Facebook groups are an amazing way to promote your viral contest (or anything really), but the key is you got to do it in a way that’s not going to get you banned. Because if you just join 30 groups and just spam your contest, you’re going to get banned faster than you can say, “Enter my contest!”
Here’s a detailed explanation on how to do it WITHOUT getting banned. A lot of credit to Kim of RunnerCrate, who used this tactic very successfully for her giveaway.
Step 1: Find the Group and Make Sure it’s Active
There’s no point in posting in groups where the spammers have taken over. Find an active, legitimate group in your niche where people are actually helping each other. Don’t go for the groups where you see a bunch of people just posting links without much discussion, as these groups have gone to sh*t.
The simple way to do it is search for a keyword, for example, “runners” and then click on the groups tab.
Step 2: Post & Engage
Before you just post your giveaway, make sure you post & engage heavily with the members. This step needs to be done a week or so before your giveaway, so you can build some good karma in the community. Be super helpful and eager and show that you’re going to be a valued member of the community.
This goes a long way to impressing the admins. Don’t post any of your links at ALL during your first week or two, because admins can see that a mile away.
Step 3: Find the Admin, Befriend Them
Again, here’s a gif showing you how to find the admins of the group. Again this is from Kim’s RunnerCrate blog.
Take some time to get to know the admins. Most of the time, these guys are sharing a lot of content in their own groups. Try and engage with them if you can. Make it known that you’re a real person, not just some bot trying to spam Facebook groups.
Aaron Janx, a podcaster, uses groups extremely effectively. To befriend admins he does a public thank you to them. Here’s an example of how he thanks the admin of the Screw the 9-5 Facebook group, Jill Stanton.
Notice how in the post he never linked to his own content, but linked to the content of the group owners. Admins love this because it’s a testimonial to their work. You bet that Aaron now has free reign inside that Facebook group to subtly promote his own stuff. He also wrote a very long note in the Facebook group instead of a simple thank you. This kind of “sucking up” is key to making the admins love you.
Step 4: Ask the Admins to Share for You, with an Incentive
It’s 10x more powerful if the admin themselves shares your contest or giveaway.
If you REALLY want them to share it for you, I recommend giving them some kind of free gift as a bribe. Kim from RunnerCrate offered up free boxes in exchange for having them post her contest. It can work without the bribe if you ask nicely, but for the larger Facebook groups, this tactic could be a game changer for you.
And there you have it. That’s how you work the Facebook groups and get your contest shared without being spammy.
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