Facebook Page vs Group - What's The Difference and What Should My Business Have?

If you're confused, here's the quick answer: A business should have a Facebook Page, not a Facebook Group.

Here's an example that should help make the distinction clear:

PAGE: ''The Bead Lady'', a local Concord, NC business, would want to create a Facebook Business Page. She'd want to name it after her business - something like: "The Bead Lady". The Page will help her increase awareness of her business and help promote it.  The page connects her business with prospects, customers, and supporters (friends & family) who become "fans".  

GROUP: She might also want to increase awareness about her "type" of business and help promote her industry, so she would want to create a Facebook Group.  Perhaps simply calling it "Beading", for people interested in beading. The group connects members, who share a common interest, with each other. To better target a local geographic area, a business owner might want to add city or region to the group name, such as "Cabarrus County Beading" or "Concord Beading".

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DETAILS:

Facebook Pages:
Like a friend's profile, Facebook Pages enable public figures, businesses, organizations and other entities to create an authentic and public presence on Facebook. Unlike your profile, Facebook Pages are visible to everyone on the internet by default. You, and every person on Facebook, can connect with these Pages by becoming a fan and then receive their updates in your News Feed and interact with them.


Facebook created Pages when they noticed that people were trying to connect with brands/businesses in ways that didn’t quite work on Facebook. Business Pages not only connect ''fans'' with the business, but they can show their friends what they "like" (support) and recommend by adding Pages to their personal profile. When people become a fan of a brand/business, that information is posted on their wall. You can see which Pages your friends are fans of via the “Info” tab on their profile.

It's also important that I point out that a Facebook ''Business Page'' is different from a Facebook "Business Account". The Account is mainly for companies that pay to advertise their brand/business on Facebook.

Facebook Groups:

A group is best suited for something of shared interest - a cause, a hobby, etc.. While Pages were designed to be the official profiles for businesses, Facebook Groups are the place for small group communication among "members" who share a common interest. 

Facebook Groups are set up for more personal interaction. Groups are also directly connected to the people who administer them, meaning that activities that go on there could reflect on you personally. Pages, on the other hand, don’t list the names of administrators.


PRIVACY - The Separation of Your Business & Your Personal Life: It's important to understand that Facebook considers groups to be an extension of your personal actions. When you post something as a group administrator, it appears to be coming from you and is attached to your personal profile. In contrast, Page Adminstrators can create content that comes from the Page itself, so that content doesn’t have to be linked to you personally.


SEO: Regarding which type is best for a business, one critical difference involves SEO (Search Engine Optimization).  Pages are indexed by external search engines such as Google, just like a public profile, while Groups are not.


There are MANY other differences, unique features/benefits, and pros & cons between Pages and Groups, but hopefully I've shared enough here to show you that if you're a business owner/manager, you need to create a Facebook page to represent and promote your brand/business rather than a Facebook group. 

For more information about this blog post topic, please visit CarolinaWebsiteDesign.com and then call Cole WebMarketing at 704-456-WEB1 (9321).