facebook and other social media tools are an excellent way to promote your business online. When promoting your business on facebook, what is the better option: pages or groups?

facebook Pages:

facebook Pages were designed to give businesses, public figures and organizations the ability to create a “corporate” presence on facebook (as opposed to a personal facebook page). This presence gives the organization another vehicle to connect to it's clients and fans. Users can “like” your page (becoming a fan) giving them the ability to follow you  - they automatically receive your posts (messages) when you publish them on your facebook page.

facebook Groups:

facebook Groups were designed with the intention that anybody can create a group page on almost any subject, be it a TV show, a hobby, or your product. Groups allow members to join rather than “like”. The subject of the group (TV show, hobby, your product) has no control over the existence of, or content on the group page. One of the primary features of a facebook group is that Group administrators can send out messages to all group members making it easier to keep the members informed and up to date on important info.

 

facebook pages offer some key advantages over groups that make them ideal for promoting your business.

Advantages

  • Publically Viewable – facebook pages can be viewed by anybody on the internet, including user’s without a facebook account meaning you’re page can reach a wide audience. Group pages are only viewable by facebook subscribers.
  • Better URL – After receiving 25 ‘likes’ on your page, you are allowed to customize the URL. What exactly does this mean? Looking at our very own facebook page:

facebook Groups don’t get this benefit. A typical group URL looks like:  https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_5555555555

  • Better SEO. Having the name Webbuilders Group in the URL helps make our facebook page appear in search engine results.
  • Tracking – facebook pages provide insights into the number of likes your page has received and impressions (views) your posts have had.
  • Application – Applications can be used to personalize your page. These can range from prebuilt applications like the youtube app that lets you put your youtube videos on your facebook page, or custom ones created just for your company.
  • Authentic – facebook Pages can only be created and used by official representatives of the respective company/public figure. This instills confidence in viewers that the page truly represents the company.

Conclusion

Social media tools such as facebook aren't for everyone.  You have to be committed to managing them. But when used strategically these tools can be very powerful. If you are convinced facebook can be a valuable tool for you, consider using a corporate facebook page instead of a group.

Check back soon for a guide on customizing your facebook page.

Tagged facebook; by Ryan M