Facebook allows for 2 networking tools:
- Creating/ joining a Facebook group;
- Creating/ joining a Facebook fan page.
While the major differences become evident only after you try out them first, we decided to create and promote both for Search Engine Journal:
Now what we have found from this experiment..
First and foremost the 2 major differences include:
- Unlike groups, fan pages are visible to unregistered people and are thus indexed (important for reputaion management, for example);
- Unlike pages, groups allow to send out “bulk invite” (you can easily invite all your friends to join the group while with pages you will be forced to drop some invites manually). Groups are thus better for viral marketing, meaning that any group member can also send bulk invites to the friends of his.
Now let’s go into some details:
| Key Feature | Facebook Page | Facebook Group |
| “Ugly” URLs | No | Yes |
| Hosting a discussion | Yes | Yes |
| Discussion wall, and discussion forum | Yes | Yes |
| Extra applications added | Yes | No |
| Messaging to all members | Yes (via updates) | Yes (via PMs) |
| Visitor statistics | Yes (“Page insights”) | No |
| Video and photo public exchange | Yes | Yes |
| “Related” event creation and invitation | Yes | No |
| Promotion with social ads | Yes (never tried it) | No |
To conclude:
- Pages are generally better for a long-term relationships with your fans, readers or customers;
- Groups are generally better for hosting a (quick) active discussion and attracting quick attention.
MP – Fan pages are visible to anyone logged in to facebook, regardless of whether they are a fan or not. Try again. If it’s your own fan page perhaops get a friend to try under their login. Should be easy.
The friend in question has no FAcebook account, so no Login is possible. That friend cannot see the page !
Okay, so can we change our group over from a “Group” page to a “Fan” page? If so, how do we go about doing this? Or do we have to reinvent the wheel?
Facebook used to have an option to convert from a Group to a Page, but they no longer perform this service. You will have to create a new Page and migrating the members, as others have experienced, causes many users to go away.
I have come to the conclusion that one should have both (actually 3 including my personal page where it all started) for his/her business as both offer features that are essential in promoting your business like Ann mentioned in the chart above.
Which I can’t understand why Facebook did it this way!!!…Anyone knows why?!?!
My Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Franky-Fashion/345177300635
My Group Page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=app_2373072738&ref=ts&gid=361324385609#!/group.php?v=wall&ref=ts&gid=361324385609
Thanks for this post I always wanted to know which one would be better for us to use. Thank you for sharing.
Will google analytics work on a Group Page?
is it possible to automatically update fb page from one's website? thanks :)
yes it is, just go into search and it describes how to add the RSS feed into your notes area direct from your blog or news page, it`scans over every couple of hours, i find it easier to just use the update badge on the website & click twice, instant update
This is a very hard page to read. Text bleeds over to the grey area.
I have read nearly all of these posts & also struggled with the interaction of business 7 social media………………..bang, there lies the problem, 1 is for business & 1 is social networking, trying to update fans is nearly impossible if you create a fan page based around a product that you sell as an entity, updates from web site will connect to YOUR profile. I have found the best way is to seperate them & wear different hats. 1 personal account & 1 business account, anyone can join facebook, so is an alias really frowned upon, create a new user being your company, link your web page to it. Log off & log back in as YOU, join the group or fan page your company profile has created & your friends will follow. I found it the ONLY way to inform & interact with fans & retain your own individuality, would you invite every prospective customer/fan to your house & automatically accept them as a friend ? Fans have been known to do unthinkable things to their heroes in real life, FB is now real life !
Hi, I have facebook account. This post is useful for me. Thank you for sharing it.
I think people are more aware of groups than fan pages (they think fan pages are for huge Corporate Brands and musicians and not more local offerings). I also feel that the notification for the fan page isn't as likely to get engagement as a message in the inbox.
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We have an organization of say 2,000 people. Of the 2,000 there are 500 that have a business. I want to create something where all of the 2,000 can be members and would have to be approved. Of the 500 they would be tied to this group but be separated somehow.. maybe in a subgroup. The objective would be that all 2000 would be able to search through all the businesses to find a service, product etc. The business people would stand out in the 'group' with some designation (or be in a subgroup type of group,) so Business could be found quickly.. What would be the best social media tool to use.. Facebook, linkedin or something else??? Thanks for your response.
I recently created a facebook group page and a facebook fan page and I have to admit that the fan page work better since it attracts more people while both of them are designed for the same purpose. One thing I'd like to highlight is that people nowadays don't really take their time to interact within a group although they are members while it is more likely for people to spread information on a fan page.
hi there
this is a great thread, thanks for all the helpful info on it.
just wonder if someone can help me with a query….
i have set up a page. i now want to post messages on other fan pages (organisations that we're involved with) – but when i do it posts it from me as an individual – whereas what i want is for it to come from the page name with our logo on.
any one know how i can do this?
thanks so much
Dominic :-)
Hi Dominic
I havae the same problem did you get an answer?
Cheers
Marg
Wow, this is new to me. I would never think facebook can be used this way. It's really great that this powerful social network can be used for so many different things.
Thanks for this post. I had been debating whether to create a group or a page, and this has been really helpful.
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Thanks for a helpful article. Ted
Hi
I am enjoying more success with groups than pages because ultimately we are giving all the efforts to promote our brand and to stay connected with our potential customers and i think groups are more powerful than facebook pages.
although there are a bazillion people on facebook that join many groups and fan pages i find that most just join the group but there is little contribution. I think the only good thing is that they will see your latest information in the news feed but thats about it.
Good Article
Why not join / setup both. Cover your SEO from both sides….;)
Is there any way to set up my group so that I, as the group's administrator, will receive a notification when someone posts something there including links, a wall comment, etc.? Right now I'm stuck searching the whole page for something new.
Hi!
Yes, as a group “creator”, you will be notified of ANY input related to your group (Likes, comments, wall input…)
I am not receiving any updates from the page I created?
Here's a big difference for me. Pages allow you post a messages or picture messages via email whereas I haven't been to figure out how to this with groups. So, I can post a picture from my phone on the Page but not the Group.
but also a few other groups created by ex-guests and workers.
i like this post
but also a few other groups created by ex-guests and workers.
i like this post
Thanks for asking the exact question I was looking for.
I have a free slots group, and have always wondered if it should of been set up as a fan page. It has been great as a group traffic wise. But recently it has started getting less joins and more leaves, and this was after upgrading the account. So I may now try a fan page and see if there is any improvment.
It looks like the fan page has significant advantages over the group. Are there any particular disadvantages to having both? Say for example you focused on the fan page and invited your fans to join your group to get in on discussions of the the latest news. Are there any issues with brand dilution, such as people joining the group and not the fan page?
I really believe that Facebook fan pages are overrated by marketing professionals. I run a film marketing consultancy specialised in digital and I tend to advise my clients against opening a time-consuming and ineffective Facebook fan page. The users who actually do see the updates on their wall is around 12% and tends to go down with time, unless they keep interacting with the page. This is a very low return on investment. I am relying more on Twitter and Google+ and will probably focus on those platforms for my future crowd funding or audience building campaigns.
We have a Facebook Group. The Facebook link on our website never required someone to be signed in to Facebook, or even have a Facebook account. Now it does! Is there any way around this or do we have to convert our Facebook Group to a Facebook page?
I think the only good thing is that they will see your latest information in the news feed but thats about it. I would never think facebook can be used this way. It’s really great that this powerful social network can be used for so many different things.