Every day we get questions about mass-adds, loops, and running ads here in the Suite.

“How do some people have groups with 100,000 people in them?! And they're killing it online!”

Ads will absolutely grow groups. Incentivized product giveaways will grow groups. Both methods require out-of-pocket expense (ads dollars or product) to keep using.

Here's what will eventually happen: You will have a big group, and low engagement – which means Facebook is showing your content to proportionally fewer people in your group. And this is simply highlighted by the size of your group. In smaller groups, the engagement looks tiny, simply because of your base member count.

“But Brenda, how are those big groups getting big engagement then?”

Are they?

Low engagement can be hidden in big groups. Look at their engagement relative to group size. 100 comments on a 10,000 person base, is 1%. 200 comments on a 25,000 person base is .8% engagement. Are they selling stuff? Maybe. Is that *how* your want to sell stuff? Only you can answer that.

Facebook works on engagement. Algorithms work on engagement. If you want higher engagement, you need to focus on quality content that is more than just selling. I talk often about the 80/16/4 math. 80% of any community will never engage, ever. 16% are your lurkers, and 4% are your active community. If you're averaging 4% or better, you're doing just fine.

So there is no easy answer here. We have 95k people here in the Suite. I sell stuff in this group – it's my business. But this is also community. I believe (and have staked my entire career and reputation on) that if you focus on COMMUNITY, you will have a better chance of reaching higher engagement rates. And the fact that our overall monthly engagement (likes/comments) across all posts here in the Suite averages around 18% proves that.

There are many methods out there, and different schools of thought that teach different methods for group growth. We teach organic growth, authentic engagement, and relationship based value. Solid hostess strategies, and social funnels from online and in-person contact points.

Ultimately only you can decide if you want to build a relationship-based business. Because guess what – incentivizing someone to add people to your group is not relationship based. You are forcing your content into someone's newsfeed or notifications against their consent. Literally the opposite of respecting the relationship first. (And sort of the in person equivalent of dragging a stranger off the street and into your house.)

Quality over quantity, in my opinion. But as always, you do you – based on all facts and info, so you can make the best decisions for the short and long term goals of your business.

#EmpowerSocial