We frequently get asked by clients what the difference between Facebook Pages and Groups are and which one they should use. For organizations, the response is very simple: Use Facebook Pages. Here’s why:

1. Pages can be viewed by anybody. Groups can only be accessed by Facebook members. If you want people to be able to see your content without being a member of Facebook, don’t use Groups!
2. Groups are set up for “personal actions”, when you post something as a Group administrator, it appears to be coming from, and attached to, your personal profile. Pages can post content that appears to come from the Page itself so that the content doesn’t have to be linked to your personal profile.
3. Pages can host applications (like integration with Twitter & LinkedIn, Promotions, Blog integration, etc) while Groups cannot.
4. Groups are limited in their communications when they reach over 5,000 members. Pages do not have limits on how many fans you can send updates to or how many total fans you may have.
5. While both Pages and Groups may purchase Facebook Ads, Pages can benefit from social ads that publicize the fan connection between specific users and the Page.
6. Facebook Pages allow you to access user interaction with Facebook Insights Dashboard. This feature allows you to track fan interaction with your content over time. It also gives you a post quality rating for a quick snapshot of how your content is performing compared to other Pages of similar size. Groups, sorry.
7. Pages allow you access to the News Feed. With Groups, you can send messages to Facebook inboxes, run discussion topics, post comments to your wall, and add photos, links, events and videos. However, none of these actions make their way to the News Feed. With Pages, any updates to your status, links, photos or videos go straight to the News Feed. Not to mention they get more attention when fans “like” or comment on a Wall post.
8. Pages increase Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Because Pages can be accessed by search engines like Google and Yahoo, they add to your overall SEO strategy to increase traffic and rankings to your existing website. Groups do not make their content available to the world outside of Facebook.

The Bottom Line

Groups are great for personal discussions and organization conversations around common interests. Pages are best for companies and organizations who want to build a brand and facilitate interaction both on and off Facebook.