Should I start up a Facebook group or create a page? If I had a penny for every time I heard this question at introductory Social Media classes I’d probably be richer than Bill Gates and Warren Buffet together. Ever since Facebook launched their Pages feature back in 2007 there has been a confusion over which product to use – a Page or a Group. Maybe both? With Facebook continuously adding features to both Pages and Groups – some of them overlapping – the things get even more complicated. Moreover, the interface you get when creating a page is so similar to the one you get for a regular account that it all gets as mind-boggling as it can be.

Let’s have a look at what each of them are.

What is a Page on Facebook?

If Facebook was the Internet, a Page would then be a website. In their own words, Pages are meant for organizations, businesses, celebrities or brands to offer information to the public who chose to connect with them (much like a website). A Page is also known as a business account and I have already outlined some major differences between a regular profile and a business account.

What is a Group on Facebook?

You might already be familiar with the concept from Yahoo or Google. A Facebook group is much in that line. Groups are to be built around a topic and gather a community that shares the same interest. People who join a Facebook Group can discuss relevant topics, share news and network with others.

What is a Facebook Profile?

A Facebook Profile or Personal account is just what the name suggests: a feature to be used by an individual rather than a business. A personal account is perfect to upload pictures from your vacation, keep in touch with high school buddies or announce that you will be attending events. By the way the feature is built, a plain profile doesn’t come with a lot of features a business would use, but can be more than enough for an individual.

Profiles vs Pages vs Groups: which one should I use?

Again, it depends on the type of project you are going to run and the features you need. Here are some tips:

• The degree of control. Groups offer by far the most control over who gets to do what. You can set up permissions as to who may access your group, approve newcomers by hand and restrict their posting rights. With Pages or Profiles on the other hand, you can solely restrict the access by age and location.
• Applications. Pages and profiles can host applications, groups can’t.
• Personal versus corporate. Groups are linked to your personal account – whenever you broadcast a message to your group it appears as coming from you as an individual. Pages, on the other hand, aren’t necessarily linked to a certain person. You can read more on this in the aforementioned article.

All in all, groups and profiles are great for interaction at a personal level, while pages (business accounts) should be used by businesses, artists, brands or celebrities.