What’s the Difference?

Groups or Pages?

What are Groups and Pages?

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Facebook Groups are pages that you create within the Facebook social networking site that are based around a real-life interest or group or to declare an affiliation or association with people and things. With a Facebook Group, you are creating a community of people and friends to promote, share and discuss relevant topics.

Both Groups and Pages are forums for self-selected users to connect around a common interest.

A Facebook Public Profile (also known as Facebook Fan Pages, or just Pages) are special profiles meant to promote a brand, a product, an artist, a web site, an organization.

GroupGroup PagePage

Facebook Groups

• Best for fostering member-to-member collaboration.– Alumni groups– Study groups– Clubs/organizations– Special interest groups– Beta test groups– Class project/study group

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Groups: The Pros & Cons

• PROS– Can be limited to networks,

like California, Pa.– Can control who joins by

making group open, closed or secret

– Can message all members (up to 5000 members)

– Messages go to members inbox.

– All group activity goes out into feeds (wall posts, photos uploaded, discussion threads, etc.)

– Anyone can start a group around any topic

– More personal

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• CONS– Is an extension of a personal

account, so content is linked to a person

– Once over 5000 members, can’t message all members

– Minimal customization– Can’t add applications– Tricky to delete– Can’t assign custom

username– No analytic or demographic

information available– Administrator name is public

Facebook Fan Pages

• Best for broadcasting messages to your fans if you are a business, organization, celebrity, public figure, band or other entity.– Cal U of PA– Adam Sandler– Gene the Werewolf– Starbucks– Mayor Casey Durdines

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Pages: The Pros & Cons• PROS

– Can target advertising– High level of customization, including applications

and HTML/FBML– Allows options for connecting Facebook content to

your own website through Facebook Connect– Comes with traditional apps like Notes, Events– Analytical capability through Insights. Can track

growth of fan base, page views, demographics.– Suggest to Friends feature– Indexed by Google– Can have multiple pages– Can have unlimited fans– Can message all fans– Can promote your Page on other people’s Walls– Open to everyone– Account can be tied to a generic account, not an

individual

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• CONS

– Can’t privately message all members

– Messages go out as an Update to the fans, not to their inbox

– Accounts tied to individual account forever (for now) and can’t be change

– Generates little activity via the News Feed

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Conclusion

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"While Groups and Pages now look the same, they still serve different purposes. Groups are for fostering member-to-member collaboration, while Pages remain the best way to broadcast messages to your fans if you are a business, organization, public figure or other entity.”

--Knot Pipatsrisawat, software engineer intern at Facebook http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=156031977130

Links & Reference MaterialFacebook Pages vs Facebook Groups: What’s the Difference?http://mashable.com/2009/05/27/facebook-page-vs-group/

Giving Groups a Stronger Voicehttp://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=156031977130

Facebook Pages vs Groups: Which do I Use?http://socialwebschool.com/?p=225

Facebook Groups vs Facebook Pageshttp://www.pageonepr.com/blog/2009/05/19/facebook-groups-vs-facebook-pages/

Facebook Groups Finally Getting a Makeoverhttp://mashable.com/2009/10/19/facebook-groups-finally-getting-a-makeover/

Facebook Groups vs Facebook Pages – Which Is Best?http://www.myfastype.com/Blog/2009/04/21/facebook-groups-vs-facebook-pages-which-is-best/

Facebook Groups Gets A Facelifthttp://www.internetnews.com/webcontent/article.php/3844616/Facebook+Groups+Gets+Facelift.htm

How to Develop a Facebook Page That Attracts Millions of Fanshttp://www.allfacebook.com/2009/03/facebook-page-strategy/

Facebook Page Statisticshttp://statistics.allfacebook.com/pages

Make a Facebook Page For Your Small Businesshttp://webworkerdaily.com/2009/09/04/build-a-facebook-page-for-your-small-business/

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