Tag Archives: Getting started in social media

Difference Between Facebook Profiles and Pages

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Profiles are different then Pages and Groups. Profiles are for personal use and/or networking (catching up with old friends, person to person business networking). Think of it this way, your profile represents yourself and your Page represents your business.

When you signed up for Facebook you opened a Facebook account and on your account you have a ‘product’ called a profile, now you want to add another ‘product’ called a Page to your account as well.

The easiest way to go about this is to sign in to the Facebook account you already opened and add a Facebook Page. There would be no visible public connection between your profile and your Facebook Page. Anything that is posted to the Page will appear as coming from the page. Like 2 separate identities.

For Example…

Your signed into Facebook account and you check your ‘Profile’ and discover that it’s your friends birthday. When you post on their wall it will appear to be coming from Jane Doe but when you click the link on your account to check your ‘ACME Bombs’ business Page, you discover that Willie Coyote has posted to your page wall. When you respond it would appear as though you are ‘ACME Bombs’ NOT Jane Doe.

I have created multiple Pages through my account for clients which I monitor and post information to and no one knows who I am ;)

Confused yet?? Clear as mud? Post your questions below and I’ll do my best to answer them!

Do you need a Facebook Page or a Facebook Group?

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All too often when discussing Social Media I find myself cringing as I hear businesses say “Yes, we have a Facebook Group” and then I have the not so pleasant task of explaining that they chose the wrong path.

The basic difference between Pages and Groups is as follows¦

Facebook Pages represent organizations, businesses/products, celebrities, politicians or musicians (for example: Official Cheerios Page). Pages should only be created by an official representative of the organization or person in which the Page is promoting. A Facebook Page is considered its own identity and the Page’s Administrator remains anonymous, anything posted by the Adminstrator on a Page will appear to have come from the Page. You do not have to have a personal profile on Facebook to create a Page.

Facebook Groups can be created by anyone and about anything (for example: We Love Cheerios Group). When a Group is created it’s considered something like an extension of one’s personal profile so administrators are identified by their name and anything that is posted by the Group Admins will be credited to the individual. You need to have a profile on Facebook to create a Group.

Here is a list of some detailed differences

Searchable by Google?

Facebook Pages are indexed by Google which means people will be able to find a Facebook Page by searching the Page name in a Google search. Facebook Groups are not indexed so they can’t be found through Google or any other search engine; they can only be found by using the search in Facebook.

Customization/Apps

Facebook Pages allow you to create customized landing tabs for non-members which are great for branding as well as newsletter signup forms. Facebook Pages with customized landing tabs have a 70% greater chance of being ‘Liked’ then Facebook Pages without a custom landing tab. Unfortunately, Facebook Groups do not have this option.

Sending Messages to Members

Facebook Groups allow you send messages directly into Group member’s inboxes as where Facebook Pages do not. The crappy thing about Pages is that their messages get sent out as ‘Updates’ which sometimes get lost in the shuffle. Once a Group grows to 5000 members it loses the ability to direct message.

Events

Similar to Messages, Events created by Facebook Page administrators cannot be sent directly to member’s inboxes. Instead, they are sent out by way of Page updates.

In contrast, Facebook groups can send event invites to their members. As is the case with mass messages, Facebook group admins are restricted from sending event invites directly to members once the group has over 5,000 members.

The best way to ensure your members are aware of the event is by using Facebook Ads.

Promotion

Both Facebook Pages and Facebook Groups can be promoted through Facebook Ads.

Analytics

One of the key differences between Pages and Groups is the Pages ‘Insights’ feature. With this Facebook analytics type tool you can monitor member’s activities which gives businesses great feedback on how their Facebook Page is performing.