Meta has published a new guide to help brands make the most of online communities, which, as you would expect, is primarily focused on Facebook groups, but provides a range of considerations and tips that will assist in any community-based initiative.

As explained by Meta:

“Over the years we’ve seen more and more brands and organizations find success leveraging digital communities using Meta technologies, whether it be for customer support, product innovation, loyalty and engagement, customer acquisition, or retention. That's why we developed this playbook - to showcase why it's important for organizations to invest in community and share best practices needed to succeed.”

The 39-page playbook is split into 6 sections, looking at how to build a community, key resources for community building, Meta tools that can assist, as well as case studies to highlight how some brands have already found success with these approaches.

And there are some handy notes and pointers, including prompts to get you thinking about how to build a community:

Meta also presents an ‘ROI Framework’ for communities, which categorizes different initiatives into specific objective pillars.

There are also community goals overviews:

As well as engagement tips to help maximize your efforts:

Meta then provides an overview of how its various communities tools can help to drive these goals, while the last section of the guide includes insights into how Canva, Marriott, Cocokind, Claussen and Tonal have used their Facebook communities to enhance community connection, and drive business outcomes.

It’s a good guide, with a range of great notes and prompts to get you thinking on your own communities approach.

And considering that engagement with Facebook’s main news feed is in decline, groups may well be a key element to consider to maximize your efforts, while an engaged community member is also far more likely to become a paying customer, due to their affiliation with the brand beyond the basic transaction.

Even if you’re confident that you know your opportunities, it’s worth taking a look, and considering your options.

You can download Meta’s full ‘Community for Brands’ playbook here.