Last Updated on March 31, 2019
Clients often ask me which they should create: a Facebook Group or Page? For writers, a Facebook page can be a key component of their author platform.
Here are the pros and cons I’ve dug up on each. I’d love to hear if anyone has others to add to the list.
Pros of Pages
Pages are almost like a standalone website for your brand. In fact, a lot of small businesses opt to use a Page rather than create a website. Writers can use their Page to send followers, or people who have “liked” your Page, updates about their book, speaking engagements, etc. If you’re a writer who’s going to use Facebook for business purposes, I highly recommend creating a Page rather than using your personal profile.
- More functionality, such as the ability to list events, add a menu, and customize a button that can allow users to sign up for your newsletter, buy a product, or several other options.
- Detailed metrics tracking (pageviews, etc.).
- Ability to send updates to Page followers (previously called Fans).
- More than one person can manage a page. The level of access is controlled by their Page role.
- Greater reach through Facebook advertising and promoted posts.
- Increased SEO juice. Having a Facebook Page gives your brand another opportunity to show up in search results. Linking between your Page, website, and other online platforms can further up your SEO factor.
Pros of Groups
Think of Groups as online communities. All members can post and share information equally, although Group owners have the ability to moderate content. I belong to a number of Groups for writing, fan clubs, and travel. When I lived abroad, the Berlin Expats group was an insanely valuable resource whenever I had a question about German bureaucracy.
- Privacy. Do you want non-members seeing your info? You can control who can find or see your group and even who can join.
- More popular and prevalent than pages, because they’ve been around longer, which means people are more likely to happen upon a Group than a Page via search.
- Sharing files. If there are documents that members regularly need to access, you can have them in one convenient place.
- Archives. If you’re in a group such as Berlin Expats, you can search old posts in case your question was answered previously.
