Most of us are members of various groups – WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. Even various fora. However, while some make posts that get quite popular, others are constantly reminded about the group discipline because they do not follow group posting etiquettes. Sometimes, the admin even removes them from the group. What makes the difference?
Every group has posting rules
When you join a new group, you should definitely read the group description at first. Most groups lay out the ground rules there. How frequently you can post? Is self-promotion allowed? Can you post greetings and personal new or only business-related information? There are some groups that allow business promotion posts but only once in a given period. Be careful.
You should also watch the posts made by earlier members for a few days. Even 1-2 days may be enough for a busy group. You will easily get to understand the preferred posting ideas. Do they like and make long posts? Are photos allowed?
Tips and techniques for group posting
Several groups I am a member of, allow only one photo and a small write-up. If you have 20 items you want to show, you cannot post them there as you get a warning in next to no time. You may even get thrown out. How to tackle this?
It is quite easy. You should post all your photos on your website. Or a Google photos page. Then just share the link in the group. Only those who are interested will go and check out your page. Others won’t be bothered and irritated.
Similarly, if you are selling many items and want to post the prices for each, don’t do so in the group. Create an Excel file and share that file.
You should also acknowledge publicly if someone has helped you in some way. This way more people will get to know about this person and he will really appreciate your gesture. Keep it short and sweet. Here is an example:
Ashish gave me the required materials at a very good price and even home-delivered to me the same day. Thank you @Ashish.
These are simple tips to make sure you remain the favourite of the group members for your concise and useful posts.
Help others liberally
When you see someone has posted about a requirement and you know a person who can provide that thing (and you can fairly vouch for the quality), refer to him or her. This way both of them are benefitted and they may appreciate your connect.
How about self-promotion in the groups?
Does it mean you should never promote yourself? No. Most of the times, you are welcome to post about your products or services. Keep it short, focussed, and infrequent. If you post the same message, again and again, the group members are bound to be irritated.
The secret is in varying the message and content. Say you are a real estate agent. At first, you post about your property. After a few days, you may ask for referral partners. Again you may post the link to an article describing tips to identify a good property after a few days. This keeps your messages fresh.
I am the admin of various groups and have noticed that helpers always benefit. People object less to self-promotion posts of someone who has always been helpful to others. However, if you just want to get and sell, they may scoff at simple posts even. You should be aware of this always.
These are the techniques I use when posting about my services or products like the Compliance Tracker Software or Product Catalog Software. 🙂
Happy posting!