a strong following and are able to direct a steady stream of people to the group. If you have a well-establish and large following (like Lewis Howes or Hal Elrod, for example), then you'd do best to incorporate your name in your title. But if you don't have a large number of followers who are likely to look up your name in Facebook or who you can email to your group through advertisements, emails, your podcast or any other means - use the keywords that correspond to your topic in the name of your group.

  You Have A Goal for your Facebook Group  

Similar to my previous suggestion of creating a group that is niche-specific and is relevant to your intended people for your online class Your group should also be able to be able to serve a reason.

The purpose for your group isn't offer products (including on-line courses) for its members. Yes, you'll want to use your group to create leads for your , get clients, and sell more courses, - however, don't frame it in that the way.

A great illustration of a community that has solid goal is A great example of a community with a strong purpose is the Order Of Man Facebook Group. With more than forty thousand active members, and growing Ryan Michler's page has become an online community unlike most groups online. Many posts in that group are between fifty and more typically in the hundreds. Men who are focused on their work can connect, discuss an issue that is clear: being a man and how to improve as a man.

When you start an Facebook Group to build a group of people ensure that the group is focused. You've probably noticed that these groups, they all have listed are concentrated and possess a clear intention. A strong and focused focus will also help you later when it comes time to promote your program to the community you're in.

  Ask 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 work hard at this - but in the final, you'll be rewarded. Like Arne Giske, an experienced Facebook Group Growth Hacker told me during my Thriving Launch Podcast: "At first it'll need a lot of hard work. If you're just starting out, you'll need spend some time and effort on the process. Once you've built this community, you'll be able to sell your products. In addition, you'll have a community that tells you what they'd like and you'll just have to create it and market to them."

The initial work involved will be worth it for the end result.

One of the first methods to build this community is simply making Facebook posts. This is the method my client Tim Hoover did with his Elite Fitness Group. With practically no email list and no community yet Tim Hoover made use of this strategy of just making posts and asking his community to join his group. Now, he's had over 500 very active members. Similarly, this is my method when I first started and within a brief period of time, I stopped asking people to join because my friends began to refer and join their friends.

It might sound daunting or time consuming to build a community if you don't already have one - but all of us started with nothing. Take Arne Giske, for example. When he started his group at the age of 23, he was old and living in a basement with his parents in a jobless state, and completely not yet a part of the internet market. He adhered to his strategy of consistently inviting members of his intended audience to join his group, and today his group has more than fifty thousand members who are attentive. If you're an Millennial entrepreneur, go join and see how he's working so you can copy his tactics for your own group.

  Here are a few other ways you can tell the world about your community  

• Video ads are available on Facebook (if you're new to online ads, go easy on this)
• Email to your audience as well as friends and anyone else you think would be interested
• A private Facebook post inviting those you believe would like to join the group as well as its content
• Link to your group's page in your menu bar or the content of your site
• Social media posts that include links to your group
• Shout outs on your podcast regarding your organization
• Asking friends to tell their friends and post on social media about your group

  To Increase Membership In Groups By The Giving of Incentives to Join  

Membership can be rewarded by doing giveaways, offering special video tutorials, training materials, and content that aren't released in other places.

You can also give a bit of extra time with you via the group - - time that you won't be giving anywhere else. The specialness and exclusivity also helps to establish you and your team as a go-to-spot for outstanding service and knowledge within your area.

  Here are some concepts for giveaways:  

• Special PDF-based reports
• Hacks you haven't seen or are sought-after by others that you typically only give to clients
• Walkthroughs and video training that people are looking for.
• Courses online for free

It's the type of thing that causes people to desire to send their emails attention, time as well as support. And it's exactly the reason people choose to become part of a community.

Giveaways and special gifts precisely what Ryan Levesque did while creating his Next Level Mastermind group (it's part of a paid course however he is able to demonstrate this type of example to perfection). In the beginning of his group he offered a slew of tantalizing giveaway prizes. He also gave prizes to individuals who made the top post in the group (which encouraged members to post and they actually did!). Then he offered affiliate prizes for those who joined the most members.

This strategy Ryan Stewman utilized to grow his, sales talk with sales Professionals, group to become the biggest and active sales group on Facebook. Incentivize people to join. Utilize whatever resources you have. At first, it'll appear like you're distributing every piece of artillery in your arsenal However, once you've built an army of loyal and grateful members, it will result in dividends.

The value you give to a free group may seem tiring, but it's the way you're attracting attention. 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 take a look at what Gary Vaynerchuck says in his video: "I Day Give Up Attention." Within the sales world it is crucial to pay attention. This is why Coca-Cola, TMobile, and all the major corporations spend billions on running ads as well as grabbing the attention of customers.

The value you are trading in exchange for loyalty and attention and will help you have a community of committed customers and steadfast fans.

Utilize your Facebook Group to conduct Market Research

The moment is now when we're closer selling, however we're not at the point of being there. You're currently in an account. It's a targeted group, and it's moving with activity and increasing numbers of users are joining. Your contribution is valuable and you're building the trust of your customers and fostering involvement.

The next step is to begin asking individuals about their concerns. Discuss their concerns with them. Find out what they're doing and get to know details about them, all so you can create an online course that is specifically what they're looking for. It will ensure that when you present them with an offer, they'll purchase.

Keep track of their comments as well as their struggles, points of pain and the entire data needed to market a course.

  Here are some ways to conduct market research in your group:  

• Taking polls inside your group ( here's how to do that)
• Asking questions about pains
• Inviting discussions
• Inciting greater dialogue

Markets don't need to be hard, it's easy as simply asking. Take note of what's spoken about and what the people are looking for.

  Use The Data To Promote Your course  

I'm not the biggest fan of the old saying "build it, and they'll show up." I'd rather let them arrive, gather, and then sell them what they want.

According to Russell Brunson has said in his book Dotcom Secrets in which people meet, there's a chance to make money. Where it used to be difficult to locate communities that you could join and legally use them to sell and marketing Facebook Groups enable you to do this all independently with minimal cost.

When you've tapped into the community, you're aware of what they are looking for, they trust you and are more likely to buy from your.

Pre-selling isn't all that hard since you've done the legwork to create trust, establish communications, and draw the attention of your customers.

Now you'll have to start talking about your desire to build courses that meet the requirements of your target audience (which your time with them as well as your research have helped you gather the data). With posts and content you'll be able to figure out how to create an online course to help them solve the issues.

Instead of building your course only to fail in the event that no sales occur You can sell your course to a set of beta participants. As your course is being tested and live the cost isn't as high or live. It also includes special perks which won't be offered in the future. If you've done your research well, you're aware of what your target audience are looking for in on-line courses, so it shouldn't be a problem to determine.

Since you've built trust and awe-inspiring attention, people are likely to be reading your posts and curious about the things you're doing (which is essential to sales). As you've offered value free of charge, you can only assume that the premium content is even superior and more worth the investment.

In my case I've achieved this using the help of my Pay2Podcast class and my ProfitFromFB class. Both of these courses have been validated via actual sales, which then justified building proper to promote this course to anyone outside members of my Facebook Group.

  Make Your Community a Reality Before You Create Your Course  

If you stick to the guidelines I've offered in this post, there is nothing to stop you from being able to develop a network of involved people who is interested in your topic. In doing so you'll be able to avoid creating a course that isn't bought by anyone, simply by checking their needs upfront, then making a course that will teach students exactly what they need to understand.

Luis Congdon is a digital marketing specialist for businesses. Congdon has been quoted and featured in Chicago Tribune, Forbes, JP Morgan, Entrepreneur Magazine, Inc. Magazine, Huffington Post, Huff Live, Elephant Journal, and many other publications. To get the free training in digital marketing and increase sales on the internet visit ThrivingLaunch.com