I get a lot of questions from clients about Facebook Fan Page vs. Facebook Groups. It can be overwhelming to know which one to choose, but here’s a breakdown for you:

Facebook Groups are best used for non-profits, fundraiser groups, and friend gatherings such as a bowling group. The group is very oriented around events and doesn’t possess the same amount of features that the Fan page has. Facebook considers groups to be an extension of your personal actions. When you post something as a group administrator, it looks like it’s coming from you and is attached to your personal profile.

Facebook Fan Pages allow for businesses, organization, and brands to have a place to talk to their customers and clients. Unlike groups, fan pages are visible to people who aren’t logged into Facebook and are thus indexed by search engines. Pages communicate by “updates” which show on the news feed of a fan. Pages can have applications as well. A Fan Page can create content that doesn’t linked to you personally.

You do need a personal profile in order to use either one of these features, but one advantage of a Fan Page is ability to assign other people as admins of the Fan Page, this is especially nice if you are delegating the updates to an employee or an assistant.

Overall, Groups and Fan Pages are powerful and if used properly, can help promote a great cause or a business.