Every once and awhile I find little bits of things on social media outlets that I find interesting, irksome, or just cool. I’d like to note one of these things in hopes of sharing some insights and maybe bring some new perspective/attention to these neat little pieces. Facebook Groups- Though not a bad thing for private groups of people who wish to engage and discuss a particular topic or interest, let’s just all admit that Facebook Groups are NOT interchangeable with Facebook pages and here’s why:
- No Insights– One of the best things about Facebook Pages is that you get statistical insights on how successful your page is on a regular basis. Interaction metrics, fan growth, fan demographics- the list goes on of useful information that is provided to Page admins, but no such info is available with Groups.
- Minimal Applications-With more than half a million (and growing) active applications on Facebook, there are unlimited ways to customize and increase the function of a Facebook page, but with Groups all of those cool applications are practically non existent.
- News Feed Challenged– Group updates don’t show up on news feeds the same way page updates do, which means users are less likely to see what’s going on with a Group than with a Page.
Conclusion? Let’s just say that if you are using Facebook as a promotional/educational/communications tool for a business, product, or service- stick with the Facebook Page and save the Group for your specific discussion wall-type needs.
~Kate
