So you’ve started a small business and now it’s time to market it. To date, Facebook has 2.45 billion monthly active users (source: Sprout Social). Facebook is a great marketing tool for reaching audiences – whether as an entrepreneur, a blogger, or an organization. Anyone with a Facebook profile can create a page or a Facebook group. But the question is how do you know which one is right for your business?
Facebook Page: A profile page for a business, brand or organization. You can have a Facebook page for public figures as well. Facebook business pages can assign different admins to control posting, they can be followed or liked by anyone on Facebook and the posts can be promoted.
Facebook Group: A Facebook group acts as a hub for a specific audience, where individuals can have discussions, share information and ask questions based on a specific interest (for example: A fitness business may create a private group for paid membership holders only)
Before you make a decision, check which headings you identify with:
I would like to create a community that is tight-knit and more private:
Facebook groups allow you to have more control over privacy, the ability to establish group rules and you can dismiss members who break those rules. If you are looking to build a tight-knit community and focus on genuine conversations, Facebook groups are the way to go! Note: the role of the admin is to keep the group active, encourage conversation and provide valuable information.
I have an advertising budget and would like to advertise on Facebook:
Great! If you are just starting out, the best thing to do before spending any money is to build up your following and establish a community. Learn about what your target audience wants and needs and then create a Facebook page for advertising purposes.
If you already have a business Facebook page and following, you can step right into the ad space and your ad money spent will be beneficial.
Benefits of advertising on a Facebook page:
- You can promote posts through Facebook’s advertising platform.
- Your ads can be targeted towards certain demographics.
- You get analytics about your ads
I have a physical location:
If you are a business owner with a physical location, it would be most beneficial to open a Facebook page. Why? Because 1. It will be public and 2) you want to draw traffic to your physical location and hours of operation. This does not mean you can’t create a Facebook group later down the road.
I have an established client base who have provided me with written testimonials
If you have a loyal customer base that have provided you with testimonials over the years, a great way to display those testimonials would be on a Facebook page. In addition, it’s having a Facebook page will allow you to ask future clients for Facebook testimonials.
Testimonials are such an important thing to have as a business owner, it shows that clients trust you, see value in your work, and would recommend you to others. You can kindly ask your fans to recommend or place a testimonial on your Facebook page, which will be displayed publicly.
Once you can identify with who your happy clients are, you can create a Facebook group and invite these clients into the private group to connect them with like-minded individuals. So in this case, both a Facebook page and group would be a good option.
I am looking to promote events to highly targeted audiences
Think of Facebook groups as mini-communities with similar interests and needs. A business is allowed to promote an event through Facebook Groups in general, whereas a page doesn’t allow that option. In addition, you must be a member of a group to start promoting in them and ensure make sure that you are following the group guidelines.
We hope this information provided more clarity in the direction you need to go in when it comes to Facebook pages and groups. If you would like to dive further into this topic, we would love to chat! Click here to contact us!