FaceBook: Fan Pages vs. Groups – Which One Do You Need?
Posted by: Chad Massaker / Category: Computer Networks
As FaceBook becomes more and more popular for communicating with one another, many business owners wonder about how to integrate FaceBook into their business. Some setup a seperate FaceBook user account, some setup a FaceBook Group and others a FaceBook Fan Page. Here’s a break down of the differences:
User Account = Human Being
If you create another user account on FaceBook similar to the on you created for yourself, then you have fabricated another human being, which seems a bit awkward when people look at your friends list and see that you are friends with “ACME Widgets”. In summary, don’t do this. Stick with you own user account, if for only not having to login and logout constantly between accounts.
Groups = Informal & Semi-Formal Gaggles of People
The Groups feature of FaceBook are essentially for collaboration of an informal group. For example, I created a group for all of the friends that I used to work with at a restaurant while in college. To create a Group, go to the toolbar at the bottom of the FaceBook Page and click the Groups icon which looks like 2 silhouettes (see below). This will take you to a page that shows you all of your recently updated groups as well as groups recently joined by your friends. The purposes of any FaceBook group is (or should be) collaboration and dissemination of information. Be careful which groups you join as you many soon become inundated with posts and events.
Fan Page = For Business
A Fan Page has a very similiar look and feel to a User Account with a few keys differences:
- People become your Fans, not your Friends
- You can promote your Pages with paid advertising
- FaceBook provides limited visitor demographics and Insights (a post ranking system)
- You can create “Become a Fan” buttons to be used on your main company web site
- You can create a company user name that is searchable and usually highly ranked by Google (e.g. www.facebook.com/carceron)
Tags: carceron, facebook, facebook fan page, facebook group, user account, user name
