Are You Making These ‘Facebook Groups for Bloggers’ Mistakes?
When I stumbled upon the Facebook Groups for Bloggers world this past spring, MY MIND WAS BLOWN. There were literally hundreds of different promotion-based groups, and a lot of them had thousands of members.
I had to request an invite to a few of them and see what this world was all about.
Once I “got in”, it became very clear that some of these groups were not for the faint of heart. There were dozens of daily threads that you could join, but these came at a price.
Most of the threads are what they call “100% reciprocation”. That means if you drop a link, you had to reciprocate every single link in the thread. And some of these threads had over a hundred comments.
I learned very quickly (through trial and error) that some of these threads and Facebook Groups for Bloggers were not for me. Don’t make the same mistakes I did:
Don’t promote to the wrong audience
If you’re in a group with over 10,000 members, chances are a good chunk of the 10,000+ will be in a different niche and have a different audience than yours.
That’s not to say that your blog couldn’t be interesting to someone in a different niche than you, but I’m willing to bet that a travel blogger with no kids probably won’t find your parenting blog that interesting. And if that travel blogger is required to repin your blog post about parenting, their audience probably won’t respond well either.
These 100% reciprocation threads are a giant time suck. Time is money, invest it wisely.
Don’t let your bounce rate suffer
Remember that travel blogger I mentioned? Well they also dropped their link in the same comment thread you did and are now required to comment on your parenting post.
First of all, their comment will probably sound incredibly fake.
Second, do you think they’re going to get curious about what else you have to share and click around your blog? Nope. And there goes your bounce rate.
Keep your end goal in mind
What is your end goal in participating in these groups and threads?
Is it to boost your engagement? Find other like-minded bloggers and create a sense of community with them? Gain exposure for your blog?
Keep your end goal in mind every time you’re tempted to drop your link in a thread. If you do this, there will be no guilt or frustration associated with the time and effort you spend participating.
Through my mistakes, I’ve found 2-3 groups that I find incredibly beneficial to my blog. They’re in my general niche and they offer threads where it’s not 100% reciprocation. But, I’ve also found that I have yet to see a group that fits my particular broad niche: Creative Family Lifestyle Blog.
So… I created my own! If you write a blog that shares DIY and crafty tutorials with an occasional family and parenting post, I would love for you to join the Creative Family Lifestyle Bloggers Facebook group. There will be a daily thread (Monday-Friday) where we will share money-making tips, social media profiles, engage with each other’s posts, etc.
-JOIN THE CREATIVE FAMILY LIFESTYLE BLOGGERS FACEBOOK GROUP HERE-
Are you a member of any Facebook groups for bloggers? Which ones do you find most helpful? Have you made the same mistakes as me? Let’s chat in the comments below!
This is huge and something I’m just learning as a new blogger. It’s so easy to get distracted and pulled into Facebook groups, and it just sucks away the house. Good reminder!
It’s a HUGE time suck. But it can be a helpful resource if used correctly 🙂
I was shocked when I found out about blogging groups too! I like to use them for commenting on other’s blog posts, when you are allowed to choose which ones you want to comment on. I’ve found a lot of great posts this way, but I don’t like threads where you have to reciprocate to everyone! I think that just gets inauthentic. Great post!
https://hollyhabeck.com/2017/09/22/50-fall-blog-post-ideas/
Yes! Exactly! I have no problem leaving my links in threads like that because if people are actually interested in what you have to say, they will click over to your blog. Similar to having an RSS feed through Bloglovin’. Thanks for reading, Holly!
Totally agree about the follow/like/comment/share all groups. I participate in those very selectively. It’s easy to get bogged down sharing stuff you don’t care about.
The temptation of a follow for a follow is real!
Yep, I have made some of the same mistakes. I work a full time job and and trying to grow my business, I was told about some groups so I joined, it quickly got too time consuming, I would spend my weekend trying to reciprocating. So now I have backed away from participating as often and being more selective.
I fell into the same pattern Benita, but time showed what was truly worth it. Glad to hear you found a balance, too!
I did this, joined the bloggers promotion and realized in minutes this was a bad idea. I’m immediately deleted my posts and left the group. People who actually care are going to do the most for you website, not random people looking for 1000 pageviews from one link.
Exactly! And more times than not, I think there are more dishonest people in the groups than honest people and the honest people end up spending so much time and energy for not a big payback.
Hi Bre! I started blogging way back when linky parties and blog hops were a thing and I’ve been following your blog since then. 🙂 My blog’s been on a low for like 4 years after the 1st year it went out. When I started taking my blog seriously this year, I was shocked to see that there are actually Facebook Groups for Bloggers. The blogging world’s changed and the topography’s way different now. So I jumped in and joined almost EVERY group there is. Eventually got tired reciprocating. I NEVER join those FORCED reciprocation threads because I don’t think they’re good for the long run. But I don treat those threads as an avenue to discover new blogs to follow and meet new bloggers. I’ve gained some blogger friends because of some of the groups. 🙂
Hi Karla! You just made my night with your comment 🙂 You’re so right, things have changed DRAMATICALLY in the last few years. I think sadly link parties are out and FB groups are the new “it” thing. I’ve been keeping at it over the last 7 years and have had ebbs and flows for sure, but one thing remains the same. I love blogging for the community that it creates and I missed that! That’s what I hope my FB group will help bring back 🙂
It is definitely overwhelming! I love participating in groups where I’ve built friendships and community within my niche!
Some are so great! It just takes a bit of trial and error to find a healthy balance 🙂
This is so true! It’s amazing how the blogger world has evolved. Who would have thought that there’d be fb pages to help reciprocate?!
Tonya @ http://www.tonyamezrich.com
Right?! The blogging world is ever changing.
So far I’ve been lucky to find some groups that work well for me. I think your advice is spot on: find a couple that really work for you, or make your own, and forget the rest.
It takes some trial and error, but when you find the good ones it’s worth the effort!
These are the same things I ran into as well. Finding your perfect group and spending that precious time engaging with the right audience is definitely the crucial part of the facebook promotion process!
Agreed! Not all traffic is created equal 😉
Your post is right on target! It’s so important to reciprocate within your own niche. Would you mind sharing the three FB groups you found which are not 100% reciprocation? I’d greatly appreciate your kindness! 🙂
I have participated in FB groups that were the wrong fit. It always made me cringe seeing certain pins that I had to pin. I don’t waste my time with them anymore.
This is very true. I have left many FB groups because it was too much investment for too little (or the wrong kind of ) return.
That’s why from the start, I only participate in groups that fit my niche. Plus, I find motivation in seeing what other bloggers are doing. Community over competition!
These are great words of wisdom! I found out the hard way that sometimes you just have to find the right audience. My first group was a group of college food bloggers… after awhile I realized I don’t blog about food and I’m not in college anymore!
Such great tips! At first I jumped into EVERY thread, but then my actual blogging suffered. Fantastic idea to start your own group!
This is soooooo true! I was so overwhelmed when I started participating in Facebook groups.
I’ve always worried about my bounce rate in the groups! I only participate in ONE group, only because they’re very time consuming.