Since posting my predictions for 2016 AND my 3 alternatives to landing pages, tons of people have been asking me how to create PRIVATE SOCIAL GROUP FUNNELS.
I guarantee that I can show you how to build a list of members, or group subscribers, that you can share and market content and products to. AND I’m going to show you how to do it for FREE.
The really awesome part? You can use the ‘private group member‘ method at any stage in a marketing automation funnel. You can do it right at the start when you’re starting out, or you can bolt it on to your current marketing campaigns.
Getting subscribers to a mailing list is tough. It requires a landing page/ squeeze page. It needs traffic, optins, mailing systems and budget to drive traffic. I’m not saying that squeeze pages are all bad, I myself LOVE landing pages that convert traffic into leads. But starting out, it can seem like a bit of a nightmare building a group or membership of people that want your content.
The myth
There’s a myth that you have to create a fan page or company/product page on Facebook and get people to click like and build your page’s likes. Usually you start with friends and family and eventually you’ll get a few likes from leads and customers. If you post really awesome stuff on your page you might get even more.
What’s changing?
I’ve already talked about my prediction that ‘private social group funnels’ are one of the big things for 2016. On the other hand, businesses are now finding HUGE success in exploiting Facebook and using private or closed groups to provide private membership, content and forum style support/discussion to the group’s members. This way, you have a closed, secure area where you can post landing pages, blog posts, product and sales pages and videos/webinars.
The private group funnel
Let’s see how we can create a Facebook group that entices people to join, adds subscribers/members AND is essentially, FREE.
I’ve got the original and I’ve signed it.
You’re gonna want to take a look at this awesome drawing, because it goes over the fundamentals of a private group funnel.
You need a reason for people to join
The biggest mistake people make, when starting a social group, is they don’t know what the group is supposed to do. What is the burning, crazy awesome reason that someone would WANT to join? Do you solve a problem? Give free stuff away? Get access to a community of like-minded people?
You need to give a specific and powerful reason for people to join your group. It needs to be easily understood (people want to know if it’s for them or not instantly) and it needs to reflect the wider marketing/brand/funnels that you’ve set up for you and your business.
For example, if you specialise in setting up e-commerce websites for businesses in the local area. Even if it’s a small catchment, you could provide an area for owners to network and talk to each other about their problems. Then you can also provide them with content on fixing those problems.
Set up the closed page
I’m not going to go into detailed specifics about setting up a brand new, closed and private group. I’ll assume that you’re using Facebook, so you can use this guide to create a group and make it private.
If you’ve used WordPress, Facebook and any other piece of software, the practice behind making it private is pretty simple.
Give it a name, a private URL and a profile photo and cover image. Eventually you can get pretty ninja and use instructions in the group cover photo.
Offer new members some epic stuff
Rule one. You should reward people who sign up with something cool. Offer a Light Bulb Moment or a Lead Magnet to anyone who signs up. You can create specific CTA buttons within a group and make sure that new members are given some cool valuable stuff right away.
Pin a post with rules and free download
You can pin a post to the top of the group. Make sure to have some rules and an introduction setting up the group. Feel free to use our one below (but don’t just copy and paste – be smart and change the names at least).
READ ME FIRST!
Hello all and new members! Welcome to WP Marketing Advice. This group is for WordPress based businesses. We want to help each other with lead generation, conversion, sales and marketing for our own businesses and for our customers.
A few things to keep in mind:
–> Keep it respectful. Everyone is here to learn and grow.
–> No pitching to the group. We have a strict ‘no shopping for customers’ policy in the group.
–> Keep it on topic. We reserve the right to remove posts based on off-topic content or offensive content.
–> Most of all… Enjoy!
Be specific, share cool stuff (your own posts are fine as long as it’s relevant!) and ask questions!
Mike
Invite your current database
Shoot an email out to your current subscriber base. No need to have a long email, just include the following-
Hello
Reason for setting up the group (a problem you’re solving for example)
We’re even giving away [blank] if you join the group (the free download you’re offering via the CTA button on the group)
Click here to join
Sign off
p.s. We love people asking questions and getting involved. This group is specifically set up for [blank] so make sure you make use of the experts in the group.
Add an email to your automation inviting leads and customers
Take the same email above and change some of the copy (or not!)
Then, put this group invitation email in your marketing automation. Get subscribers to join your Facebook group and make sure they get your content.
Post content to the group and ask for comments
Post blog posts, videos and other stuff and ask people what they think. Not necessarily asking for comments on the structure or style, but the problem/point you’re raising.
I.e. If your group is full of e-commerce businesses owners, post how they need to advertise on Facebook and ask the question “does anyone here advertise on Facebook or have you tried it?”
Post ‘raw‘ content to the group
If you’ve got unfinished Light Bulb Moments or Lead Magnets, or blog posts, try posting them raw to the group. Ask for feedback and ask them if its something they’d read/use. If it’s positive, you know you can share it out to NON-members who are similar to your members.
Ask questions and provide answers
Ask questions about your industry and answer questions that other people ask. Make sure that you are seen as useful and experienced.
Get early adopters and make people admins
A few people will automatically start to flag spam (it happens) and be really interactive. Offer them the role of admin, they’re likely to take it because people love responsibility and POWER! MWAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!
Offer an EXCLUSIVE members group to customers
If you’ve got a fairly popular group, consider offering a group to ONLY customers. Only people who have bought from you get access to an exclusive and private group where they get access to you for one hour a day.
Offer the EXCLUSIVE MEMBERS ONLY group webinars
To the exclusive group, offer them monthly webinars on topics that they want. Cut up the recordings and use soundbites to offer to the other group. Make it obvious that becoming a customer has tons more value.
So there we go, how to set up a funnel within a private social group. Easy right? And it didn’t cost you a thing.
Am I mental? Does this make sense or am I talking a load of old social media bollocks. If you want to use a funnel like this, are you going to or have you got one already? Let me know in the comments below.
If you want a look at a $100 000 marketing funnel plan, you can download exactly that – below.
