Social media has caused a major disruption in the communication sector.  No longer do we have to wait to communicate with family, friends, business partners, potential investors and anyone else. With the introduction of groups on social media, communication with like-minded individuals has been further simplified. The benefits from the introduction of such groups are many. From a business standpoint, these groups are a great way to put yourself in front of large numbers of viewers who have chosen to be a part of a given topic or niche. For example: The water sports community is very likely to be interested in what your dealership has to post about, especially if there are deals and discounts involved.   

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Here are 3 benefits of joining social media groups.

1. New Employment Opportunities
   Social media has transformed the way we do business and how we communicate. Along with this modern world-wide shift has come the need for those who know how to navigate these sites, and thus creating jobs centered around social media management. Businesses and other interest groups are hiring individuals dedicated to managing their social media pages, including all their groups. Given the fact that there is so much involved in the social media scene for marketing, it takes and entire job position or positions to operate it well and properly for business purposes.
   
   
2. Enhanced Information Discovery and Sharing
   Groups on social media sites like Facebook facilitate open communication among like-minded individuals which makes it easier to discover and share information on a common agenda with other interested parties. Remembering the watersports example; that is a group that has already sorted itself out for you as a target audience. When such minds are brought together in a forum, it makes it easier to communicate anything new that could be of relevance to them like company updates, changes in location, specials or deals, giveaways, etc.
   
   
3. Brand Engagement
   Creating and maintaining a brand is not easy.  Once you do succeed in creating your brand, maintaining brand engagement with your customers or followers comes with its fair share of challenges. Social media groups consisting of your brand and followers have changed and facilitated a new way of marketing your brand better.  By bringing together all those interested in your brand, you can keep the conversation going about your agenda and answer any questions. Businesses have greatly benefited from such groups because they are now able to serve their customers faster and better. Customers, too, enjoy the rich customer experience.

Sources: www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/Pages/socialnetworkingsitespolicy.aspx, www.lifewire.com/join-a-social-network-2654297, seniorcarecorner.com/5-benefits-of-social-media-for-seniors, www.socialmediatoday.com/content/social-medias-top-5-contributions-society, blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-for-business/