52: Facebook Groups Weren’t Working- What I’m Doing Instead

The Facebook Group Dream That Died

Have you spent a lot of time in Facebook groups over the last five, 10 years?

And when I started my own Facebook group, my hope and goal was that I was gonna have this amazing community and I was gonna be able to share my knowledge and expertise, and we would chat and people would ask questions and everyone would get to know each other, and it was quite the dream.

What Went Wrong?

So it felt like I was talking at people, not with them. No conversations were happening and honestly it just started sucking the life and joy out of all of it.

And that's when I knew I was gonna have to pull away.

Engagement dropped, and I'm not a big fan of the @everyone tagging because I know as someone who's scrolling, it gets annoying to me to see that unless it's something important, right?

My New Favorite Place: Skool

So this is what my episode today is about. I wanna talk to you about my new favorite place, and I've talked about it.

How I Discovered It

And I had been in a few Skool communities, mostly because I had purchased a course or a training from somebody, and that's where it was. It was housed on Skool.

I didn't really have any, I didn't know what it was. I knew that it was basically another place that I had to be to sign in. So as a consumer, it was kind of a pain, honestly.

But the more time I started spending in those areas, I started to realize how different it was. And oh my goodness, it grew on me and it just felt...

What I Found After a Month or Two

I found after spending a month or two in a couple different communities, I started to join a few more. It started to feel like what Facebook groups used to feel like, like fun,  people chatting and sharing and learning.

It just, it's so different and I kind of got hooked and that turned into me starting my own community.

Why Skool Feels Different

And it wasn't—what's interesting is it wasn't the features because I'm still learning the features on that platform—but it's the feel and the culture that has been created on the platform is community first.

That is the culture. It's all about community and they reward engagement and not just fake likes and you know, "oh, good post," you know, those kinds of things. But actual engagement.

The Best Parts:

• Things don't disappear after 24 hours - It's not like this nonstop feed
• You actually get to choose what you see
• There's no weird algorithm that you have to fight
• I'm not the only one showing up - I get on there and I'll say something and people are responding and replying and showing up when I do a meet and greet kind of thing

My Skool Community: Ads for Gen X Women (No Bro Marketing Energy

The name of it, which is Ads for Gen X Women and No Bro Marketing Energy. So that's what it's called.

Even if you don't wanna check out my community, you don't know what I'm even talking about, go have a look.

Ready to experience what community can feel like again? 

Come check out my Skool community!

Join my Free Skool community!

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Transcript

 Have you spent a lot of time in Facebook groups over the last five, 10 years? Holy cow. That is where I concentrated so much of my time and energy, and when I started my own Facebook group. My hope and goal was that I was gonna have this amazing community and I was gonna be able to share my knowledge and expertise, and we would chat and people would ask questions and everyone would get to know each other, and it was quite the dream.

Not only that, I used to spend a lot of my time in Facebook groups trying to meet people and connect so I could talk about my services and. Oh boy. All of that just has gone south. So it felt like I was talking at people, not with them. No conversations were happening and honestly it just started sucking the life and joy out of all of it.

And that's when I knew I was, I was gonna have to pull away. Now I wanna be clear. I am not blaming anyone, and I certainly don't think it had anything to do with the people that are on Facebook and hanging out in these communities and groups. I think, again, I don't wanna lay blame, but Facebook changed so much and.

The Problem with Facebook Groups

It turned into the algorithm not showing content to people, and I don't know if anyone even saw half the stuff I was posting and sharing, and I know a lot of you feel that way too. Engagement dropped, and I'm not a big fan of the, at everyone tagging because I know as, as someone who's scrolling, it gets annoying to me to see that unless it's something important, right.

Discovering Skool

So this is what my episode today is about. I wanna talk to you about my new favorite place, and I've talked about it. I've mentioned it before, and it is actually school, S-K-O-O-L. And I had been in a few school communities, mostly because I had purchased a course or a training from somebody, and that's where it was.

It was housed on school. I didn't really have any, I didn't know what it was. I knew that it was basically another place that I had to be to sign in. So as a consumer, it was kind of a pain, honestly. But the more time I started spending in those areas, I started to realize how different it was. And oh my goodness, it grew on me and it just felt.

What, what 

Why Skool Feels Different

I found after spending a month or two in a couple different communities, I started to join a few more. It started to feel like what Facebook groups used to feel like, like fun, and. Full of life and excitement and like-minded people depending on what group you're in and people chatting and sharing and learning it.

Community First Culture

It just, it's so different and I kind of got hooked and that turned into me starting my own community. And it wasn't. What's interesting is it wasn't the features because I'm still learning the features on that platform, but it's the feel and the culture that has been created on the platform is community first.

That is the culture. It's all about community and they reward engagement and not just fake likes and you know, oh, good post, you know, those kinds of things. But actual engagement and things don't disappear after 24 hours. It's not like this nonstop feed. You actually get to choose what you see and.

There's no weird algorithm that you have to fight, and finally I feel like I'm not the only one showing up. I get on there and I'll say something and people are responding and replying and showing up when I do a meet and greet kind of thing. And if you are not familiar with it, I highly encourage it. If you're feeling a little bit burnt out or not as excited by what Facebook groups used to be or what you were hoping they would be.

My Skool Community

Check it out. My community is, I love, I love the way I have built it. It's still very small. It's a work in progress. And the nice thing about it is it's coming together as a kind of a collaboration where. I am hoping that the members help me build it into something that that is for them truly. You know, what, what do you need?

What kinds of trainings and courses and live sessions do you want? And feedback and all and all of that. And my favorite part, my favorite part is. The name of it, which is Ads for Gen X Women and No bro Marketing Energy. So that's what it's called. And I will have a link in the show notes for you if you wanna come check it out.

And even if you don't wanna check out my community. You don't know what I'm even talking about. Go have a look. They even have, and, and I think this is when it became super popular, is they created a, a hobby plan so you could have your own community and it's only $9 a month, and you could essentially start teaching something you're passionate about, create your own community and start making money.

Closing & Call to Action

So, okay. Well thanks for being here and as always. I appreciate you. I'm Stacy Covitz This is the Facebook Ads Quick Tip podcast, and I will see you next time.