When is a Facebook Group appropriate for a paid program?

This is a question I run into more and more lately as we work with course creators who are developing their online programs.

My advice lies in how they pay for the course and what happens in the group?

Is it a one-time fee for access to the course or do they pay an ongoing fee for the program? ie. is it a subscription plan where they pay you every month that ends only when they cancel.

AND

Do you plan to offer them time with you on a regular basis, new advice, training, or live Q & A sessions?
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If you are selling a one-time fee course, that gives the student access to the program training and no ongoing access to you, then I do NOT recommend a Facebook group.

If you sell a training that is more like a membership program, with a subscription or monthly or annual fee, then I DO recommend a Facebook group as part of the program offerings.

Here is why I say no to Facebook groups for the one-time fee programs.

A Facebook group that offers more and ongoing info from you; more advice, more time for Q & A and ongoing support to the students… is one that will keep you giving to the students when they only bought once. If there is continued and ongoing access to you, then there should be continued and ongoing fees from the students.

When someone pays a one-time fee and gets the training program, then I do not believe this is appropriate to give them continued access to you and more training . And I will tell you clients of mine who have done this, are now feeling regret as they have this obligation to give those students what they originally promised them. The regret is that they now get that they are having to keep giving to the students, but the students do not have to keep paying.

It is not a great situation to be in.

In my opinion, the best strategy for using a Facebook group as part of a training program is to pair it with a subscription-based program.

I do this with my Inner Circle. You get access to me four times a month for ongoing strategy and questions and coaching when it comes to marketing your small business online.

It also includes handouts, checklists and recordings of the sessions. This is the ONLY program I have where students get this type of support group and community. And they get it because they pay an ongoing fee.

My other programs offer the training material only – and if they have questions, they can ask me on my Facebook page. Not by email, not by phone, not by Facebook group. They paid for the training, not ongoing access to strategy and support with me.
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Wondering what the difference is between a Facebook Page and a Facebook Group, read this article, What’s the Difference between a Facebook Page and a Facebook Group 
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There is a big difference in these two types of Facebook Community Group offerings. As you build your online courses and programs, you need to think seriously about their differences and what and how you will give students in your program access to you. It is all part of your marketing strategy. This is why many people are creating ongoing membership programs where it is perfectly appropriate to offer these Facebook groups for ongoing support.

Now, there is an exception to this rule.

Of course there is 🙂 as there are always exceptions.

If you offer a time limited program you may want to offer ongoing but, time limited access to you by way of a Facebook Group.

You will often see these combinations on a live program or one that has a launch date and expiry date – ie. a 10-week program. The trainer will often give students access in a private group to support them during that time. But only during that time. It ends after the term is up and the group is closed, or the members removed after a specified date. Oftentimes, when there is a new launch or group taking the next version of the program, the new members are added or a new group is started.

That can be hard to manage groups especially if you have 25 or more students, but it can be a great value-add to the program and often a great way to upsell people into a higher-level program too once they complete the training.

In this instance (my exception) it can be a great benefit and add on to a program. But be cautious about how long the access remains and stay true to your deadlines.

There will also be people who do not follow this advice as it works for them. One person I have seen buck this trend makes it work, but they have continual new programs people can buy and the audience does buy when it opens up. So having them in an ongoing group for a one time purchase works but only because she offers new programs on a regular basis and many of her students are in them all. They are loyal fans and purchase the programs. For some folks this practice works, but more so when you have new programs launching a few times a year.
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Your lesson for today…

Think hard about how much time will be needed to manage and offer the ongoing support when using a Facebook Group as part of a training program. Your training program fee should be enough to account for the time you spend – forever – with ongoing support like this. If it is not, then do not offer the group as part of the program.

You can check out what’s included in the Inner Circle program here to see what I offer with this ongoing membership program. If you are interested, sign up and try it out for one month, you have only some marketing strategy for your business to gain!

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By the way, I am not perfect, I did try a Free Facebook group last year, and ended up taking it down. If you want to learn why, check out this article as it details out what was going wrong with this free group I had offered to anyone – Free Facebook groups do not work for everyone and every business.