Facebook Group vs Facebook Fan Page: What's Better?

[MatthewKeath]

If you have a business do not start a group. You need a page.

Groups, inho, are pretty useless, especially for a business. The only real advantage is that they allow you to mass message your members, at least until you get to 5000. After that, as administrator, the only thing that you can do that a normal member can't is ban people.

I started a group before I realised this, and now I have 30,000 members. Almost every day I kick myself for not starting a page.

[Serena Star Leonard]

In regards to Fan Pages vs Groups.

It's unfortunate but there are distinct benefits to both, and Facebook have made it a pain to decide what is more important.

Fan pages are designed for companies and brands and have customisation options and integration of Like buttons and status updates to your website. All brilliant features.

But the big bummer is that if you send a message (update) to your fans it ends up with all the other unread updates in your update folder. (Interested to know if anyone reads updates?).

If however you have a Group, your messages end up directly in their inbox and are far more likely to be read.

So, if you are regular with your emails and want to interact with people in that manner a group really does have major benefits, but you miss out on all the Page features and I am always torn as to which to use for each new entity.

[fanpage01]

Hi guy’s nice to meet you all. It’s good to be a part of this forum. Your topic about Facebook holds my interest. With the fact that Facebook can really affect our society today, I can say that it is the best tool to communicate and can even use for business purposes. One of the most interesting features of Facebook to facilitate the needs of business owners to drive insane traffic to their site is thru the use of Facebook Fan Page. A fan page is recognized by many as a great tool to further expand your social network, interact with your clients and customers and promote your company. Coupled with the fact that Facebook fan pages are accessible even by those that are not already registered on Facebook, can advance your potential for exposure. What do you think of making your business go viral with this Facebook stuff?

[universal]

Hi all,

I set up a fan page recently and have struggled with working out what I can and can't do with it. I would be really interested if someone could recommend some reading material to get the most out of it. I have looked at various books but they seemed to be aimed at general users, not facebook marketing.

Regards
Craig

[PhillipaKiripatea]

Originally Posted by universal

Hi all,

I set up a fan page recently and have struggled with working out what I can and can't do with it. I would be really interested if someone could recommend some reading material to get the most out of it. I have looked at various books but they seemed to be aimed at general users, not facebook marketing.

Regards
Craig

Hey Craig,

Check out the link in my signature, my report/ebook will help you to get the most out of your Facebook page. If you need more info after that, just send me a message and I can direct to you to more resources you can read through.



Facebook Pages work best for brands and businesses who wish to grow their fan or customer bases. Pages are generally better for long-term relationships with your fans, readers or customers.

Facebook Groups are better for smaller, personal interactions around a cause.



Facebook Pages

* Facebook Pages are for public figures, businesses, organisations and other entities to create an authentic and public presence on Facebook
* Facebook Pages are visible to everyone on the internet by default
* Users don’t need to be logged into Facebook to find them
* Search engine indexed
* Pages can be configured to be viewed only by people in certain countries
* Page visibility can be restricted to minimum age groups
* Everyone on Facebook can connect with any Page simply by clicking on that Page’s like button
* Previously known as becoming a Fan
* Pages can be suggested to friends
* Only the official representatives of a public figure, business or organization should create a Facebook Page
* Pages communicate by updates which show in a fan’s News Feed (and have allowed the page to show updates)
* Pages are separate entities that stand alone and do not link to the personal profile of the individual who established them (unless they have liked that page and have told everyone they run the page)
* No ability to email each fan individually
* Page admins can send updates to fans which appear in the updates section of their inbox
* Facebook Pages can like other Facebook Pages
* A Page’s community is gathered around the brand, business or public figure
* Pages can have Facebook applications
* People can write, post content, videos and links on a Page’s wall
* Pages include different Wall views
* Blog posts can be imported into a Facebook Page
* RSS feeds can be imported into a Facebook Page
* Page URLs are customizable
*Pages provide statistics and metrics around visitor demographics, likes, comments, page activity, etc
* Can promote pages with adverts
* Can create events
* Facebook Pages can have admins


Facebook Groups

* Facebook Groups allow people to come together around a common cause, issue or activity to organize, express objectives, discuss issues, post photos and share related content
* Facebook Groups are the place for small group communication and for people to share their common interests and express their opinion
* Not publicly visible, users must be logged in to search for them
* No search engine exposure
* Groups offer more control around who can join
* Groups can be,
o Open – anyone can join and invite others to join. Group info and content can be viewed by anyone and may be indexed by search engines
o Closed – admins must approve requests for new members to join. Anyone can see the group description, but only members can see the Wall, discussion board and photos
o Secret – the group will not appear in search results or in the Profiles of its members. Membership is by invitation only, and only members can see the group information and content
* Anyone can create a Group
* Particularly if you want to rally around a particular celebrity or cause, but aren’t the official representative of this celebrity or cause, you can still show your support by creating your own Group around this common interest
* New posts by a Group are included in the News Feeds of its members
* Groups connect directly to the people who administer them so any activity that occurs on these sites reflects directly upon, and links to, a person’s personal page
* Messages can be sent directly to all members of the Group
* Groups allow for bulk invites, meaning that any group member can also send bulk invites to their friends
* Only Groups with less than 5,000 members can send out email messages, which appear in their inboxes
* Groups are better structured for encouraging member-to-member interaction
* Best for allowing a member base to interact and develop a community without leaving Facebook
* Facebook applications are not supported by Groups
* RSS feeds cannot be imported into a Facebook Group
* All activity must be generated in the group
* No Customizable URLs
* No statistics or metrics are available for Facebook Groups
* Can promote groups with adverts
* Can create Group events
* Groups have administrators that manage the group, approve applicants or invite others to join
* Admins can add officers to a group. Officers have no additional privileges beyond regular members

via The Social Media Guide

Phillipa Wirangi
http://thevirtualpersonalassistant.com

[HammockFG]

I think pages are the way to go. I like pages all the time and it is true people may not always see your page updates, but if you are consistent they will. Groups really annoy me and I never read updates sent to my facebook messages. I don't know why it annoys me, but it seems more 'sale pitch' to me. Whereas a post on my wall is friendlier and more of just a random comment that I may or may not be interested in.