One thing that confuses a lot of new Facebook business users is getting a handle on the differences between Facebook Groups and Pages. Let’s address this issue with the 10 essential differences between Facebook Groups and Pages so you can make an educated decision when to use either option.
Generally if you’re using Facebook for business the best option is to set up a Business Page (or Fan Page as they were previously known). Facebook created Pages for this express reason – Facebook users needed a way to better promote their business. Not only can users now connect with businesses and identities, but it also allows users to display what they like to their friends. Sometimes though, there may also be some sense in incorporating a Group as well as, or instead of, a Page. So what’s the difference?
1. Communities versus Fans – Conceptually the major difference between Groups and Pages is that a Group is generally reflective of a community of like-minded people who share a common interest, similar to an offline club; whereas a Page is normally set up around a product, brand or entity which has a following of “fans” (hence the old name “Fan” page).
2. Facebook randomly suggests Business Pages to friends of your fans – For example, if Bob and Sue are friends and Bob “likes” your Business Page then Sue (and all Bob’s other friends) will see random suggestions that they, too might like your page. This feature is not provided with Groups.
3. Business Pages are indexed by external search engines such as Google but Groups are not.
4. Business Pages offer stats, for example how many people are visiting your Page. This is not available with Groups.
5. You can send limited emails with Groups but not with Business Pages. Groups are limited to emailing 5000 members and as long as the size of the Group remains below 5000, Group admins can send emails to members’ Facebook inbox. Business Pages can post updates to their fans’ homepage which are received in the “updates” section of a fan’s inbox. There are no limits to the total number of fans a Page can have nor how many updates can be sent to fans.
6. Visibility on Profiles – Groups show up as small text links on member profiles whereas Pages show up on fan profiles as an image with a text link. Users can easily see which Pages their friends are fans by taking a look on their friends’ “Info” tabs.
7. Groups require more attention, monitoring and interaction to keep them alive and active. They work extremely well if you are after a forum environment encouraging interaction from members.
8. Groups are very limited when it comes to using applications. Groups can only use basic apps such as Wall, Photos, Links, Videos, Events and Discussion. Many thousands of applications are available on Pages or if you’re so inclined you can create your own unique app. This allows Pages to be more highly customized and to include much more content, almost like a mini website within Facebook.
9. Groups and Pages have different admin visibility. Group admins are listed on the Group page and interactions are posted from the admin’s personal profile. Admins on Business Pages, however, may remain anonymous if they choose. Interactions on the Business Page come from the Page identity, not the admin’s personal profile.
10. Groups offer much greater control over participation. Group admins can set permissions which allow open or restricted access to Groups. If you like you can restrict access so that new members need to be approved before joining. Pages offer only limited restrictions on age and location but you can restrict who may post to the Page wall.
So, to sum up, it really depends on what your purpose is as to which is the better choice for you. Groups are great for forums, causes and interest groups. Pages are better for promoting your business, product or brand; or for public figures, musicians, politicians and the like to interact with their fans without breaching the 5000 friend limit found on Personal Profiles.
I hope this clarifies a few of the grey areas. I’d love to hear your comments on different ways you’ve used Groups and Pages and the advantages or disadvantages of either format. If this post has been of value to you, please share it with your friends. Thanks for your continued support.
Dedicated to your success,
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@BizEez @bunchMEDIA thanks for clearing a little more mind space #socialmedia #steplearningcurve!
Hi Caroline,
Thanks for the post –
Its good to see the clarity on the business (fan) page it was actually just last night I had a in depth conversation about the difference between your Fan page and your Personal page if your branding yourself. Do you have any thoughts on that? Seeing as a business page is “professional” do you put personal stuff on there as well to make it so that you can relate to people in a “real” way, or do you just have your Fan page as a “only business” and your professional content kind of thing and leave out personal stuff? I would love to hear your opinion?
Thanks
Hugs
Renee
Renee Nadeau recently posted..Has Your Bubble Ever Been Popped
Hi Renee,
Thanks for your comment. An interesting question and one that I could (and should) write an entire blog post about. I will try to answer as succinctly as I can here. One of the main advantages of having a Business (or Fan) Page is that there is no friend limit. On a personal Profile there is a limit of 5000 fiends so once you reach the limit you cannot connect with anyone further and so are unable to reach more potential “customers” or followers. On a Business Page you can reach millions! Essentially the intent is that Profiles are for people and Pages are for businesses so ideally you want to keep the lines between them delineated. How “professional” you are on your Page really comes down to the tone and image you are trying to portray for your brand. You can keep it conversational and chatty to suit your business style and to engage your followers but I wouldn’t be talking about what you had for dinner on your Business Page (unless of course your blog is titled whatihadfordinnerlastnight.com!) It’s important to remain consistent with your “brand” message or topic on your Business Page but this is not necessarily so on your personal Profile where you might want to share other snippets of information which still add value but are maybe not directly relevant to your brand. You also want to keep your personal interactions with real friends going without necessarily putting off your professional followers. Now, having said all that, you can certainly have some overlap with your “friends” and your “fans” – that’s totally up to you (for example, you can reach out to people as friends then encourage them to become fans of your Page). There are also a couple of other functional differences – people have to “apply” to you to become your friend (or you to them) but anyone can become a fan of your Page. You can have multiple administrators on a Page which may be useful if you have other people working with you. Pages also have categories (such as local businesses, brands, public figures etc) which can help in people find you with more relevant search results.
So, that’s it in a nutshell – I hope this has come some way towards answering your question. Feel free to ask more if there’s something I didn’t cover for you.
Have a marvellous day,
Caroline~Grace.
Hi Caroline,
This cleared up a few things about Fan Pages for me. I’m glad I dropped in today.
Coach Freddie
Coach Freddie recently posted..Living The Law of Attraction- Focus
Hi Freddie,
Thanks for your comment. I’m glad to have been able to clarify a few things for you – Facebook can be a bit hard to navigate sometimes! I look forward to reading your latest post. Law of Attraction is so fundamental to our lives. Hope to see you back again soon.
Caroline.