So if you didn't know I moderate groups on Facebook. Quite a few of them I moderate are not blogging related, but a few are. One of the best ways for bloggers to have interaction in to build community is to join a Facebook group.
As Facebook groups are becoming more popular and groups are becoming bigger (as in 18+K or 32K people) there comes a certain level of responsibility for the blogger in terms of how they interact online. In one of the groups, I have moderated, we have daily threads that bloggers can participate in. This enables the promoting of what you do and blog about but it is also the supporting of others. And it is really about supporting each other more than anything.
The world wide community that Facebook allows creates some amazing results. If we all follow some quite simple tips, Facebook groups are and will be that much more of a success!
Let's go over some of these tips for you right here.
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No, not in an existential way! Ha ha!
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Step one You click the arrow at the top right of the post.
Step 2 When that comes up hit "save post".
Step 3 Go to your settings on your mobile or go home on your web and click save. This is most likely the hardest step for people because they don't know where to find it. On the image that you see below, that is on a mobile. It's going to be under the three bars for you.
But if you go on a web browser you will see that it will be on the homepage, not your Facebook profile. It will be on the left side on your web browser. If you go down to where your saved events and post are.
Step four is clicking on the saved post that you need. You can see I myself have several. It gives me the dates and the post title so I can easily be able to click it then go to that post.
This is extremely important and I can't stress enough especially if you're doing multiple threads a day. In most groups, not finishing threads means that you get kicked out of the group and sometimes blocked so you can't even get back in if you wanted to. Some groups give you warnings before you are kicking out. So, it's best that you pay attention to the threads you are apart of.
In fact, I have an admission to make… That when I first started out as a blogger I didn't know that you could save the post and I ended up not being able to find that thread again and I got kicked out of the group. So I was extra vigilant about making sure that I kept on top of my post follow through. Saving a post is something I recently learned. So, in essence, I'm saving you from learning the lessons I had to learn.
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#2 Be Respectful to Others in the GroupHow to Boost Your Engagement in Facebook Groups— Via Bella (@Via__Bella) August 25, 2017
➡️ https://t.co/oXpXxtAXpP ⬅️#Facebook #facebookgroups #bloggers #bloggerstribe #tips pic.twitter.com/1TRaYYGE1P
Regardless of other members, or the admin, you need to be respectful. A little respect goes a long way. Just because it is an online community, does not permit the license for disrespect.
A lot of people forget that there are actual human beings on the other side of the computer. If you want them to actively engage with you in a positive way, you must be respectful to them.
If you are a blogger and you're doing this to promote yourself that's fine but there is a certain level of etiquette just as if you were building a business. For many bloggers, it is their business. So you need to be respectful of the people that you are engaging with.
We often times forget that there are other people on the other side of a computer. And this is incredibly dangerous because we let down our social and cultural boundaries when it comes to communication.
In some ways, when we get upset online we feel it is a free way to take out all the frustrations that we have even if they're unrelated out on someone we do not know.
When you're in a Facebook group for bloggers often times there in multiple groups and so if you're not listening to one group or your disrespectful one group often times other bloggers will see that and I'll see you in other groups. So please keep that in mind when you are yelling or being disrespectful to members or to admin.
Admin isn't paid so it is extra important that you are respectful of the people that admin that group because often times they are spending hours are their day adminning your group.
#3 Don't Spam!
I don't like to eat Spam and I don't like to see you spam!
If you spam you are giving yourself a one-way ticket to being removed banned and blocked from a Facebook group. Don't be stupid.
I'm not talking about accidentally not understanding if for that particular group it is spamming or not to do your blog post separately from threads. That's not the kind of spam I'm talking about.
When it's blanket spam, admins will have no problem just removing you because then you can either be a robot or you just have really poor taste. You aren't looking for a community you are looking to spam.
#4 Communication
As an admin, it's incredibly important to have the members be able to communicate with me.
Don't underestimate the understanding that an admin will have if you are sick or your computer is down or there's a funeral or whatever your issue may be. We are human beings and we have things come up in our lives so we completely understand.
However, do understand that if you consistently have issues it's going to be a problem but most people don't and they have something come up every once in awhile: We are more than understanding of that.
#5 Leave Quality Comments (if a comment thread)
People notice- and this is a community. The person on the other side is NOT a robot. They are trying to build community with like minded people. So treat other bloggers as you would yourself!
You'll see from the picture below that it is incredibly crucial to not only read the post and make relevant comments but to leave good comments.
If you leave two-word comments it is obvious that you haven't read it. That will quickly piss off other members of the group and you will be called out for it. For some, this is just as bad as lying about commenting altogether.
That being said, small comments are fine, if they relate-- but in a lot of groups, comments must be 6-15 words. So check your group's rules and adhere. The longer the comment- the better.
Also, grammar is important. Please don't use gr and number 8 to spell the word 'great.' Because then you're telling the poster that their post is not worth your time to add two extra letters to an English word that already exists.
If you leave an engaging comment the reader notices but so does the poster. When I go back in and I have to come in on your post I'm going to remember that you left me a good blog post comment and I will do the same for you with extra effort. If you leave me a crappy post I will still read your post but I'm not going to leave a paragraph long response it's going to be 15 words or less because my integrity is important and making good quality comments.
Remember it looks bad on you too. Not just for other people who are in the group who see the kind of comments you leave for other people but also for people who come in and just read your comment on the post. They are going to be compelled to go to your blog and that's honesty.
#6 Help with the Group
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This doesn't necessarily mean you have to be an admin. But like in the group that I'm in if someone has an issue they tell me. If I know I can help. If I don't know I can't help. And then the problem gets worse and escalates.
The groups I moderate you are allowed to call out after a certain time period of people who don't complete a thread. This is actually extremely helpful when people do this as well because then it makes my job a lot easier than me having a spot check 7 - 15 thread a day.
Admins are not paid for what they do. It's completely volunteering and it's to help build a good strong community. So please respect that.
The everyone gets called out at some point or another so don't try to argue with other members. It's okay to get called out once in awhile as long as you're being communicative in the process
The everyone gets called out at some point or another so don't try to argue with other members. It's okay to get called out once in awhile as long as you're being communicative in the process
React, Comment or Share on Facebook!
When you first join your group don't join every single thread. I often suggest this to new members because if you overwhelm yourself with the threads and you're not used to the group you can easily put yourself in a position of getting caught behind and then getting called out.
Add one thread at a time to start with. This gets your name noticed and it also shows that you can complete What You Say You Will. This also gives you a taste of the community that you're in as every Facebook Community is completely different.
In these threads, there are rules. A lot of them just boil down to basic etiquette. And believe it or not these little things will help you tremendously in building a community around you online of bloggers around the world.
Don't add something to a thread without reading what the thread rules are. Too often people are busy link dropping and not realizing that they actually have to follow through and this easily gets to the point where you can get kicked out of a group. If you follow the rules and you come back and you finish or threat on time you are going to be much more successful in that group and be able to build a good strong community around you in your blogging world.
#9 Be Yourself
Don't try to compare yourself to other bloggers because it's incredibly easy to do so just as it would be a fashion industry. You being you is what got you started with your writing. So stick to being you and everybody's going to like who you are for who you are not what you're pretending to be.
#10 Make Friends and Have Fun
I have created it some awesome friendships and connections online with people in a very deep and real way. And it's all because I listen to their stories I commented and I gauged with them on a personal level. Both as bloggers and as people.Genuine friendships out of these groups come from being very incredibly supportive of each other. We can laugh and we can talk about hard stuff at the same time. It’s freedom that blogging can give you some times. And that freedom we've gotten to know each other pretty well. Not just now writing styles but then we developed friendships out of them.
If you, find this helpful, please share!
Admins, I hope this is helpful!
Admins, I hope this is helpful!
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