One question I often get is,
“How to do market research without getting kicked out of Facebook groups?”
Facebook groups are a great source for market research, if you are in the right groups and abiding by the community guidelines.
But, Facebook groups are also not ALWAYS the best place to do your market research. Nor is it the only place to do market research, as many people think.
If you have been banned from a Facebook group
The group may have specifically banned market research.
The solution is: be subtle. Your goal isn’t to join the group to steal all of the members. It should be to interact, engage and get to know your avatar in an organic, genuine way. Stay away from hinting about your offers.
Ask generic questions, such as: What are your favorite resources for X?
Consider even not posting anything in FB Groups. There are plenty of other posts where you can gain your research from by just reading!
Something I do, especially in Facebook Groups with a large number of members, is use the search bar on the right of the screen to search about things that are relevant to my audience. This gives me ideas of what people are saying about my niche or topic. Even if I don’t reach out to the writers directly, I will take that research to create some content in my own group or on my blog.
Another tactic would be to participate in an engagement thread. You can post a question about a post on your profile, adding that you are hoping to receive some feedback. This is acceptable and not spammy at all!
The best research you can do is within your own community.
There will be no community rules to break and you’re talking directly to your audience. Focus on creating your own community; this can be Instagram, Instagram stories, Facebook, your personal Facebook, Youtube, or Twitter.
Market research is dependent on the communities your avatar is a part of.
I find communities with a lot of conversation can also be a huge resource, like Reddit, Kuora, and Twitter. Having access to a volume of conversations will help your market research be thorough and efficient!
Using keyword research is another way to do market research.
You can refer to the same keyword method I teach for Pinterest and Google, which involves using a semantic search. A semantic search is when you start typing in the search bar, and Google will produce a drop down with some suggestions beginning with what you’ve typed. This will allow you to view the demand and popularity for some of the ideas you may be working on.
These are all excellent options for market research – without the frustration of getting booted from Facebook groups!
For a free blog biz plan, for bloggers or content creators that are bloggers-to-be:
AlisonReeves.co/free-blog-biz-plan
