Why I don’t love Free Facebook Groups in a Sales Funnel

(Note: This is strictly my opinion, and like any opinion you should measure it for yourself. What makes one business successful may not be something that is an advantage to another business. At the end of the day, as an entrepreneur, you have to figure out what works for you and your business.)

Let me get down to the nitty gritty of why I personally don’t like to use Facebook groups in my marketing and sales funnels.

I don’t like free Facebook groups because:

1. I Don’t Like Free

Don’t get me wrong. I love helping business owners. It fires me up that creative people are generally the only ones on the planet who don’t charge often enough, don’t charge what they’re worth, underestimate their value, under charge, and do things for publicity and exposure. God gave all creative people talents to gain wealth. Monetize that and don’t work for free!

2. The Time

Free groups take a ton of time. I think entrepreneurs completely underestimate the amount of time it takes to really nurture a Facebook group and be present to take care of your people. That time is valuable and you end up giving your services away for free.

3. The Audience

They attract a totally different clientele. Think about the type of people who show up places for free. It’s the same difference between Walmart and Target shoppers. Sure, the numbers look good up front, but on the back side, they’re not the buyers you’re looking for. You want the loyal, diehard clients who will actually spend money, not the coupon clippers just out looking for the next deal and then they are gone.

4. Those Numbers don’t Matter

Big brands do not care how many people you can get in a free group. That is just reality. Companies only care about how many people you can get on your page and to open your emails. Facebook is the very best place for you to get free marketing for your business to grow your email list. The Facebook algorithm may only hit 10% of your people, but listen, with 320,000 followers, that’s still 32,000 people. If you are not already utilizing Facebook, you need to be.

5. The Algorithm Feed isn’t Better

Facebook groups don’t get any more visibility. It used to be that entrepreneurs were switching over to Facebook groups because they thought their group members would see ALL of their content and posts. And for a while that was true. But it’s NOT true anymore. Now they have to turn on notifications to see every post and there is still an algorithm-engagement game to play in groups.

6. No Ads Allowed

You can’t run Facebook ads in a group. Facebook Live is the key to Facebook. If I go live on Facebook and I’m talking about something I have for sale and then decide to put money in the form of an ad on that Facebook live video, it’s less than one cent per view.

7. Double the Work

Even if you can use your “free group” to sell your course, you will have to do a second Facebook group for your paid customers. It will be hard for you to determine what content should be published into the free group and what is for the paying group.. .and most importantly, asking yourself if that helps your retention.

8. Not an Easy Switch

If you start a free group and it grows and then you decide to launch a course and charge for it, you’re going to have a very hard time switching from free to paid. It’s a hard sell. Just start by charging what you’re worth.

I hope these 8 reasons will help you decide if starting a free group is worth your time and energy.  If you really want to up your game, I suggest diving deep into improving your Facebook engagement rates.  And I have some ideas for you HERE.

My Inner Circle can also help you grow your social media platform with monthly trainings and updated “What’s Working” advice. Get on the waitlist here.

Blessings,

Jen