“What’s the difference between a Facebook page and a Facebook group & which one should I use?”

Posted by Sarah McVeigh

Updated on July 15th, 2013

These were the questions posed by a client recently, and I thought the answers might be useful for others looking to kick-start their social media presence. Here are a few of the main differences:

Page

• When you, as the administrator of the group, post messages on the wall your profile picture will be your official logo, rather than your personal profile picture,
• Google indexes Facebook pages, meaning someone may find the page by using a search engine,
• A page gives users the option to “like” its content, meaning a link to your page will show up in their ‘interests’ section,
• Messages sent by administrators will come up as updates; and
• Anyone can “like” a page.

Group

• Even as administrator, your own personal profile picture will be included when you post to the group’s wall,
• Google doesn’t index groups, they are seen as more of an interactive platform, and are perhaps less official,
• Rather than “liking” the page, you become a member of the group,
• Groups under 5000 can send emails that will land in users’ Facebook inboxes; and
• You can approve or disapprove members.

Both

• You can enable and disable who can and can’t post at any time,
• You can choose whether people can put links up, pictures, and wall posts; and
• You can also add and remove administrators.

Questions to consider

• As administrator, do you want your messages to be an extension of yourself, and be associated with your personal image?
• Do you want an official style?
• Do you see your audience as members or fans?
• How do you hope to deliver messages?

Social media strategy Brisbane: There’s more to a successful Facebook strategy than a set-and-forget. If you want to develop your status as a trusted advisor and communicate rather than advertise, call Bluewire Media on 1300 258 394.

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About Sarah McVeigh

Sarah McVeigh is part of Bluewire's alunmni. Sarah worked as a copywriter from 2009-2011, before accepting her dream career of being a journalist for the ABC.

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