13 Proven Ways to Grow a Coaching & Consulting Facebook Group

Question for you…

Do you know how much opportunity there is in the coaching, consulting, and public speaking arenas?

No, I mean do you really know?

It’s HUGE.

God knows I’ve said it before, but it’s worth saying it again...

The coaching industry has been exploding in the past few years.

Its market size was $15.2bn in 2022 according to IBISWorld (I told you it was HUGE).

So if you’re looking to get more (and why not more and more) signups for your coaching or consulting business in 2024, now is the time to take action.

But with more opportunity always comes more competition, too. 

So, how do you ensure you’re getting a big fat slice of that market share pie in 2024?

Go after Facebook groups.

Yep, there were over 10M+ groups on Facebook in 2022. And 1.8bn people used them every month according to Influencer Marketing Hub.

So if you want to get more signups for your coaching or consulting business through Facebook groups, then this article was written for you.

With it, you’ll walk away with:

• 13 proven ways to leverage your Facebook group and encourage members to sign up for your service. 
• Easy-to-apply tips to effectively use analytics to optimize group engagement. 
• Knowing how to set clear goals to drive your Facebook group in the right direction ().

Ready to make 2024 your best year ever for your business? It all starts by...

In a rush? Want to download this article as a PDF so you can easily take action on it later? Click here to download this article as a PDF guide.

Why Do You Need a Facebook Group to Grow Your Coaching or Consultant Business?

The coaching industry has been literally exploding in the past few years.

As I said above, its market size was $11.6bn in 2020 alone according to IBISWorld.

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That being said, tapping into the power of Facebook groups is one of the best strategies you can use to grow your coaching or consultant business.

Why?

Because there are over 10M+ groups on Facebook and 1.4bn people using them every month according to Facebook.

And you know what? There could be a whole unknown audience there for your business.

I’m talking about coaching leads, potential consultant clients, customers, followers, etc.

Because the truth is you need social media sites like Facebook for your lead generation.

In my professional opinion, Facebook is better-suited for B2C companies than B2B companies.

Why?

Because most people on Facebook are there just to “waste” time casually.

They’re rarely thinking about making purchases like website design services, email marketing software, CRM software, or call center services.

BUT that’s when you have to leverage the power of Facebook groups to tell your audience, “Hey, you need my product or service. Like, you reeeeally need it, so buy it.”

There are 4 big reasons why you need a Facebook group to grow your business:

1. Facebook groups expand your organic reach. For coaches, consultants, and public speakers, a Facebook group is the perfect place to share content and establish yourself as an industry expert. And having a strong, engaged base of Facebook fans correlates with an increase in website traffic referrals from Facebook.
2. Groups are a direct lifeline to your audience. Anyone who joins your Facebook community or group has essentially opted in because they’re genuinely interested. And that means those group members have the potential to become your most loyal customers. After you’ve established a Facebook fanbase via your group, you can post occasional offers that will result in a direct response. These include purchases or a consultation request. That said, those direct offers will be less effective than indirect offers (such as offering a free e-course or downloadable report). That’s because indirect offers give you a better opportunity to educate and warm up prospects.
3. Your Facebook group is one of the most logical and natural places to nurture brand loyalty and commitment. Not only can you engage on a human level (rather than the brand level), but by responding to your audience and asking questions in your group, you can learn more about what your potential customers want and what you can do to address their pain points. And since marketing via your Facebook group is best thought of as “demand generation” and not lead generation (since you’re not initially looking for a direct bottom-line response), it’s easy to funnel your fans from Facebook to landing page offers that result in more email signups.
4. Your competition already knows all of this. You don’t want to be that guy at the bottom, right? Of course you don’t. That’s why you’re doing research and reading this article. So you need to see what your competition is doing in order to copy what works.

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So definitely keep reading, because some of the tactics you’ll learn in this article are the same ones I teach in my 6-Figure Sales Funnel Training.

With Facebook groups, you’re moving people from lower levels of knowledge and engagement into higher and higher tiers until they become a customer.

And there, there’s a full audience waiting to find out about your business. Waiting to learn more about your service or products. Waiting to finally find the desired solution to their problems.

Facebook groups are simply the perfect place for that.

People here create communities. They ask questions about specific topics, share their passions, likes, and knowledge.

And then, the rest of the people answer those questions and share their thoughts and so on.

There’s a sense of belonging to that community or group and those people recommend to each other what they’ve tried and what they’ve liked.

So if you’re looking for lead generation tactics for growing your coaching business in 2021, you have to be part of Facebook groups.

With it, you’ll be able to get people to know you, tap into new audiences, and get prospects to sign up for your coaching or consulting services.

So now that you know the “why” behind creating Facebook groups, let’s start uncovering the “how”.

How to Grow a Facebook Group to Get More Signups?

Ok, ready to start untapping the tactics?

Let’s start by reviewing the first one...

Tactic #1 to Grow a Facebook Group & Get More Signups: Begin With the End in Mind—Goals & Rules

Setting a goal is necessary to accomplish anything in your business. Sounds obvious, I know. But it’s necessary.

So for this tactic to grow your Facebook group, set up a goal you want to achieve with your group.

• Is it growing the group to a specific number of members?
• Is it getting X number (or actually, “XXX,XXX”) of new clients to sign up for your service?
• Is it boosting brand awareness?
• Do you want to use your Facebook group to promote a product or service?
• Do you want to use your group to help answer questions your followers have? If so, what questions?
• Do you want to get feedback to improve your product or service?
• Do you want results right now? If you do, though, go spend your money on Google AdWords, sign up for email marketing software, or try other direct-response channels.

Facebook can work for just about any business, but it takes time to build an engaged community.

So no matter what you want to accomplish with your Facebook group, you must set up clear goals first.

Because without a clear goal, defining a direction in which to grow your Facebook group will be impossible.

And when setting up clear goals, outline a few rules too.

What does this mean?

For example, you can encourage members to read others’ posts or comments to see if their questions have been previously answered and cut down on repetition.

Because reminders and expectations for the group will drive more meaningful conversations, which lead to higher levels of interaction.

In that same vein, Facebook allows for 10 public rules for any given group.

In fact, Facebook’s suggestions for group rules include:

• Encouraging positive comments, feedback, and conversations
• Taking a firm stance on bullying and hate speech
• Outlawing spam and irrelevant links
• Respecting the privacy of fellow members

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Alright. Now that you have established clear goals and start working towards them, let’s see what the next tactic is for growing your Facebook group...

Tactic #2 to Grow a Facebook Group & Get More Signups: Leverage Your Existing Channels

So now that you know the direction you want your Facebook group to go and your goals, it’s time to begin growing (or re-energizing the growth of) your group.

For this, begin by leveraging your existing channels.

For example, if you already have a Facebook page, promote your service there and post an announcement that links your group and pin it to the top of your Facebook page.

Because as crazy as it may sound, 78% of American consumers say they’ve discovered products on Facebook according to Kleiner Perkins.

So simply leverage your existing channels.

You can sell there and you can sell there a lot.

That’s why you need to build a multi-channel marketing plan for your business. To interact with potential customers on different channels with the purpose of making a sale.

You see, people on Facebook will interact most with content from pages that falls under one or more of these categories: educational, inspiring, or entertaining.

Why?

Because Facebook is the new TV for many people.

And those people are often taking a break from more productive activities while they browse Facebook.

In fact, they usually don’t have a specific goal in mind.

So for this tactic on how to grow your Facebook group, upload a few stories and invite the people who have liked your Facebook page to join your group.

Just tap into the power of Facebook and its multiple ways to engage your audience.

Tactic #3 to Grow a Facebook Group & Get More Signups: Make New Members Feel Welcome

When new members of your Facebook group feel welcome, they’ll be more likely to engage with your brand. And of course, they’ll be more likely to spread the word and share your group with other people.

It’s exactly as it happens when you go to someone’s house for dinner and they make you feel welcome. You want to go back, right?

So every time a new person joins your Facebook group, greet them in a unique way so that you make them feel special.

You can send them a nice welcome message or video like the ones below…

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Just make them feel valued, appreciated, and like they’re a fundamental part of the community (which they are).

Tactic #4 to Grow a Facebook Group & Get More Signups: Commit to Posting in a Consistent Basis

You want your Facebook group members to be active, right?

You don’t want them to join the group and then forget to even check their Facebook account.

So let me ask you something, can you sustain an ongoing effort of regularly posting fresh, relevant content every week? Remember, content marketing quantity increases traffic.

So it’s important to be honest with yourself when you ask the question: “Can I commit to implementing this strategy consistently for 6 months or more without deviating or getting distracted by some other marketing priority that pops up?”

Understand that most of the work required to grow your Facebook group includes regular research, content curation, and content creation.

The content you choose to share should strike a balance between being completely in the interest of fun and generating “good karma” within your target market.

This means the content is solely beneficial towards the end goal of growing your company.

So to hook prospects in your community and make them constantly check the group and participate in the forum, post regularly the same you do with your content marketing automation strategy.

This not only encourages more active participation but also increases the likelihood that posts will appear in your members’ feeds.

And yeah yeah, I know posting regularly definitely requires a commitment. But overcoming that challenge will bring massive rewards. And that’s why it’s a great tactic to grow your Facebook group.

Tactic #5 to Grow a Facebook Group & Get More Signups: Foster a Community Culture That’s Unique to Your Brand

Today’s consumers want to engage with brands.

So it’s up to your business to create unique and valuable content to keep them engaged.

You see, 88% of people join Facebook to stay connected to friends and family.

But almost 1 in 5 users motivation to use Facebook is to connect with brands according to Statista.

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So you need to deliver content that sparks unique conversation and gets people liking and commenting.

And the truth is you can even get 100,000+ organic Facebook likes without spending money on ads by increasing engagement.

Because the more your followers engage with your posts (by liking, commenting, and sharing), the more likely they are to end up in their friends’ newsfeeds because of the “marketing echo”.

Research by McKinsey says that by deploying product recommendations and triggered communications within channels like Facebook groups, you can drive 5-15% increases in revenue. Plus, doing so can lead to 10-30% increases in marketing-spend efficiency.

So you gotta make sure that your message is on point and aligned with your brand.

It’s not posting just for posting.

And as a personal coach, trainer, consultant, or public speaker, you’re creating an environment for your group that showcases your specific niche.

This environment should reflect your beliefs and principles and give members a sneak-peek into what you’re all about.

So you must share valuable content.

Remember, members respond to a community’s core belief system, so the culture you create is instrumental for attracting and retaining members.

For example, if you’re starting a discussion or creating a fitness challenge, it’s important to involve your members every step of the way.

If you’re a “tough love” coach, let that show.

Or if you’re dedicated to building a community for support, find ways to illustrate that.

And one way you could do this is by encouraging members to provide feedback after every challenge or activity you launch in the community. The tone of your posts will help members get to know you.

You can also ask for suggestions—what does your community want to hear about?

Then design content around that.

If your members want to learn about healthy diets, curate content related to nutrition and fitness, and so on.

You get it, right?

Tactic #6 to Grow a Facebook Group & Get More Signups: Be a Guide From the Side, Not a Sage on the Stage

Today’s consumers think globally. They love connecting with others.

So let your Facebook group’s members know you’re listening to their questions, concerns, complaints.

But focus more on eliciting input and engagement from them.

Your members will usually be glad to carry on the conversation. But replying shows that you’re actively listening to what they have to say.

And this is especially important if they’ve tagged you for a reply.

So don’t feel a need to get involved with every conversation in your group.

Sometimes it’s best to give your members some breathing room and let them talk out a topic.

But unless there’s a question involved where you can jump in, it’s totally fine to take a step back.

Tactic #7 to Grow a Facebook Group & Get More Signups: Engage Members Using the Help of a Moderator

Research by Needle shows that 84% of customers feel more comfortable asking questions and seeking clarifications from brand advocates in online communities than speaking to customer representatives or salespeople.

So how do you get your community members talking?

This is where community moderators come into play.

Moderators are existing community members who’ve been in the community awhile and are knowledgeable about community rules, culture, behavior, and more.

They are often brand advocates and can help you find prospects for your business.

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Having a moderator in your Facebook group is one of the best ways to engage members.

Why?

Because they help ease the members into the community.

They can show members around your site and help them with any query they have.

And they can also help maintain decorum within the community by keeping an eye out for inappropriate posts or community regulation violations.

Using a moderator will simply increase your community’s credibility and image as it will position your community as a thought-leader, as opposed to a promotional platform.

Tactic #8 to Grow a Facebook Group & Get More Signups: Partner With an Influencer

Influencers are more than a trend.

When partnering with the right one, they can actually help you sell whatever it is you’re selling.

Because they have a specific set of skills that they can use in order to sell to their audience.

Plus they tend to have large, established audiences to whom they can introduce your products or services to.

When an influencer joins your Facebook group, it is great social proof for your group and your brand.

Because people will associate your brand with that “famous” and “popular” influencer.

So try finding influencers who can relate to your brand and can tap into their audience to sell on your products or service.

Tactic #9 to Grow a Facebook Group & Get More Signups: Join Other Groups & Communities

According to Bloomberg, there are over a billion groups on Facebook, so chances are there are some similar ones to yours.

So when you notice another group serving the same audience as you do, don’t look at it as competition but rather as an opportunity.

What does this mean?

It means you should see what those competitors are doing so you can get some inspiration for what to do with your own community.

Because remember, copy what works.

Joining other Facebook groups and participating in the conversations is another great way to get people to notice your brand and your group.

By doing so you can gather great ideas like topics people are talking about or trends.

And remember, the members of that Facebook group are already your target audience. And there’s no reason why they wouldn’t join your group too.

Tactic #10 to Grow a Facebook Group & Get More Signups: Run Your Numbers, Measure Results, & Reiterate

You can’t manage what you don’t measure.

This is where successful brands really differentiate themselves.

A study by McKinsey found that high-performing companies are far more likely to have a strategy for analyzing key performance metrics.

And those who leverage analytics are 1.5X more likely to report revenue growth of at least 10% in the past 3 years

So if you aren’t up to speed with the built-in analytic tools that Facebook offers, now’s the time to get going.

The analytical reporting feature Facebook offers is powerful. You’ll have access to insights like:

• Top performing posts
• Actions on page
• Group growth over time
• Active members over time

So to see if your goal is close to being achieved, check on these numbers frequently and see where they need to be optimized.

Then using what you learn, reiterate, reiterate and reiterate some more.

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And here are 3 tools I recommend using to track your Facebook marketing efforts:

• Google Analytics: This is an affordable online marketing tool that lets you discover the quantity of traffic that Facebook sends you over time.

• Facebook EdgeRank Checker: This tool determines where your post or story will show up on the newsfeed of your average Facebook user. And understanding this algorithm is important because the higher your EdgeRank, the more likely your posts will appear higher up on a Facebook user’s newsfeed.

• Facebook Audience Insights: With this tool, you can easily conclude what’s working best to generate growth for your brand.

Tactic #11 to Grow a Facebook Group & Get More Signups: Experiment With Different Posts & Content Formats

It’s important to know what engages your audience.

What type of content do they prefer seeing?

What they like is what will keep them coming back for more.

So you need to understand their preferences and likes and offer your content to them in their preferred format.

Do they prefer watching videos or reading articles? Do they prefer seeing funny memes or actionable insights they can apply to their business?

According to BuzzSumo, video is actually the best Facebook post format.

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So find out what their preferred format of content is and give it to them.

In fact, experimenting with different types of posts makes the Facebook algorithm happy AND keeps your audience on their toes.

And if you need some help, here are some of Facebook’s recommendations of “baiting” formats to help boost more engagement.

• React baiting: This type of post format asks people to react to the post (includes like, love, haha, wow, sad, and angry).

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• Comment baiting: This one asks people to comment with specific answers (words, numbers, phrases, or emojis).

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• Share baiting: This one asks people to share the post with their friends.

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• Tag baiting: This one asks people to tag their friends.

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• Vote baiting: This type of post format asks people to vote using reactions, comments, sharing, or other means of representing a vote.

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Conclusion

Download the “How to Grow a Facebook Group to Get More Coaching Leads” so you won’t forget to take action on it later. Click here to download it now.

All you need for generating more signups for your coaching or consultant business is a well-oiled Facebook group that fires on all cylinders.

Facebook groups simply enable brands like yours to build and nurture communities and engage leads and customers one on one.

And as private communities like Facebook groups continue to grow in popularity, optimizing your Facebook Group strategy will be instrumental in growing your business and converting more leads.

Now that you stopped wondering how to grow your Facebook group, let’s recap quickly the tactics that will grow coaching and consulting Facebook groups:

• Focus on your goals—these will determine the right direction to go
• Leverage your existing channels—multi-channel marketing will help you reach your audience everywhere
• Make new members of your community feel welcome—the better they feel about you and your brand, the more likely they’ll be to buy your products or services
• Commit to posting in a consistent basis—consistency in sharing valuable content is key
• Foster a community culture that’s unique to your brand
• Be a guide from the side, not a sage on the stage
• Engage members using the help of a moderator
• Partner with the right influencer—they can tap into their existing audience
• Join other groups and communities—and copy what works
• Run your numbers and reiterate
• Experiment with different posts and content formats—give your audience what they want

And there are plenty of other tactics that will help you with your goal of getting more signups for your coaching, consulting, or public speaking business.

But remember, the more time you spend researching how to run your Facebook group is time you could be spending doing what you love and what you’re best at—coaching.

So why not leave the marketing of your coaching business to the experts?

For this new year, give yourself the gift of outsourcing your digital marketing to Growbo.

We can help you grow your coaching business. In fact, lots of our clients are coaches and consultants.

With us, you can focus on what matters most in 2021 and beyond: spending more time with your family and friends without having to worry about your business.

Now, will you start uncovering the benefits of creating a Facebook group? Are you confident any of the tactics above will help you get more coaching leads in 2021?

Let me know in the comments below.

And keep Growin’ and staying focused as usual!

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