Digital Dialogue

There are two main ways a business can have a presence on Facebook - either by creating a group, or a fan page.  There are pros and cons of each outlined in this article to help you decide which is the best for your business.

The major differences only become evident when you actually try them both out.  In doing so, I created both a group and a fan page.  Here are the major differences:

1. unlike groups, fan pages are visible to unregistered people and are therefore indexed by search engines;
2. unlike pages, groups allow you to send out bulk invitations to your friends to join the group.  This enables you to grow the group quite quickly and makes groups more effective for viral marketing as any group member can share the group with all of their friends.
   

In more detail

So, which is the best?

Pages give you the most flexibility to create a unique presence on Facebook as well as to build a long-term relationship with your customers.  However it is much harder to develop quick support or "fans" for your Facebook page due to the limitation of not being able to send out bulk invitations to your friends.

Groups enable you to quickly grow your membership numbers and are great for hosting events and sharing photos etc. between members.

If you can't decide which is the best way to go, just do both!  I did however contact Facebook and was told that it is possible to convert a group into a fan page.  There is more info about this in their FAQ. 

Therefore, if you're wanting to grow your membership numbers quickly using the viral effect of groups, you could later convert the group into a fan page if you like - possibily giving you the best of both worlds.

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