This is Why Your Online Course Absolutely Needs a Facebook Group

I was screwed out of $185 bucks. Let me explain.

When I was a new freelance writer, I was in desperate need of information on how to grow my online business. I didn’t have a lot of time and needed to learn as much as I could fast. I decided to check out Udemy, an online platform where instructors create and sell their own online courses.

I signed up for a course that could supposedly teach me everything I needed, and I would land my first client within 7 days.

Let’s just say, the course did not work out.

Here’s a list of everything I hated:

• The instructor never responded to student questions
• The content was shallow and did not go in-depth
• Videos were 30+ minutes long
• The instructor tried to sell students unrelated affiliate products at the end of the course

Basically, this course was not made for the modern learner.

Intrepidlearning.com best describes:

“The modern corporate learner is digitally networked, always connected, distracted, under time pressure, at the mercy of competing professional and personal priorities, tech-savvy, more interested in exploring learning opportunities on their own and learning from and collaborating with peers than being told what to do when.”

Unfortunately, by the time I realized exactly what I needed as a millennial learner, it was too late to refund my money.

Anyone can create an online course and call themselves an expert. However, lack of engagement, poor communication and inclusion can make the most dedicated students drop out.

In fact, Seth Godin states in an interview that online courses have a 97% drop off rate and his own courses on Udemy only have a 20% completion rate. 

Since my first course, I have taken several online classes. They were jam-packed with quality information, devoted students and worth more than I paid for.

And let me tell you what made these courses so great…

Instructors use Facebook Groups to bring all their students to one spot and elevate the learning experience further.

In this blog post, I will share why your online course needs a Facebook group, how to produce easy content to post daily and leverage your group to sell further services.

You need a better platform

When you produce and distribute your online course through sites such as Udemy or Skillshare, they are designed to grow their platforms and not your business.

For example, Udemy courses allow a basic Q&A section for students to communicate with instructors

The layout and format is so dull that most students don’t interact with each other much.

The Benefits of using Facebook groups for your e-course

As of June 2017, Facebook has 2 billion monthly users and the average smartphone user checks Facebook 14 times per day. What does this mean for you? Most of your students are probably on Facebook right now, ready to connect with you and other like-minded learners.

Let’s break down some benefits:

1. Private Groups: Unlike Facebook pages, groups allow for a casual and private atmosphere where students can post questions and comments without worrying about lurking eyes.
2. Higher Engagement: Group members are notified when you post updates or when someone comments on a thread. This increases the chance of members returning multiple times per day and responding to comment threads.
3. Analytics: Group insights is a new feature that allows you to monitor student engagement and participation.

4.Acts as a Forum: According to sparkbb, the top reasons people join forums is to interact with like-minded people, followed by asking questions and sharing their knowledge. A Facebook group acts in the same way.

With thousands of online courses available and growing, why should someone pay you to teach them? Setting up a course and reaping the profits is no longer viable long-term. You must entertain and engage your students.

Here’s how.

Easy daily content to post to your Facebook group

It’s important to drive in-depth conversations about course topics. Your students need a place to recap information and to validate that they’re on track with their peers. Groups should allow for conversations about future plans and goals after the course is finished.

Your content should reflect this.

In order for your group to run smoothly, your content must:

• Spark conversation
• Automate content to save time

Spark Conversation:

The easiest way to guarantee daily content for your group is by asking questions. You can designate a day where there is a discussion topic for students to participate in.

Christina Vanvuren of Earn Big as a Young Freelance Writer Facebook group does a great job at prompting her group members in sharing their marketing goals for the week.

Ask your students the most relevant questions they need to answer to meet their goals. Here are some ideas:

• Motivation Monday: Set your goals for the week. What are your plans? How many modules will you complete?
• Tuesday Tips: Share a tip with group members on mistakes to avoid.
• Wednesday Wisdom: Share words of wisdom that are relevant to your audience’s top issues.
• Thursday Q&A: Host a live Q&A with group members to get a feel of their thoughts on your course.
• Fearless Friday: Name a bold action step you are willing to take this week.
• Saturday Social: Share your social media handles and promote your content around the web.
• Sunday Success: Share your top success of the week and how you accomplished it.

If you need more ideas, check out 50 Hashtags to Use Each Day Of The Week by Thrive Hive.

Once you have a post for each day, you are pretty much set. Next, you must automate your content.