Facebook Page vs Facebook Group vs Facebook Profile 2021 -

One of the questions I get ALL the time is: what do I need for my business: Facebook Page vs Facebook Group vs Facebook Profile? In this blog post I will walk you through all three options, and the pros and cons of each, so you can compare Facebook Page vs Facebook Group and Facebook Page vs Facebook Profile!

Facebook Personal Profile

Let’s start with the easiest one, the Facebook Personal Profile: Everyone needs a personal profile! Here’s why:

In most Facebook Groups, only personal profiles are allowed, not business pages.
You need a personal profile in order to start a business page.

Which brings me to the next question: should you use your personal profile for your business? Whether or not you post business posts on your personal profile is a personal choice. Here’s what to take into account when deciding if and how you want to use your personal profile for your business:

It is against Facebook terms and conditions to run a business from your personal profile, so I personally recommend you use it as a personal profile, not as a business profile.
You can still mix in business posts with your other posts, just like someone with a job would talk about their job.
If you are a service based entrepreneur, then you can use your Facebook personal profile to personally connect with people. After all, people do business with people, and your personal profile is a great way for people to get to know you.
If you want to talk business, but you don’t want to bother your friends and family with it, then you can consider segmenting your friends into lists, and only show the “business” list your business posts. This video will walk you through how that works:

I also recommend you optimize your personal profile so people can easily find your business page and/or group (check out my profile to see how you can do that).

Facebook Business Page

Every business needs a business page. Here’s why:

Facebook Page vs Facebook Profile – benefits of a page

It’s simply expected for a business to have a business page. If you don’t have a Facebook Business Page as a business, you don’t “exist”. Potential customers will easily doubt whether you are legitimate if they see that you don’t have a Facebook Business Page.
You cannot run Facebook Ads, unless you have a Facebook Business Page. To run ads, you need to collect data from website visitors. The sooner you start collecting these data, the better your future ads can run. So even if you are not planning to run ads yet, installing a Facebook pixel (for which you need a Facebook Business page) is still a wise thing to do.
If you want to grow big, you need a page, because… a personal profile can only have 5,000 friends. A Facebook Business Page can have an unlimited amount of followers!
As said before, you are not allowed to run a business from a personal profile. If someone reports you, your page can get shut down, without prior warning. Aaah.
Facebook Business Pages come with statistics. Data are everything in marketing and for a personal profile, you won’t even know how many people visit your profile!

Facebook Page vs Facebook Group – Benefits of a Page

Content on a page has the potential to go viral, which content in a private group does not (because the content cannot be shared outside of the group).

The most important thing to remember about Facebook Business Pages is: DO NOT USE BUSINESS PAGE IF YOUR GOAL IS TO GET EYEBALLS ON YOUR CONTENT. THE REACH OF FB PAGES IS SUPER LOW, YOU ARE WASTING YOUR TIME! Use them for the rasons mentioned above.

Facebook Groups

You do not need to have a Facebook Group, but I definitely recommend it if you want to build a community around your brand.

Facebook Group vs Facebook Page – Benefits of Facebook Groups

Here are the benefits of a Facebook Group compared to a Business Page:

Facebook announced in 2019 that they are going to focus on: stories (disappearing content), messaging and groups. Groups are a super important part of Facebook strategy, because in 2020 many people come to Facebook because of the groups and Facebook are struggling to keep people on the platform. This means that groups is where the budget and attention are right now at Facebook, not pages…
More people will see a post in a group than a post on a page. The number are not published, but on average it is said that between 1% and 5% of page followers will see a post, where for groups it’s between 15% and 25% (also low, but still a lot better).
Groups have the potential to become communities! Places where people come to connect and hang out.
Groups are closed (if you choose private as your group setting, which I recommend). Because of that safe nature, it will be a lot easier to get into meaningful conversations with your group members than on a public page.

So there are definitely benefits to Facebook groups vs Facebook Pages!

To summarize for you: EVERY business owner needs a personal profile and a business page. A group is optional, but highly recommended if you want to grow a community.