Facebook profile

Facebook began and still is a social network. So when you jump on to the largest social media platform, you will first get a personal profile. You can connect with friends, share pictures and videos and drop likes on friend’s posts. A profile also has a detailed “About” page with lots of bits and pieces of information. If privacy is a concern, there are detailed settings. Facebook works hard to make a safe environment for everyone who has a personal profile.

Facebook page

A Facebook page is a space where any individual or organization or business can post content. But to create and manage a Facebook page, you need to create a personal profile first. More than one account can manage Facebook page. If anyone follows or likes a page, updates from the page will be visible to that person as a news feed.

Facebook group

A group is for a community or a group of people who want things to be updated between themselves. Group has privacy settings and ways to admit new members. Group updates are shown to members in their feed.

Evolution of a Facebook Page and Group

Facebook began services in 2004. In 2007, they launched Facebook Pages for Business. At that time, it gave a tool in the hands of brand owners to run advertising campaigns aimed at reaching larger audience and connecting with existing ones. Over the years, Facebook pages have grown into a tool which is used to reach customers both organically and by paid ads.

Before that Facebook had groups. The main intent of a group is keeping information within the group members. Groups have been around since 2006, which is why now they seem obsolete in comparison to say a WhatsApp group which today seems to be the preferential choice. Facebook groups are still very potent. Anyone with a common interest can come together and create a powerful community. They have rules of engagement and provide a powerful platform to members for exchanging ideas and resources.

Another advantage that Facebook page provides is analytics. It provides information on each and every visitor who reached the page and did what. In comparison, a group only shows how many members have seen it. Analytics also help admins see the success and results of an ad campaign.

Page scores with several advantages

A Facebook Group is for interaction and provides no tools whatsoever. A page on the other hand has all the resources for engagement. It provides brands with a lot of advantages.

• Follow and like option for customers and fans
• Check-in feature which allows visitors to show that they are onsite
• Maps and directions for exact location
• Community tab for followers
• Reviews and recommendations
• Analytics tools
• Ad campaigns for boosting posts

What should each category choose

Big business and corporate

In a corporate setup there will be a page for the brand or product. This will help to connect with customers about latest updates. The company can have a group for the teams to coordinate their work. They can also have a group for distributors to post them with updates about products and offers. Similarly a tech support group for coordinating product support with engineers and service centers. Large corporate use custom communication tools and there is a likely hood that most will not use Facebook Group for business coordination.

Small Business or individual entrepreneurs

The prime aim of such a category is increasing business and engaging with customers. These entities should not look beyond a Facebook Page. These days there are so many social media app at a point of saturation. So best option is to go for the minimum.

Bloggers

For the advantages a page provides, bloggers will get lot of benefits on creating an engaging blogging page. Collaboration with fellow bloggers and keeping things interesting for readers. Instead of creating a new group, bloggers should focus on joining an existing group. Bloggers and influencers groups give ideas and tips for new members and provide good engaging conversations. Many groups provide a way to post links and ask for engagement.

Restaurants, Movie halls, Malls, Supermarkets and so on

All of these category need location, check-ins, reviews and recommendations. They focus all their might in building a heavy duty Facebook page. Posting offers, latest updates, future events and nifty things like menu card. On the other hand, there is just no need to maintain a Facebook group for any of these categories.

Loosely tied social groups

People of common interest are best using a Facebook Group. Bringing people together under a single roof is easiest done with a Facebook group. It can accommodate thousands of members, something which a phone messenger cannot do. Rules can be set in groups and offenders punished. Every interest field now has hundreds of groups on Facebook.

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