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So … Facebook. It’s really not as simple as it looks, is it?
You know you need to be on it for business. You likely have a personal profile. Maybe you have a business page. And if you’ve been around, you know just how huge Facebook groups are, cause just about everyone has one.
So you need to have a profile, a page and a group? And you need to split your time, keep them all updated and still have time to write content, create other things and well, have a life? Really?
It is quite a lot, and the truth is, you may not need it all. When you know how each can benefit you, you can make an informed decision on which is best for your business.
Profile vs. Page vs. Group
Your profile is your personal profile. It’s where you add friends and list interests. Everyone who joins Facebook starts with a profile. Of course you can use it to share business related updates, but you still need an actual page for your business. Why? Because using a profile strictly for business violates Facebook’s Terms of Service.
Your page is like a profile for your business. You can post updates, share photos and more. But unlike a profile, your page gives you some pretty cool analytics which can help you with ad targeting, even copy and other content. And instead of friending, people can like or follow your page to get your updates. Also, you can use your business page to promote, which is not allowed on a personal profile.
With both a profile and a page, you will notice that not everyone who friends your profile or likes your page will see your posts. This is where Facebook’s algorithm comes into play. They will show your newest post to a handful of people. If it does well, meaning they like, comment or share, it tells Facebook that the post is interesting, which makes Facebook want to share it more. If no one engages, that’s pretty much the end of that.
Now a group. Groups are created and you can choose to make them open to the public, private or secret. You can moderate comments and use the group to create a community or a place for your audience to connect.
Page vs. Group for Business
Because of the Terms of Service, you can’t use your profile for business. Yes, people do it but you run the risk of getting shut down. And with the added benefit of being able to promote freely and get detailed data about your visitors, a page is the way to go.
But you also see the benefits in having a group to call your own. A tribe of people who look up to you.
So what do you focus on? Your page or a group? Or both?
It depends on what your goals are.
Use your business page to:
- Make announcements
- Share updates
- Share content
- Create a “destination” full of valuable info for people to find
- Establish your public presence
Use a group if you want to:
- Have an exclusive community, or a VIP group
- Have a place to provide special content for a select group
- Create a place for your audience to connect and engage
- Be seen as a leader
You could most definitely have both, since each has its benefits.
My Two Cents
Many people successfully run a business page and a group. They share certain things on their page, and have a community within their group, maybe even reserve certain content for their group.
Is it easy to maintain both, and get engagement on both?
At this point, I’d say not really. Here’s why.
Groups are huge now. But huge to the point that they’ve become a marketing strategy. I’m not talking about marketing in a group you create. I mean joining groups and marketing there.
And I’m not going to lie. I’ve used this as a marketing tactic. I’ve coached people how to use them to get in front of clients. Because they work. But the more and more people see they work, the more people using them to market. Which makes running a group that much more difficult.
Of course you can have a no promo group and not allow any outside promos. But people don’t always read the group rules and post promos anyway. Which means you have to spend time moderating and deleting, or designate someone to do it for you.
And then there’s the “non-promo” promo posts. People DO read the rules and know they can’t share links and promos, so instead they post things that get people’s attention, bringing them and their business attention. Again, not going to discount this tactic. It works. But it seems more and more people are posting in a bunch of groups and running off, and not really interacting. And when everyone is doing it, it makes the tactic less effective overall.
So profile vs. page vs. group. Have a page. Don’t use your profile for your promos. You can choose to have a page and a group, and you can run both successfully. But understand to really see engagement, you need engagement. And that does take some work.
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