I’ve been asked many times recently what the difference is between a Facebook fan page and a Facebook group. It’s a great question and the two are similar enough that it can sometimes be confusing.
Here’s my short answer: if you have a logo and a legal entity, you probably want a fan page. Otherwise, you probably want a group.
Fan pages are more appropriate for businesses, non-profits, organizations, or any entity that has a legal presence and a brand. For example, SpinWeb has a fan page because it’s a company. Many of our non-profit and association clients also have fan pages, such as the AMTA Indiana Chapter. These organizations have legal status and a brand and therefore are appropriate candidates for a fan page.
Groups are designed for decentralized common-interest communities. They are great for clubs, topics, and any community that doesn’t necessarily have a “home office” but needs a place to host a discussion and post information. Groups are frequently used for causes, common interests, and events.
So what’s the difference? Here are some basic technical differences:
Fan pages
- No limit on number of fans (members)
- Can install applications
- Indexed by Google
- No privacy controls
- Announcements are sent as Facebook updates
- Geared toward business
Groups
- Limit of 5,000 members
- Cannot install applications
- Not indexed by Google
- More advanced privacy controls
- Announcements can be sent as Facebook messages
- Geared toward personal
Take these things into account when deciding whether to create a fan page or a group and you will get more out of your Facebook presence. Does anyone else have any creative examples of fan pages or groups? Comments are welcome.
