Should I create a Facebook page or a group?

You talk about “page” rather than group – is this the best way to go? We already have a group but haven’t yet started a page.

Whether you start a page or a group depends on what you are using Facebook for. For brand building and awareness you want a page, for more of a website forum type interaction between your visitors you want a group. Below is a table that shows you the difference between groups and pages.

Basically if you want to increase awareness for your business/brand you want a page NOT a group. The main reasons being that:

• A Facebook group is not found by search engines (outside of Facebook).
• Any posts the admins make on the wall of your group do NOT appear in the newsfeeds of the members, they have to go to the group to see your posts.
• A group cannot be customised with apps.

Groups on Facebook are places where people with similar interests hang out to share ideas and chat, similar to belonging to a photography club offline. It is not about broadcasting messages and building a relationship with a brand, it is about people talking to each other.

Unfortunately, once you have a group setup you can’t just change it into a page, you have to set up a page and ask all your group members to move across and join it. It is best, before you even start on Facebook, to sit down and work out why you are using it, for a business a page is usually the best way forward.

If you need more help with online marketing check out this event on September 28 in Sydney, run by SmartCompany’s Biz Tech Talk blogger – Paul Wallbank, Michelle Gamble of Marketing Angels and myself.

Lara Solomon is the founder of Mocks, mobile phone socks www.MyMocks.com, founder of Social Rabbit – your guide in the world of social media www.Facebook.com/SocialRabbit and author of ‘Brand New Day – the Highs & Lows of Starting a Small Business’. Lara’s business LaRoo was the winner of the NSW Telstra Micro-Business Award in 2008.