Facebook Profiles, Pages and Groups – What’s the Difference?

March 16, 2014 by Christine

When it comes to creating a presence on Facebook, you have numerous options including personal profiles, business pages, and group pages. What’s the difference and why does it matter? Here’s a look at the three most common forms of Facebook profiles so you can choose the right one for your business.

Personal Facebook Profile

You’re likely familiar with the basic personal Facebook profile. This type of account is all about you. This is where you will post your family’s photos, connect with family and friends, and share various forms of content such as recipes, jokes, and funny videos. It’s certainly not where you would post coupons to your business or direct customers and prospects. In fact, most people keep their personal Facebook profiles private and allow access on a case-by-case basis.

Facebook Business Page

Business pages are Facebook’s answer to profiles for businesses. They are specifically designed for business purposes. When you create a business page, your business is the star. No one will see your personal profile, nor will they even know you are the person who created the business page. Business pages on Facebook are public. Any Facebook user can view the page and its tabs. While any user can navigate to your page and view its contents, the idea is to prompt users to “like” the page. When someone likes your page, their news feed will periodically display your updates. Thus, when you post a coupon or special offer on your business page, your “fans” will see that update in their news feeds.

Facebook Group

Facebook groups are sometimes used for business purposes, but they do not replace a business page. When you create a group, it can be public or private. Groups are primarily used to facilitate discussions among group members who share similar interests. For example, if you run an independent flower shop in your town’s Main Street area, you would most likely create a business page to promote your flower shop. However, if you wanted to discuss business and tourism issues with other Main Street merchants in your community, you might create a group for Main Street businesses. Within the confines of the group, members could brainstorm ways to bring more shoppers to the area, coordinate special events, schedule meetings, and more.

Each of the above Facebook account types has its place. If you’re just getting started on Facebook, you will need a personal profile. Once you’ve created your own profile, you can then create a business page, participate in groups, or start a group of your own.

As with any social media profile you create, creating a Facebook page isn’t overly difficult, but it can be time-consuming. Make sure to fill in your profile with as much information as possible and upload a professional photo and cover image. Use the timeline to document important milestones in your business as well. Finally, start posting status updates, following other businesses, interacting with other users, and letting your customers and prospects know that you are finally on Facebook!

Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer | Viral Solutions LLC

Watch out elephants! This slayer of business challenges comes with 30 years of record breaking sales, marketing, operations, training and leadership experience . He has worked face-to-face with 100’s of small business owners as well as large firms. His love of creating, communicating, developing and executing results for clients shines with each project, publication and training event. His entrepreneurial spirit, passion, industry experience, education, problem-solving prowess, charismatic personality and been-there-done that attitude leads his client focused approach.

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