How to Use Facebook Groups for Massive Income Growth

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Sam DiNicola used Facebook groups to add over $100k to her business in less than six months, with less than 5 hours per week of work! Find out how you can leverage Facebook groups to connect with your ideal clients and start making more sales this week in this week’s episode of the Badass Business Squad podcast.

Sam DiNicola Digital is a digital marketing agency and coaching business focused on helping entrepreneurs build a business that supports the life they want to live.

Website // Instagram // Ebook

The episode:

Katrina Widener: Hi everyone, it's Katrina here. Today I am here with Sam DiNicola. She is a digital marketing strategist and runs Sam DiNicola Digital which is a digital marketing agency. She also has an arm of her business that is all about business coaching and is focused on helping entrepreneurs build a business that supports the life that they want to live. So thank you so much, Sam, for joining today.

Sam DiNicola: Yeah, my pleasure. Thanks for having me.

Katrina Widener: I'm really excited to dig into the topic that we're covering today, which is Facebook and specifically lead generation on Facebook. Because I think that a lot of people push it under the door and are like, this is not that important or this isn't something that can get you any leads or anything like that.

But I know that it's something that actually can move your business forward if you're doing it the right way. So first of all, I want to just talk about a little bit of how you got started in digital marketing before we dive into the goodies of Facebook lead gen.

Sam DiNicola: Yeah, sure. So I like a lot of done-for-you service providers, I really fell into my business. I had someone who was a business owner who I knew, who basically asked me, "Hey, could you do social media marketing? You'd seem you know how to do that thing. And can I pay you for it?" And I was like yes, you can. And then I started having that first client give me referrals to other small businesses who were needing some social media marketing help. And um, it just grew from there. I started to realize "Oh, I could actually make a business out of this." And essentially at that point I had just graduated from undergrad. I didn't major in business or marketing or anything like that. And I just started doing some freelance stuff on the side and while I was working and decided to go back to get my masters in integrated marketing communications because I realized I really enjoyed doing these kinds of things, but I'm very much self-taught when it comes to marketing. And I think, a lot of us are things are changing so much that there's no way any degree can really keep up with it.

So it really grew from there and I realized, wow, I can really do this. And I ran my business while working full time as a digital marketing director at a few different small and medium sized businesses for a little over four years. But I really knew I wanted to be my own boss and work for myself. So in 2018 and I was living in New York at the time, and so in 2018 I left New York and decided to go full-time and run my business full time. And it's just really skyrocketed since that point particularly.

Katrina Widener: That is an interesting I'm glad that you mentioned that a lot of people end up DIY-ing their way through marketing because you're absolutely correct. The way that social media and marketing moves right now, it's just so fast and there's no way for us to be able to keep up with it. So it's, I'm like listening to you tell your story, and I'm like, Uh huh, I totally understand that feeling because like I started out as a marketing specialist and then moved through and started learning more and more. And instead of doing more of the done-for-you or doing the marketing side for entrepreneurs, it was just the coaching side which you also do as well. So will you tell me a little bit more about what that part of your business looks like and how like who you normally help and how you normally go about working with them?

Sam DiNicola: Yeah. So for a long time the agency side was the whole business until I started coaching other business owners, and that was early in 2019. Up until that point, the agency, we really worked primarily with B2B businesses. And, these are all businesses who I think our smallest clients had just the business owner. That was it and they were just outsourcing a few things. All the way up to maybe 250 full-time employees, I think is our largest in terms of size. And for those clients, it was really, they knew they needed marketing. They didn't have the budget to hire in-house. They didn't have the time or the knowledge or the expertise to handle it themselves. And so we've really acted as a partner with those clients. Most of them are really long term relationships and we essentially act as their outside, full marketing department.

But I started having a lot of newer business owners who were asking me questions about growing "Oh, I really want to start my own business, but I just don't know what I should do first". Or very similarly, " I have one or two clients, but I really think I can make money from this, but where do I go from here?"

And so those were the types of business owners I really started working with in a coaching capacity. And in 2020, we decided to marry those -- the agency and the coaching together -- a little bit more. So now the only way to work with the agency in a full service capacity, which is social media marketing, email marketing, website, all that good stuff is kind of funneling through either being an ad management client or being a coaching client. And so we see a lot of overlap now between who we're working with on the agency and who I'm working with as a coach. And so that's been a really big kind of transition and way that the business has evolved even just in the last year.

Katrina Widener: That makes a lot of sense, because it is a lot of that kind of knowing what someone needs and working with them first in order to actually be able to step in and say, "Hey, okay, now we can work with you and do this for you," because I do think that's something that's super important when you're getting the done-for-you marketing services.

Sam DiNicola: Oh, a hundred percent. And now it's really with our ad management clients, not all of them transition into being full service clients because we just don't have that capacity. We like to be really picky about who we work with because we're able to, right, and because we really view that as I want it to be a partnership and I want it to be a really long-term relationship.

But we're able to look at, okay, we might be executing on your ads, but it's really easy for us to quickly look at and make recommendations and suggestions for down funnel optimizations, right? So there is such an overlap in terms of all of those not only tactical questions, but also those bigger strategic questions.

Katrina Widener: Totally. So to tie this together with our topic for today, I know that a lot of what basically the bottom line of what you're helping your clients do is find more of their own clients, optimize their services, really get to the point where they're able to increase their bottom line and Facebook is one of those, like in a weird way under utilized areas. I'm seeing for a ton of my clients as well, where it's a social media network that used to be way, way more we'll just say more productive or more beneficial for entrepreneurs in general and actually businesses in general to improve their bottom line.

And nowadays I'm seeing a lot of people are treating Facebook as almost this like black sheep of the social media family, where they're never going on it. They're not really doing anything on it. So I know you and I have talked about this beforehand, but for everybody listening, what's one of the main reasons why you've chosen to teach about Facebook and bring it more into the forefront of a marketing strategy.

Sam DiNicola: Yeah. When I left my full-time job in the middle of 2018, at that point I had grown the business to about $50,000 a year in revenue. And I knew once I had that time and attention to really dedicate to lead generation, I would be able to grow quickly, but I was looking at and figuring out, okay, what does that look like? Cause most of the business had been through referrals at that point. And I think for a lot of people it's really easy to think about what's the platform that is the best, right? That your ideal clients are spending their time on.

But the thing is that all of the social media platforms at this point have become so feature rich and there's so many people on them. That there's actually like sub communities that are using specific features within each of these platforms. So the best example of this is like Instagram stories versus Instagram reels versus lives. And you have some people who go heavier into spending their time and attention on a single one of those channels. And it works really well for them because they've really dedicated that time to understand how it works. There's so many different facets of using Instagram to promote your business and they're changing all the time, right? So it's almost, we're almost getting even more granular in that it's not just the platform that works the best for you. It's the specific functionality within that platform that works for you. So when it comes to Facebook, I think a hundred percent it used to be that your Facebook page was really effective for your business. And because of other features that Facebook has added, and the focus is that Facebook has decided to put the algorithm on Facebook pages only exists for SEO at this point. And that's okay. That's not good or bad, but Facebook groups are and continue to be such a thriving community.

There are more and more Facebook groups being created every single day. And that is really where I just saw such a high level of engagement in Facebook groups that I really was like, I think I can really do this. And I ended up adding $150,000 in revenue to the business while I was still a solopreneur just using Facebook groups.

And that was in nine months, a hundred thousand of that was in six months and I was not spending all of my time DM-ing right on Instagram or anything like that. I found it to be a super impactful way to connect with people who were basically already warm, right? Like they're self-identifying themselves as your ideal customers because they've joined these relevant Facebook groups.

And then when they're engaging in that Facebook group, and especially if they're posting about they're looking to hire someone or they're asking questions about the thing that you really offer, they're basically like raising their hand and saying, "Hi, I'm at the point in the purchasing journey that I am doing this research and I'm going to be ready to purchase very soon, if not right now." Versus on some other platforms or, in different areas of other platforms where they might be your ideal client, but you really have no way of knowing if they're at that point in their customer journey to make them a warm potential lead. And so that's where Facebook groups are, like, if you're using them really intentionally and purposefully, they're like fricking lead generation ninja unicorns.

I don't even know how I can describe it because you already know that the people in there are warm potential leads for you. So when someone says to me, I'm like, what are you doing for lead generation? They're like I'm just like really focusing on putting out great content for my audience. I'm like, that's amazing. And a hundred percent, you should be doing that a hundred percent. You should be doing that, but that's not actually lead generation. That's marketing and that's brand awareness. And so it drives me crazy when people are like I don't know, I need more, I need to get more clients. And I'm not getting more clients, but I'm spending so much time on social media, but you're not actually doing lead generation.

And I think finding something that is helping you and enabling you to connect with those people who are warm potential leads because of where they are in their customer journey allows you to really easily be able to pinpoint those. That's how you're going to be able to do lead generation the most effectively.

It might not be on Facebook groups. But, it definitely could be if that's where you want to be. A hundred percent, but it might be somewhere else, but it's really looking at, okay, how can I really effectively connect with my ideal customer, but my ideal customer that's at that point that I need them to be in their buying journey.

And that is really what was most impactful for me. And I started to see that really quickly. I started to get new business within, I think two weeks of being active in Facebook groups and like really figuring out how to make them work for me. And it just went from there, like it just goes and grows.

And so that I think is really important if you're trying to figure out, okay, I need to do lead generation. How and where should I put my attention and my time into doing that lead generation, think about how and where you can connect with your ideal customers, but that are at that right point in their buying journey.

Katrina Widener: That's an amazing way to explain it because I really feel like people are confused when it comes to Facebook and like, why should I join this group? Or why should I be showing up on Facebook? And the truth is it is exactly what you were saying. It's this untapped already warm market that you can really utilize to grow your business and get more clients and also provide value in a completely different way. What would be a couple quick, actionable tips that you would give people for actually how to implement this?

Sam DiNicola: Yeah so I mean, I think with Facebook groups, there's a lot of Facebook groups don't work for me to get leads because there's so many people in the Facebook groups. There's so many people promoting their stuff. There's so many people selling in there. So I get lost in the shuffle. I can't, break through from the noise. And I think that's the first kind of limiting belief that I most commonly hear about Facebook groups. But one way to think about that is like, there are more and more new Facebook groups being created every single day.

And don't forget that depending on who your ideal client is, you probably have new ideal clients being created every single day. Like my ideal client is business owners. People are starting new businesses every single day, 2020 was a huge year for me in terms of the number of potential ideal clients we have out there because so many people started businesses.

So the first thing is just get in some groups. And the easiest way you can do that is think about where your ideal client would be joining groups that are relevant to how you serve them. You can just Google "Top Facebook groups for...", right? So I might join Facebook groups that are top Facebook groups for coaches, or course creators, or memberships or something like that.

You can also use the search bar in Facebook to search for groups. And once you start joining those groups, Facebook has that algorithm, whether for good or for evil it's there, it's working. And so Facebook will start to suggest other relevant groups based on the groups that you're joining.

So don't make it a huge, big thing. Just join a few and you really want to see ideally the group has at least 500, but probably more like a thousand members, it depends. But the really key thing to look at as you want there to be multiple posts per day, because that is an indicator that there's a high level of engagement in that group.

So look for those groups and just start getting in them and start joining them. What I like to do is organize all the groups that I'm in based on different categories of their rules, because then I can really quickly and easily remember these groups I'm allowed to self-promote, these groups, it's at a specific thread, whatever, and you're not having to reread the rules every time when you're being active in those groups.

And you can also look at it from the perspective of how can I systematize this process. You can't automate being in a Facebook group, right? If you're a Facebook group owner, you can, but not if you're a member and that's okay, but how can I systematize this to a point where I am getting in there, giving the most value, engaging as much as possible, but also in the least amount of time. And that doesn't mean that you're not giving as much. It just means you're using your time efficiently. But just get in there is like really my biggest piece of advice, because if you get in there, you'll start all of these things, all of this, these strategies that I've done are a direct result of being in the groups and looking at, "Oh, I can use it in this way. Oh, I could do this. Oh, this is how I could systematize it."

And that's, what's going to make them so effective for you. The people who say, "Oh, Facebook groups, there's so much noise, everybody's posting in there and I can never get leads from there, blah, blah, blah." Those are the people who have posted twice in a group in some groups or commented on one hiring posts and then they're like, "Oh, I never get any leads from Facebook groups." But it's yeah, if you also only post value-based content like once every six months on Instagram, guess what's also not going to happen. Not really going to be having leads coming in from Instagram. So like sometimes it's a little bit of a reality check there for some people.

Katrina Widener: Totally. It's I dunno. I find that oftentimes too, it's " I did one reel and I didn't get 1800 followers in one day" or whatever it is. "The algorithm doesn't like me."

Sam DiNicola: Yeah, things grow where your attention goes. So if you're being really purposeful and mindful about where you're putting your time and attention, you're going to see those things grow, right? And track it, track how much time you're spending in Facebook groups, track what leads you're getting from groups, make sure you're following up because then if you're actually tracking it, you're going to be able to look at "Oh, okay, here's actually how successful I was from this strategy and make sure you're implementing it, not just for 14 days or 30 days, but really 60 to 90 days. Because then you're going to have the data and the insights to be able to actually say, yes, this is worth it. Or no, this isn't worth it.

And let's go try something else. We want to stay cutting edge, but at the same time, you don't want to be throwing things away so quickly that you can't actually measure their results and measure their success.

Katrina Widener: Definitely! There's a book; it's called Business Brilliant. And every single chapter is this reason why millionaire businesses become millionaire businesses. And it talks a lot about like, they just keep going. They don't try something for five days, quit, move on to the next thing. They say, this is what I'm going to try, and I'm going to try it for a long period of time and maybe I'll evolve it. I'll try something a little bit different or I'll realize, "Oh, this didn't work as well. I'll adjust that one part of it", but they keep going and keep going, keep going on this one idea, on this one tactic, whatever it might be. And that's how they end up finding success. Because most people will try something, say "That didn't work. I'm done." And then move on to the next idea.

Sam DiNicola: I love that a hundred percent. I think it's just like really, when you see entrepreneurs and business owners who are able to successfully start and run any business that they want. They typically are gaining skills and knowledge and expertise around actually growing and running a business. And I think a lot of times we get so caught up in the day to day of how do I serve this client? And with social media, we really have focused so hard on the marketing piece.

And that's what I do, right? So I'm not discounting that at all, but there's other things that go into running a business. And if you start to learn those things, you'll be able to make those really important strategy decisions based on your holistic view of how can I successfully start, grow, and run a business. And you can always be confident that no matter how your business looks in the future, you're going to be able to put your attention and your time where it really needs to be in order to have that be successful. And so that's why Facebook groups are amazing, but they're like not necessarily the thing.

The thing is figuring out how and where you can connect with those customers at the right point of their customer journey so that you can take those skills and adapt them to the platforms. You can still use those like core strategies and just adapt them to the relevant platform. I think that's something that's it's kinda not sexy, it's kinda not trendy, but that's what is the most impactful.

Katrina Widener: I am 100% resonating with that too, because I truly believe the way that you get clients consistently is by knowing where to get clients consistently. And oftentimes when you're first starting a business, or even if you've been in business for a while, you will get clients here and there, but you won't get consistent clients and you won't be able to see "Okay, so I know that I need a client. I can now go out and get one because I know how to do that."

Sam DiNicola: Yeah, like when you, when you are saying, "Okay, I want to scale my business. Okay. I want to add $5,000 a month to my business", or okay $10,000, whatever that is. If you're relying on those very inbound leads that you don't really have a lot of control over, you have no control over the scaling and running of your business. And I think that's so key and so important is to just know how can I go out and get clients, because we all want to have people finding us on social media and just consuming our content on their own, coming to us when they're like ready to buy, right? And we don't have to lift a finger and that does happen. But again, it's almost like treat those as bonuses. You don't really want to rely on that because you don't have as much control over it. And it's just, if you actually want to make money in your business, again, this isn't the sexy part. Sorry! But it's oftentimes the background that you don't see or hear about of those successful businesses.

Katrina Widener: Definitely 100%. Thank you so much for coming on today cause I'm just like, yes, I, 100% agree with everything that you said. And I think that this is also like, you're right, it's not a sexy topic always, but it is an important topic and it's a topic that's actually going to move your bottom line. But um, okay. So how can everyone find you?

Sam DiNicola: Yeah, so I actually do not. A lot of people are always really surprised to hear this, but I don't have my own Facebook group so all of that amazing revenue that I got was from other people's Facebook groups. But I am on Instagram, that's the easiest way to chat with me @sam.dinicola. S A M dot D I N I C O L A. Definitely drop me a line if you have any questions around that. And if you go to my website, which is samdinicoladigital.com, I have an ebook that is really all about how to use Facebook groups for lead generation really effectively.

Katrina Widener: I'm glad that you mentioned the ebook because I was going to drop it for you if you didn't. Sam also was a guest expert for the group coaching membership and everybody was super excited about all the insider tips and she even shared some of like her tracking like formulas and everybody loved all of that information. So I highly recommend going and downloading the ebook because it's going to be jam-packed with everything that you want to know. But anyway, thank you again Sam for coming on. I really appreciate it.

Sam DiNicola: Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.