Are you a business owner looking to expand your presence on Facebook? Do you know the differences between a Fan Page and a Group?
Facebook Fan Pages and Facebook Groups are mini websites that help individuals, businesses and organizations to promote what they do and / or sell. Search engines usually love them; as a result they are indexed at the top of search results.
The recent months have seen a lot of changes on Facebook. However, Fan Pages and Groups still have different purposes of which an individual must be aware.
Similarities
Fan Pages and Groups have some similar features:
–You and members / fans can share updates on the wall.
–You can also share – and let others share – photos, videos, and events.
–You can engage members and fans in discussions.
–Updates appear in your News stream.
Main differences
- With Groups, you can:
–Send messages to group members directly in their Facebook inbox.
–Invite all your friends to become members.
–Check who has not responded to your invite or block members.
–Have more than one administrator and decide who can write on the wall.
–Make the group open, closed, or secret.
- With Fan Pages, you can:
–Update fans through the wall or through the “Send an update to fans” link in the “Edit Page” section.
–Suggest your page to people.
–Add notes and invite all your friends to read them.
–Add many applications to make your page more interactive.
–Link your blog to your page — by using NetworkedBlogs. Your articles will be posted directly on the wall.
So, what is better?
It all depends on your objectives. To market your products, a Fan Page is a safe bet. If you just want to build a community of like-minded people in your niche, create a group.
However, should you choose to use a group to promote your business, be very careful. Nowadays, a lot of people ask to be contacted through Facebook. As a result, if your group is highly promotional, they may delete your messages or even leave your group. They hate spam!
Conclusion
No matter what your long-term goal is on Facebook, do not forget to interact with people. Ask questions and reply to their comments. Make sure that you offer them something that they can relate to: useful links, quotes and ideas. Also, remember that a Fan Page and a Group are very different from a profile. Avoid drama at all costs and be professional in your approach.
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