👥 Should You Start a Facebook Group for Your Podcast? 🤷♀️
🤸♀️Podcast marketing: let's have some fun.🌈
Bonjour!
Rrrrrl quick: I was a student of Sally Herships at Radio Boot Camp years ago, and it was one of the best experiences I’ve had. Sally has moved the Boot Camp to a digital experience, and I’m going to be teaching a course on podcast marketing 101 on Monday, March 7 from 12-1:30pm EST. Sign up here! Hope to see your beautiful face.
And on with the show!
I’m not a big Facebook user, and I don’t usually encourage to get my clients to rely on it too much to increase downloads. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t good for your community. I wanted to know more about what these groups can do for a show, so I talked to Amber Gerardy Robinson, who manages the Facebook groups for Lemonada Media, including groups for:
She offered a lot of insight into what a Facebook group can bring your community, what it takes to maintain one, and the rules you should set as moderator.
What was the first Facebook group you started and why did you decide to start it?
The first group we started at Lemonada was the No One is Coming to Save Us group. The childcare crisis is impacting thousands of families and we felt like our listeners needed a place to connect, share and take action.
Do you have any tips for setting up a Facebook Group? Make sure rules are clear and at the forefront. We use these most of the time:
Yes, there are some group rules. They change over time, based on what we’re seeing within the group and how members are interacting with each other.
Support each other. Kindness is required.
We’re all in this together to create a welcoming environment.
No sharing unsubstantiated health advice
These posts are unsafe and will be deleted.
No posting images or videos of self harm wounds
No promotions, fundraisers, or spam
Give more than you take from this group. These posts will be immediately removed, and you might get banned.
Respect everyone's privacy
Being part of this group requires mutual trust. What's shared in the group should stay in the group.
Report rule-breaking
If you see a post or comment that violates our rules, report it to the admins immediately.
Think before you report
Don’t report posts or comments that aren’t breaking any rules just because you don’t like or agree with them.
Zero Tolerance
We do not allow: bullying, hate speech, discrimination, harassment, abusive words, illegal activity. Users who violate the zero tolerance policy will automatically be banned.
What kind of shows were born for a Facebook Group? Any that are not?
Three key components call for creating a successful Facebook Group:
Timeliness: Choose shows that are timely and impacting a large number of people (grief, child-care, self-care, domestic violence awareness).
Action oriented: the topic already has feet on the ground, activated and doing the work. For example, we partnered with so many grassroots organizations around No One is Coming to Save Us and Believe Her that both participated in the group and helped spread awareness to others.
Passion
What does it take to maintain a Facebook Group? How do you keep it going?
I would say it takes about 1 hour per week per show pending how active participants are.
Do you post links to new episodes in the Groups? Do you provide content?
We post conversational topics around episodes and hope folks listen then engage with the question.
Does leading a Facebook Group require a lot of moderation?
No, generally speaking the conversations happen naturally.
Do Groups drive downloads?
It’s really hard to measure this as there are many paths to download. However, many participants in our groups continually comment on episode specific content leaving me to believe several of the most active group members are listening on a continual basis. The number one goal of these spaces is interaction, community and action not necessarily downloads.
What do your listeners get out of the Groups?
Support, community and learning how to take action on a specific issue.
What does Lemonada get out of the Groups?
Our brand has always thought of community as a life raft to get through hard things.
How much growth do you see in the Groups?
Depends on the show but generally we see highest growth rates when a show is in season. Historically, our No One is Coming to Save Us group has grown the fastest. During the first season we were growing by about 300 people per week.
Do you think the Groups will still be active in a year? Two? Five?
Yes, especially as our society continues to move more important conversations online.
Also, Facebook has such a HUGE audience that without a doubt is the easiest way to grow an online group organically.
Let’s swap: Coming Soon!
A few of you reached out and gave me advice on turning my awkward list of shows into an actual searchable database. So that is in the works. Feel free to check out the opportunities we have now. (People are using this!) But stay tuned for more!
Have a great weekend!
xoxo lp