Facebook Page or Facebook Group?

What's the best way to represent your student club/organization on Facebook?

Due to the number of questions received about this topic, I was about to write up my own analysis, but figured I should check with my blogging pals first. Sure enough Leigh Householder of Advergirl put together a nice post for businesses that is easily translated to Student Groups. Here is a full repost:

There are a lot of choices – groups, pages, causes, fans, friends. And, none of the which and the why seems terribly clear.

To make it simple: There is one main choice. And, then a few other important options.

First pick: Page or group or both

Page
Who can create it: An official representative of the real public figure, artist, brand or organization that the page is for

Why page?

•     First up, pages are indexed on Google. A nice little add to your integrated social SEO strategy
•     Allows you to connect with an unlimited number of fans (personal profiles & groups support up to 5000 friends)
•     You can send messages to all your fans
•     You can use rich media and leverage Facebook apps (super customizable)

Why not page?

•     Little of the new content or activity you post is actually fed to your profile new feeds (the most visible? New fans. New photos or video uploaded by fans)
•     Messages to fans don’t go into their inbox; rather, they’re delivered as an “update,” which fewer people see.
•     Unlike being an administrator of some non-FB communities (like blogs or wikis),there’s no automated way to moderate activity. You have to manually check for new links, videos, etc.

Group:
Who can create it: Anyone (on any topic)

Why groups?

•     Most importantly, you can message all members and the notice shows up right in their inbox for maximum attention
•     All activities are picked up in the feed – posts, discussion, photos, etc., which provides a lot more visibility
•     Tend to be more informal, which can, in itself, feel more social
•     Lots of control over who to involve. There are three different types of groups: Open (anyone can join); Closed (the group owner/admins have to approve all members); Secret (only the members and invitees know the group even exists).

Why not groups:

•     There’s a 5000 fan limit for messaging. More people can choose to be fans of your group, but you won’t be able to directly contact them
•     You can’t add apps directly to a group
•     Customization is limited
•     Unlike being an administrator of some non-FB communities (like blogs or wikis),there’s no automated way to moderate activity. You have to manually check for new links, videos, etc.
•     Word is, these groups are also very tricky to delete (Editor Comment - Only way to delete a group is to ask everyone to leave the group, then it just closes. There is no delete button)
  

Then add:

•     Fan: both these pages allow administrators to turn on a fan function. Allowing fans lets your organization rack up contacts (just like a personal profile allows you to add friends)
•     Cause: Want to raise money, enable supporters to raise money, win volunteers, etc? Facebook’s new action-based app is Causes. It’s a good add for a group or page strategy. But, because it requires users to add an application, it’s definitely not a standalone.

Quick update in response to an offline discussion:

Q: What's the difference between a profile and a page?
A: Short answer: a profile is for people; a page is for non-people (or super people, i.e. celebs). Profiles are the basic building blocks of FB. They represent its millions of members. In a longer answer, I'd also tell you that pages allow a lot more customization and flexibility ... but, I think this whole person vs. nonperson thing gives you the talking point most people need.

Comments

[William]

I don't really like student groups which rely on facebook as communication means. Facebook can be a nice supplement. But "old-fashioned" emails which goto all students in an organization are more effective.

A facebook group does not include that member who isn't on facebook. Or what about that member who won't join the group (for whatever reason).

It's not fair to limit an organization to those that you can find on facebook.

What if the public relations coordinator isn't friends with half of the members on facebook. Should they try to initiate friend requests so that they can contact them.

Even though facebook shouldn't be relied on, it CAN be an effective SUPPLEMENT to only the emails. Facebook "events" are useful ways to let people know about meetings or parties and have connected members keep up with the dates. You also get a very roughly estimated head count. Also, facebook events can create buzz on campus through the newsfeed. I've gone to events that I've seen that I have friends going to on the main page (such as a movie showing on the drill field).

However, facebook should only be a supplement to email, posters, and any other traditional tool.

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