Geschreven op donderdag 25 maart 2010 door Joke De Nul.

“Should I start a Facebook Group or Page for my business?” is an oft-heard question here at Talking Heads. At first glance, both look the same and allow companies to interact with their respective audiences, but when digging a little deeper there is a clear difference.

Facebook Groups are advisable when you have common interests. If you are a member of an organization, Facebook Groups allow you to promote events or post relevant topics to which other members can respond.

Facebook Pages give you roughly the same interaction as Groups, but allow much more room for personalization, e.g. applications with Flash and HTML.

The 13 main differences between a Facebook Group and a Page:

1. Sending messages to members

As administrator of a Group, you can send a message to members. Depending on their settings, they will receive an email notification. A Page allows you to communicate through updates on Facebook pages proper. They could also be featured on the homepages of each fan through the News Feed, but again, that depends on the fan’s settings.

2. Search engines

Facebook Pages are indexed by major search engines, while Groups are not.

3. News Feed

Posting a message on your Page’s wall will appear in your fan’s news stream. This is not the case with Groups.

4. Relevancy: choosing your audience

If you have a global Page, with fans from a variety of countries, you can send targeted updates based on location or language. Updates in a Group can not be targeted to such degrees.

5. The No-Homers Club

As an admin for a Page, you cannot refuse fans. Group admins can choose to make the Group public, private, accept only invited members and refuse members.

6. Apps

You want flashy applications? Choose a Page, since Groups don’t allow apps.

7. Mail-based invitations

Want to invite people to whom you are not connected via Facebook, but whose email addresses you have? One word: Group.

8. Vanity, thy name is…

A vanity url is a personalized Web address for your Facebook profile and possible for a Page only. For example: http://www.facebook.com/talkingheads.be . This is much more easy to use and communicate (especially in print) than http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gent/Talking-Heads/326718143412 You can claim your vanity url here: http://www.facebook.com/username

9. The numbers tell the tale

A Page will give you data and statistics on visitors, fans, interaction and demography. Groups will not.

10. “Little boxes…”

If you want to promote your Facebook presence on your blog or website, a Page will allow you to make a widget to do just that. You can link to a Group, but that’s just about it.

11. Events in the inbox

Events organized through a Page cannot be emailed to members but are communicated via updates (cfr 1). Advantage, Group.

12. I spy with my little eye

To view Groups on Facebook, one needs to be logged in. To view Pages, you don’t even need a Facebook account.

13. My name is Nobody

A Facebook Page does not reveal the name of its creator on the Page itself. When creating a Group, your name will appear on its main page.

In short:

Conclusion: which one is better for your business?

If you own a brand, company or product and are looking to engage in a long-term and meaningful conversation with a broad audience, you will benefit most from a Facebook Page.

A Group is not really suitable for commercial purposes, but is perfect for more personal projects and small clubs.

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