Wanna know how to use Facebook Groups to do market research for a small business?
I can’t stress enough how important it is to do your due diligence before creating products, services, and/or content.
If you have products and/or services that you have not resonated with your audience, then it’s probably because you have created them without actually doing market research.
Whether you have an audience or you don’t have a customer base, you can use this tutorial to do market research and it’s free so . . . why not, right?
Side note: If you prefer to watch the video tutorial, be sure to take a look at the video below with me explaining everything.
Log into Your Personal FB Account
Starting from the home page of your personal Facebook account, look for ‘See all groups’. It’s listed on the left-hand side.
Click on ‘See all groups’.
This takes you to the ‘Groups’ page.
There are a couple of different ways to search for different topics and keywords within your niche. Both options work so it’s really up to you.
How to Use Facebook Groups to do Market Research for a small business
Search Method #1
Use the Search Feature Directly on the ‘Groups’ Page
By using this search option, it’s going to bring up different groups and posts within the groups that you’re already a member and groups that you are not.
Once you click on ‘all groups’ you’ll see the list of all the groups you’re a member of.
I’m currently a member in over 300+ Facebook groups. . . I know.🤦🏾♀️ They are all either for personal or business use.
Just know that you don’t need that many.
There is no set number however, you want to find Facebook groups where your target audience/ideal customer avatar hangs out. You want to ensure these groups are engaged (meaning the members are actively posting within the group).
Maybe start off by finding about 5-10 groups that fit within the criteria.
Using Facebook Groups to do Market Research
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What’s the criteria for finding Facebook groups?
So you are gonna want to make sure that . . .
- Your target audience hangs out in the groups.
- The group is active and engaged.
- There’s enough information within the group that you can use within your niche.
If the Facebook groups don’t fit within these elements, then it’s a waste of time – don’t even bother.
As an example, let’s say I’ve seen many things moms struggle with, mom guilt and moms being burnt after often a problem. So I’m going to choose a group where mompreneurs hang out.
Using Search Method #1
Using the search feature from the ‘groups’ page. There are filters you can also use if you choose to.
Filters Provided
- All groups – show all groups and posts that mention the topic/keyword that you’re searching for. These will be a list of groups and posts that you’re already a member of [visit] and groups that you’re a member of [want to join].
- Groups – only show the groups related to
- Posts – only show posts
Because the objective is to find out what it is that your target audience is struggling with or what they need/want. You want to find out . . .
- What questions do they have?
- What are they saying?
- How do they feel?
- What do they like?
- What do they not like?
To do this, you’re gonna choose the posts with the group that are on the topics/keywords you are looking to collect information about.
Trust me when I tell you . . . This is an absolute gold mine!
You’re gonna pay close attention to all of the comments that are relevant and make sense.
Write down all the information that you get and use that to create your products, services, and/or content.
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Do you need help with figuring out who your ideal customer avatar/target audience is? . . . Feel free to book a FREE 15-minute discovery call so that we can get you together.
How to Use Facebook Groups to do Market Research for a small business
Search Method #2
Use the Search Feature Within Each Group
For this search method, go back to the ‘groups’ home page.
Instead of using the search feature, I’m going to pick a specific group.
For this example, I’m gonna choose Mama Turned Mompreneur… Balancing Motherhood & Entrepreneurship.
I recently joined this group because I’m a mompreneur.
You can see her group currently only has 60 members – it’s a new group, so she’s still growing it.
Remember, you need the members to be engaged within the group.
Do you see people commenting and/or posting on a regular, consistent basis?
Once you’re in the group, look for the search icon.
Type in your keyword/topic. For this example, I’m using ‘mom guilt’.
You’ll then see a list of all the posts about mom guilt. Look for comments that are relevant and provide you with the data you need.
Next Steps
Using Facebook groups to do market research for your small business is a great way to ensure that you are creating and offering things that actually sell. I know you probably don’t want to do it but you don’t wanna skip this step.
If you need help with determining who your target audience/ideal customer avatar is please feel free to schedule a free 15-min discovery call.