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We’re all in Facebook groups based on specific communities we’re a part of or to help solve a problem we have, but does that mean that there are too many communities out there for us to start our own? In today’s episode, I’ve brought on the expert, Elizabeth Henson, to break down any barriers of hesitation that are holding you back from starting your own Facebook group!

Listen in as we discuss how to create a niched Facebook group, build an engaged audience, and make sure you’re reviewing the numbers to know what’s working for your business!

Elizabeth Henson is a Community & Leadership Pro who helps business owners grow and scale Facebook Groups and Beyond. She has helped 6 & 7 figure business owners grow and maintain groups through her 5 Step Community Management Framework.

Get to Know Elizabeth (1:02)

Are there too many Facebook groups? (4:05)

Niching Down for Your Facebook Group (5:04)

Optimizing Your Facebook Group (6:02)

• Title of Your Group
• First Sentence of Description
• Questions to Enter the Group

Problem Solving w/ Your Freebie & Facebook Group (8:11)

Advice for Engagement in Facebook Communities (11:33)

Reinventing Engagement in Your Facebook Community (13:55)

Prioritizing Social Media Platforms Based on Numbers (16:18)

Unpopular Opinion (20:55)

Links

facebook.com/groups/thecommunitybuilder

Instagram.com/elizabeth.henson

elizabethhenson.co

FREEBIE – bit.ly/thecommunitybuilder

Review the Transcript:

Laylee Emadi
Welcome to so here’s the thing where we share candid conversations that lift the veil on what it takes to find success, even if that means sharing a few unpopular opinions. I’m your host, Laylee Emadi, grab some coffee or cocktail and let’s get real. Hey, friends, I am so excited about today’s episode because I personally know I have a ton of questions on this topic. We are going to be chatting with the incredible Elizabeth Henson. She’s a community and leadership Pro, who helps business owners grow and scale Facebook groups and beyond. I am pumped about this because my Facebook group needs a little injection of love and attention. And I know it, she’s probably going to tell me like Get it together, we’ll find out. But she’s helped six and seven figure business owners grow and maintain groups through her five step community management framework, and I am pumped to get to talk to her today. Elizabeth, I’d love to have you tell us like how you got into this a little bit about your entrepreneurial journey and all the good things?

Elizabeth Henson
Oh, my gosh, well, I know that we are very similar because my journey started with photography, probably almost nine years ago. And I was a teacher at the time, you know, freshly married, and I kind of fell in love with the whole idea of working for myself. So quit teaching.

Laylee Emadi
That’s my exact journey. That’s fine. We’re made for each other. We’re made for each other meant to be what did you teach? So I started with high school English, and I ended up teaching high school dance and coaching the dance team for years and years after that.

Elizabeth Henson
Oh my gosh, so I taught high school art and coached field hockey. So okay, so we’re twins, it’s fine. We’re twins. Yes. And I, I was in the school system for probably nine years total. And then, you know, unfortunately, it didn’t take very much money to be able to make what I was making, teaching, taking pictures. So I became a full time photographer and built my photography business to six figures kind of experimented with having a team and then started educating other photographers, but realized very quickly that I didn’t really love teaching people how to use a camera. But I loved that moment, when they realized, like, I can make a living doing what I love, like that was what fueled me, and kind of led me into business coaching on the side. And I started business coaching all types of creatives. And, you know, then I had to figure out well, what makes me different than every other business coach. And it was definitely community and leadership. And then I had to get even more specific because people just don’t wake up in the morning, saying, I need community and leadership. But they do wake up in the morning saying my Facebook group fallen asleep. A Nobody answered my questions on my Facebook group. So that is the headache that I ended up being able to solve on a daily basis. But what I’m truly doing is teaching people grow their Facebook groups with community and leadership skills. So that I like the lightning, lightning speed version of how I landed here.

Laylee Emadi
That’s amazing. And wow, like talk about kindred spirits, because so much of your story aligns with mine. And I love that. And I can’t believe I didn’t know that before. So this is exciting. Well, this is great, because I feel like every time I talk to somebody who is an educator or wants to be an educator, or even is just an entrepreneur, who has a Facebook group for their clients, I mean, people have Facebook groups for everything. People inundate me with questions about it. And I’m going to be honest, and this is what I tell them. I have no idea like I can give you some starting places to go. But like, aside from being consistent and being active, like those are always my go to pieces of advice for this. I’m like I really I don’t know, let’s let’s talk about it. So I guess the first question I have for you is something that I get asked a lot and that I I really don’t know a great answer to. What do you say to somebody when they ask you like, Are there too many Facebook groups out there already? Like, what’s the point of me starting one?

Elizabeth Henson
Oh, my gosh. So I would say Well, is there a particular Facebook group that you know, that you love being a part of? Right, like, who cares how many of something there are, there’s always going to be the ones that like stand out to certain people. You know, same thing with photography, there’s a million photographers, right, like, but we figured it out, we figured out how to still make a living.

Laylee Emadi
Yeah, totally. I love that. And so like, I guess tacking on to that question. I get a lot of people wondering, you know, like, I want to start a Facebook group. I know I want to have a community involved, but like, what community do I really lean into? And I know this is like, kind of person to person. It’s gonna vary but like, a lot of people I work with are either budding educators, they’re wanting to become educators and they’re like, do I do a more generic group? Do I really like niche down and get specific with my community? What’s your advice there like in terms of trying to determine And what type of group to start and like what audience to attract?

Elizabeth Henson
That’s a really good question. And I think, you know, 10 years ago, it was really easy to just start a group for the sake of starting to group, or to have what I call like a community for the sake of community. That’s a lot harder to do now. So I always try to tell people to create a community that solves a problem. So whatever their goal is to sell, right, whether it’s a product or a service, everybody’s selling or doing something in their business, what is one problem that they can solve that they can really build that group around so that when people join the group, they’re getting immediate wins that are in that pillar of information that leads to what they’re buying? Or what they’re selling? So like, the Facebook group is a bandaid, but they’re selling that long term solution?

Laylee Emadi
Oh, I love that. That’s super interesting. Okay, so you’ve talked us into starting a Facebook group. Now we have one now what?

Elizabeth Henson
Okay, so there are like some things that you want to optimize in your Facebook group. And I have examples of this in the Facebook group. It’s also in my course, it’s everywhere. It’s no secret. But the main things that you want to look at just to set yourself up for success, from the very beginning, are the title of your group. So 10 years ago, we used to always just make the group with our name, Elizabeth, amazing community, right. But now, Facebook actually has like SEO capabilities. So you want to name your group, something that people are actually going to search, the description, the first sentence of that description is going to be what shows up in that search. So that first sentence is super important as well. And then the questions to enter the group are like a non negotiable for me. And that is like so you can get to know the people that are trying to join so that you can screen because there are a lot of like bots and weirdos that are like Facebook group soliciting now. And you can also connect your freebie with the group. So those are like the three main things I tell people to optimize. Obviously, also, you want your group to be private, but not hidden. But aligning the freebie so that you’re solving that problem has really been what I see to be the game changer, because I call it like you’re hitting them with the boom, bam, because that you can you can promote the freebie or you can promote the group, but they’re both taking them to the same place. Right. And if you’re creating content in the group around your freebie, you don’t have to think about content, you just given them a freebie that’s like 20 ways to bla bla bla. And then you have 20 topics that you can talk about in your group.

Laylee Emadi
Oh, I love that. That’s so smart. And so what would you tell somebody who is like, Okay, I’ve got the group, I’m ready to go, I need to create a freebie. Now this is obviously could be its own conversation. I feel like there are so many ways to like, choose an opt in topic or like build out a freebie that really aligns with whatever it is that you want to teach. But do you have like any quick tips on on specifically making this something that would attract the Facebook group? And vice versa? Like you said,

Elizabeth Henson
Yeah, so just like solving that problem? So like, what is the headache that your people have? You know, so for me is like lack of engagement in their Facebook group like that is the thing that I hear the most often is that people are posting in their group and nothing is happening. Right. So that was an easy like headache for me to start with, with the freebie. So because I had been working in all these other groups. I was like, I have a list of questions that I know work. So let me just put those in a freebie. So I think anytime your freebie really solves a problem, then, and it’s the same problem that you’re wanting to kind of solve or build off of inside your community, then you can pair those two together really well.

Laylee Emadi
I love that super smart. And also like I feel like people overcomplicate things in that manner. And they’re just think like, oh my gosh, this has to be like a really extreme extensive, like, ebook or something. And how do you feel about that? Like, because you said, you know, throwing together you know, like, 20 or something like, can it be just that simple?

Elizabeth Henson
Yes, it really can. And honestly, one of the first freebies I ever created, like, years ago was just like 20 networking tips, right? I was like, trying to be like the go to expert on networking. And it wasn’t even like pretty at the time, like, you know, and now my freebies all like pretty jazzy. But it didn’t matter. Like people still loved it. It still had the information like who cares if it’s a frickin Google Drive document like at the end of the day, people just want the information so I always say like, do what feels really light and easy for you, but still provides impact to the people that you’re trying to help.

Laylee Emadi
Yeah, absolutely. I feel like the content is obviously the most important part but so many people get stuck on you know, the appearance or the way that it all is gonna come together. So over complicating it doesn’t really help anyone. I love that and I love your freebie. I went and took a look Got it earlier today, and it was great. And I know that we are going to include it in the show notes. But you have a bitly for it, I believe, right?

Elizabeth Henson
Yeah. Bitly slash the community builder love it, or you can just like look for the community builder on, you know, Facebook, it’s no biggie, it’s, it’s all one in the same, which is what makes it so easy. And this was a little bit accidental when I was thinking about what to name my group. And I don’t know why, like, I used to just overcomplicate things, like you said, and like, try to make everything Cute, right? And I was like, I’m gonna stop being cute. And I’m just gonna call it the community builder. Like, that’s what I do. Why am I going to think you know, into it, but like, now I get to actually introduce myself and say, like, I’m the community builder.

Laylee Emadi
I like it kind of makes sense. Pure authority right there. And it totally makes sense. It makes sense. And it really just puts you in that position of like, this is what I do. It’s, there’s no question about it, which I think is awesome.

Elizabeth Henson
Yeah, yeah, Facebook groups just makes it a little bit easier for people to see how building a community can help their business. Because it’s like, it’s no secret that Facebook groups are a good tool for your business. So yeah, it just really helped like kind of zero in on it just then just being a community builder. Like that wasn’t quite sexy enough.

Laylee Emadi
I love it. Okay, so let’s let’s kind of dive into what you mentioned, was something that a lot of people who come to you with issues on is engagement or like, a group falling silent, maybe what advice do you have in that in that room? And I’m sure you have a lot. So you can just pick a couple of UI?

Elizabeth Henson
Yeah, I mean, I think the easiest thing is that we just have to think about Facebook groups differently. It’s like walking into a room. And it’s not like Instagram, where you want this really like long form, you know, caption, like people are on Facebook, and they’re in their groups, because they have something to say, and they want to feel seen and feel heard. Whereas like people on Instagram, or sometimes just kind of like scrolling, right? Like they’re not really looking to engage or interact, where when they enter a group, they are in there for a reason, like, so the easiest thing, which takes a little bit of like switching our brain is that Facebook groups are a great place to ask questions, like, just leave your content at the door, like just ask questions. And then what I’m finding is that as people are answering the questions, then you get to have these like long form conversations and insert your expertise. But if you can just start with like Facebook’s big, ugly textboxes and just say, what’s one thing you overcame? This week? Your people are gonna answer because it’s quick, and it’s easy for them to speak about themselves. Because that’s all humans want to do. We’re selfish creatures, we just want to talk about ourselves.

Laylee Emadi
Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking when you were talking about that. I was like, oh, people love answering questions, because it just gives them an outlet and a place to say like, this is what I’m going through. This is what’s going on for me and, and also even ask for help. And then like you said, have somebody come in and really share their expertise would be amazing. Okay, so I know you mentioned asking questions, and I think your freebie has prompts on some some good conversation starters. But let’s say that maybe, okay, I can use myself as an example, actually, here. I love to do that. And my listeners know, like, I’m the first to be transparent or self deprecating, and be like, Ooh, this is me, I have a Facebook group. That is great. I love it. It’s one of my favorite communities. But what I found is that after I have kind of fallen off of being consistent and showing up in there, once I show back up, it’s really hard to build up the same amount of interaction that there used to be, and it’s like the same people interacting over and over again. So what’s your advice there to get more people to see, I feel like people aren’t even seeing my posts anymore. So like, what’s a good way to like, I don’t know, give a little kickstart or a little like CPR to my crew.

Elizabeth Henson
Yeah, we can talk about this from like, the algorithm like technical standpoint, and like, rather than, you know, engagement doesn’t measure happy, it doesn’t measure unhappy. But you can look at the little analytics on this side and look at your active members, because an active member is anyone who clicked the read more button who scrolled like anyone who’s actually like lurking or in the group is going to show up as an active member. And I think, in my experience, anywhere 40% or above is a really good number for active members. So you know, it’s kind of like let’s like reevaluate what a healthy Facebook group really looks like or feels like because if they’re not answering a question, it doesn’t mean that they’re unhappy or that they don’t want to, it might just be a question that we need to re evaluate what we asked or, you know, just continuing to show up because when we do drop off, we lose. I don’t like to use the word trust because I just don’t think it’s that serious. But like they’re just not conditioned to be peeking in your group on a regular basis anymore. On the other side, It’s kind of like, well, if it is the same people over and over again, like, why are we making that mean something like, it could just mean that those are your most loyal people. And the more we continue to serve those people, and you know from the our best version of ourselves, the more the other people are going to jump in, like, my live this morning, I think I had five people that were super engaged. But like, they were here for it. And I was like, That totally lifted up my energy. And now everyone that goes and watches the replay, they’re not going to be watching it saying like, this is a snooze fest, only five people watch, right? But they’re going to be reading the comments and like seeing all the interaction and all the things that happened, regardless of the number of people. And you know, I think that just positions us as somebody who truly cares when we show up, whether it’s one person or whether it’s 200 people.

Laylee Emadi
I love that definitely makes so much sense to me. Okay, and then I have one more question that I feel like, this is a hot debate in my in my DMs. I’m not gonna lie, Facebook groups like the like prioritizing Facebook groups, your Facebook page, Instagram, all the social media platforms? I have an opinion on this. But I want to hear yours first, like, where did things rank for you? Or do they?

Elizabeth Henson
So everyone’s answer is going to be different. But what’s going to separate the successful CEOs from like the dabblers, or the solopreneurs is like the successful CEOs know their numbers. So I’m in Facebook groups, because that’s where I get the most leads. So I knew if I was getting leads, being a Facebook group member and other groups, then hosting a Facebook group could have even more value. And I love Instagram, I think it’s super fun. But I’m just not getting the same amount of return on investment of my time there. So I think it’s going to be different for everyone. LinkedIn, I think, has huge potential for the work that I’m doing now. So I’m really trying to figure out how can I push the envelope and show up more on LinkedIn. And even if it’s not like a sexy and like the cool kids is Instagram, like I am to a very ROI driven point in my business where like, I don’t care. Right? Like, I’m not trying to keep up with the Joneses, I am following the data and analytics of my own business. And that’s what I would encourage everyone else to do. And then lean into what feels good, and what’s fun, but also what really moves the needle in your business.

Laylee Emadi
I love that definitely, definitely in alignment with my opinion. I mean, I feel the same way about YouTube, as you probably do about LinkedIn, like I looking at the numbers and the statistics and the data. I’m like, Okay, I’ve got to get on YouTube. I’m okay, I’m gonna do it. You know what I mean? And and I just know that if I’m driven by that ROI, I’ve got to go where the numbers tell me to go. So I love that. And I feel like it is a very different perspective than I think a lot of people are talking about right now. So or at least a lot of people in our, our sphere of influence. So I think that’s great.

Elizabeth Henson
Yeah, a lot of people because I’m asking a lot of questions about Facebook groups on the gram, and a lot of people are like, they’re dead. You know, and I’m, like, speak for yourself, I just made this much money over that, you know, like, speak your everyone’s audience is different, though. Like, it’s not that my audience isn’t on Instagram. I just don’t feel like they’re on Instagram to really have conversations. And if I’m a community builder, like, I want to be in a room, I want to be meeting people. You know, I’m not just here for likes and comments, like I want to actually get to know people. So, you know, it just works out better for the nature of the work that I do. But you have a point with YouTube, I have a client that I’ve been doing a lot of YouTube research, and they’re always on you, too.

Laylee Emadi
Yeah, 100%. I mean, it’s, it’s just one of those things where it seems like such a beast, but it’s like, that’s what the numbers are telling me to do. So I’m gonna have to lean in and listen. But I love I also love that you said that you’re seeing that kind of, I guess, interaction on Facebook is very different than the one on Instagram. And I will speak to that, like, I know that even though my community on Facebook is is small, but mighty, like I love my Facebook group, even in the times where I’m not super active, because I know that it’s a place where people can come and ask questions, and get help. It’s no secret that I work with a lot of educators in the creative industry. And I feel like those educators need a space to be able to ask questions that they’re not going to be able to ask on Instagram on a public platform, they’re going to want to do it in a private space or more private space, and feel safe about it and know that like they’re going to get that feedback. So I definitely can see when people are like, Oh, Facebook is dead, but it’s definitely not because I just there’s a place that replaces it yet.

Elizabeth Henson
Totally. And I think you have such a good point too, that like people are going to come where they feel safe to ask those questions and to feel seen and heard and to like lean into your expertise and that’s what they’re doing in groups all over Facebook. So Like think about the potential if you know you can you as in the people listening can start hanging out in Facebook groups where people are talking about your, the problem that you solve. So Facebook groups have problem aware people who are saying I need help with XY and Z. And what if you’re the person that solves that, right? That’s so much harder to do on Instagram, like, you’ve got to go down, like hashtags, and, you know, whatever. But Facebook groups like people are actually raising their hand saying, I have a headache, right? And if we find the right groups, we can be the person to constantly help those people that need us.

Laylee Emadi
Oh, I love that. Oh my gosh, like, if that’s not incentivizing, I don’t know what it is. So that’s incredible. Okay, I would love to ask you my our signature question here. That’s how we wrap up every episode. What is your unpopular opinion on Facebook groups or communities and just, you know, you can be a sassy as you want.

Elizabeth Henson
I love it. So this one never gets old for me. And I know that because of the nature that I work that I do. But I do not believe in this trend of, like, unfollow everyone on Instagram, because it’s giving you self doubt or comparison or not making you feel good. Now, you know, I think that toxicity and like politics and all that is a different conversation, but I mean, like, real people, right? Like, like you and I have shared this time together. Like if I was to go and unfollow you on Instagram, because your stuff made me jealous. That’s not That’s not a huge issue. That’s an issue with myself. And I speak from this from a place of like that. I mean, this is this is like, I get super passionate about it, right? Because it’s from a community building. And when my daughter’s I have two daughters and a son, if they’re like Mommy, like, I’m so jealous of Sally, like she’s always getting Student of the Month. I can’t be like, Oh, it’s cool. Just delete her just unfollow her, like, no, she has to sit next to Sally in class. So I’m like, I want to show my kids like, how to sit there and be proud of that person and be happy for that person and celebrate other people’s successes. And when there’s this movement of just unfollow people, if it’s not good for your mental health, you’re not solving the problem. Like you’re just like putting a blanket over the actual problem. So that’s what I get super passionate about is treating people on the internet the same way we would in real life, right? Because if I walk into a room, I’m not just going to be like unfollowed unfollowed unfollowed, you’re going to shake everyone’s hand and like, show them love. So we should be doing the same thing on the internet. That is my unpopular opinion.

Laylee Emadi
I love it. I’m here for it, especially because I mean, if we’re talking about community building, like you said, it’s really hard to build a community if you’re like, unable to handle people doing the same thing as you or maybe succeeding at a different rate than you. So I think that’s amazing. I actually completely agree with that. I think of course, there are exceptions, every rule, like you said, there’s like times where it’s, it’s a very different situation. But in general, if it’s literally just like, you and I are doing the same thing, and I can’t handle it, I would much rather befriend you then turn, you know, turned a blind turn a blind eye, because that comparison is not going to go anywhere, just by me hitting on follow.

Elizabeth Henson
Yeah, and just being like, self aware enough to realize, like, this is actually a problem within myself, you know, like, this isn’t, this isn’t I shouldn’t just delete Sally because I’m having these insecure comparison feelings, right? Like that’s, that’s a self awareness thing. And you know, I think someone that you’ve never met or like some company on the internet, like different story, but like people that you’ve broken bread with, or, you know, met at a networking event, like, just treat them the same online, just like you would in real life. And that’s how you keep people interested in you and attracted to you. And if you create spaces where people feel seen and heard, then they’re going to continue to come back to you. So when we do things like that we’re actually like, cutting off the outside world, and not inviting people in, right? Like it’s law of attraction. So if I’m like, like, I can’t follow them. Like, that’s actually the opposite of like, attracting more people to our business.

Laylee Emadi
Love that. Yeah, definitely on the nose. Well, I have loved having this conversation with you. And I’d love for you to share like a little bit about where people can find you a little bit about your course. All the things because I know that a lot of people listening to this are probably like I need Elizabeth’s Help Help me oh my gosh,

Elizabeth Henson
yeah. So the best thing to do if you guys love this like topic of conversation is just to join the community builder on Facebook. You can go to groups and just search the community builder. There’s a bitly the community builder with my freebie, all the things I’m on Instagram at Elizabeth dot Henson. I love hanging out over there. Like I said though, when you see me go missing it means I’m busy but no I’m pretty good at showing up over there. And that’s really fun. And then my website is just Elizabeth Henson, co not calm but co But yeah, the community builder. And then the course yes, we are just wrapping up our founding member launch. It’s called the community growth lab. And it is my five pillar, I call it my messy framework because it’s not a one size fits all. It’s a create your own tailor made system for your community. But that is perfect for the solopreneur. Or if you have a team and you’re hiring a Community Manager, you can literally just like set it and forget it and buy the course and they can watch it and you’ll be good to go.

Laylee Emadi
That’s amazing. And of course, we will link all of that information in our show notes as well. So for our loyal listeners out there, you know exactly where to find all the things but Thank you, Elizabeth. It’s been so great to chat with you.

Elizabeth Henson
Oh, this was so fun. Thank you so much

Laylee Emadi
for show notes and resources mentioned on today’s episode head to so here’s the thing podcast.com And if you’re enjoying the podcast, I’d love to read your review in iTunes. Thanks so much for listening, and I’ll catch you in the next episode.