Many LinkedIn networking professionals understand the benefit and power of using LinkedIn Groups to market their business. It is one of those features that enables you to reach thousands of people in a very targeted way.

But what if I told you that Facebook had a similar feature?

Facebook has a (much less robust) version of groups that helps you target a niche group with your message. On Facebook there are countless amounts of these groups with more members than you would realize….with many of the groups in question being centered around business topics and professional niche networking.

To get started, let’s talk a bit more about the types of groups and which ones you may be interested in joining. Here are the main three categories that I suggest:

1. Location Based: If you search for your target location on Facebook and then sort for Groups – you will find all of the groups that are in your area and/or the groups that have your area in their name.

2. Networking Based: There are many groups that are based around networking with other members and other groups that are even referral based. These are great and can be location or subject based.

3. Topic Based: What is your company’s niche? Search for the words that best represent your niche and you will find a plethora groups to jump right into. For example if you are a pediatric nursing company, there would be many groups for not only pediatric medicine but also for children’s health and wellness. Play around with your targeted keywords and look at what you will find.

There are many other types of groups, but I think that these three are probably the key ones that you would be interested in diving into first. Once you put your request to join in, the moderator will either let you in or not – based on their own personal opinion. When you are admitted to the group, first read the rules for posting and interacting with members. Some welcome promotional posts, some do not, and others require it! So make sure that you are going to follow the group rules…or risk of getting the boot!

Then see what the group is posting and discussing and join in. Create content and post it that would interest the group and engage with the discussions as they gain momentum. Also, if there are group members that you want to reach out to, you can view their profile and send them a message about connecting or just send a request with a message. This is a more personal way of building your network – just be careful not to spam: either by your adding friends or too many self promotional posts.

Now get out there and enjoy! Want to have more control? Start your own group – it is very simple and only take a few minutes.