Choosing between Facebook Pages, Groups, and Causes

Posted on December 13, 2010 by ari

Category: Education, Technology
Tags: > >

Facebook lets you make Pages, Groups, and Causes. Should a filmmaker set up a Page so people can click a “Like” button, or are they better off with a Group so they can share screenings and get RSVPs? Should a non-profit set themselves up as a simple Page, or are they ready to invest some time and release some control, in cultivating a Cause? How do you choose what sort of thing(s) to set up?

To help suss out the differences between these things, read Pages, Groups, and Causes: How are they different?: “Most Non-Profits utilize a combination of Pages, Groups and Causes depending on their objectives…”

Over here at Shirari Industries we prefer Pages and Groups, and we usually only recommend using one per project / organization, for simplicity’s sake. These can be quick to set up and very quick to use, and since they don’t depend on recruitment and intense Facebook activity (for you and your supporters), they can be more economical than committing to maintaining a Cause. Here are some examples of ones we’ve set up:

Pages
More one-sided communication, announcements, and that handy “Like” button

Groups
More interactive, useful events listings feature

What are you saying and to whom?

Folks sometimes have a hard time understanding the difference between these types of organizational or collectively-run pages we’re talking about here, and personal profiles. A personal profile is for a person, not an organization or a campaign or project. When you sign up for a Facebook account, you’re creating a personal profile for yourself, with your name on it. You can then become a creator, admin, or moderator of various other types of pages – like the Pages, Groups, and Causes mentioned above. When you post something to a Page, it does not appear on your personal profile – you and the things you admin are separate entities.

So how do you decide what to post where? It depends on who you’re trying to communicate with. (Are they personal contacts, or fans of your non-profit, or members of one of your working groups…?) Odds are that a lot of your friends will also Like your Pages and join your Groups, so be careful not to post everything you want to share in every place you can share it, to avoid a lot of repetition for those who care most about what you’re doing. Choose the audience who would be most interested in what you have to share and broadcast it to them only.

See also: Liz’s Rules for Facebook Promoting: a little bit of etiquette goes a long way.

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Comments

One Response to “Choosing between Facebook Pages, Groups, and Causes”

  1. Choosing a Web Host: A Guide for Lefties | Shirari Industries
    April 24th, 2011 @ 5:41 pm

    [...] See also: Choosing between Facebook Pages, Groups, and Causes [...]

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