What's Really the Difference Between Facebook Pages, Groups and Profiles?

Image: Mashable composite, Facebook

 

With several overlapping features, Facebook's Pages, groups and profiles leave many users confused.
Together, these three functions help us stay connected, but each has its own purpose and works for different types of content. Whether you want to stay in touch with friends, promote your brand or meet others with the same hobbies, we can help you determine which tool will most effectively meet your needs.

Below, we highlight the differences between Facebook Pages, groups and profiles to help you understand when and how to use each one.

What's a profile?

Image: Facebook

A Facebook profile is meant to represent a single individual, and is for non-commercial use. Made up of photos and experiences, a profile summarizes a person's story. On a profile, individuals can personalize their profile by uploading a profile photo, cover photo and adding personal information like hometown, birthday, relationship status and work history. Profile owners can post statuses, life events and can control what information is shared on their respective profiles.
They can add and message friends, choose to view friends' statuses on their News Feed and share personal updates. Those with a profile can follow other profiles to see public updates from people they are not friends with. Similarly, profile owners can "like" pages to see updates in their News Feed.

Timeline

Within your profile is a space called Timeline. Sorted by date, Timeline allows profile users to view their own posts, posts from friends and stories they're tagged in.

How do I create a profile?

Image: Facebook

Signing up for a profile is easy. Here are five steps to get you started:

• Go to Facebook.
• Fill in the required information, and click "Sign Up."
• Facebook will send you a confirmation email. Log in to the email account you signed up with.
• Click the link in your confirmation email from Facebook.
• Follow the instructions to find friends, fill out profile information, choose interests and add a profile picture.

What's a Page?

Image: Facebook

Think of a Facebook Page as a Timeline for organizations, businesses, brands and public figures. Similar to profiles, Page owners can post stories, add a cover photo, host events and more. Those who have "liked" a Page will see the Page's updates in their News Feeds.
Anyone can create a Facebook Page, but only official representatives can create and manage a Page for an organization, business, brand or public figure. To create a Page, all you will need is a Facebook profile. Profile owners can manage multiple Pages, and Page creators can give permission for others to be administrators to help manage the Page.
If you're looking to promote your company or raise brand awareness, you'll want to create a Facebook Page. You can share promotions, offer specials, make announcements and essentially, build a central fan base. It's free to create, and once it is set up, the Page is optimized to look the same across computers, phones, tablets and other devices. Conveniently, there is a free Facebook Pages Manager app (Android, iOS) so owners can conveniently run the Page when they're on-the-go.

Image: Facebook

Pages come with a set of features that profiles and groups don't have, for example, the ability to manage notifications, messages and scheduled posts on the "Activity" tab. Pages also come with a section called "Insights," which help track of how posts are performing and who is connecting to your Page. This section shares engagement information and breaks down the demographics of the Page's fan base to help the creator understand who their fans are. In the "Settings" tab, Page owners can change visibility, choose whether they want people to post to the Page, enable messages, set up profanity filters and more.
Similar to profiles, Page administrators can view an activity log to see published posts and comments. In this log, administrators can delete posts, comments and hide or allow posts.

How do I create a Page?

Image: Facebook

Building a Facebook Page is easier than it sounds. Make sure you're logged into your individual Facebook profile. Then:

• Click on the downward arrow at the top-right of your Facebook profile's homepage, and select "Create a Page." This option is also on the left-hand sidebar under "Pages." Or, you can visit www.facebook.com/pages/create.
• Click on the category that is most relevant to the Page you want to create.
• Select a more specific category from the drop-down menu.
• Fill out the required information.
• Click "Get Started" and follow the instructions.

What's a group?

Image: Facebook

Today, more than 500 million people use Facebook groups monthly, and thousands of groups are created daily. Like discussion forums, groups allow specific sets of people to share photos, links, updates and more.
Groups are great for connecting family, peers, teammates, co-workers or people with a shared interest. Members can ask and answer questions, post about events or job openings and follow conversations about topics that interest them. Additionally, groups allow you to send mass messages directly to the group members' inbox.
Groups have three privacy options. Here's a rundown of what they are and what they mean:

• Public: Anyone can join or be added or invited by a member
• Closed: Anyone can ask to join or be added or invited by a member
• Secret: Anyone can join, but they have to be added or invited by a member

How do I create a group?

Image: Facebook

To create a group, you need to be logged into your individual Facebook profile.

• On web: From your homepage, go to the "Groups" section on your sidebar and click "Add Group." Click "Create New Group," and a window will pop up. Enter your group name, add members and select the privacy setting for your group. Click "Create" when you're finished.
• On iPhone: Tap "More" at the bottom-right corner. Under "Groups," tap "Create Group" and enter group name, description, privacy setting and an icon. Tap "Create" in the top-right corner to confirm.
• On Android: In the menu, scroll down to "Groups", tap "Add Group," enter the group's name and select the privacy setting. Tap "Continue" to confirm.

How do I join a group?

Image: Facebook

To become a member of a group, go to the group page and click "Join Group" in the top-right corner. You can also join any public group that you see on the "About" page of someone's Timeline, by clicking "Join." To browse through the most popular groups your friends are in, type "Groups joined by my friends" in Facebook's search bar.
Keep in mind that some groups are private, and you may have to wait until the group administrator approves your request. Depending on the group's settings, you can also be added by a friend who's already a member.
If you have additional questions, visit Facebook's Help Center.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

BONUS: Facebook Timeline How-To

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  Step 1

  1. When you get here, click "allow."

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  Step 2

  2. Click "create new app"

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  Step 3

  3. Name it whatever you want, and give it whatever namespace you'd like -- it doesn't matter. Click the checkbox "I agree to the platform privacy policy." And then click Continue, pass the security check by filling in the Captcha, and you'll be ready for the next step.

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  Step 4

  4. After you've verified yourself as a human, you'll reach this screen, where you'll need to click "Open Graph" on the left side.

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  Step 5

  5. You'll see the next screen, entitled "Get Started with Open Graph" -- fill in anything you want (it doesn't matter) in those fields under the heading "start by defining one action than one object for your app." Click Get Started.

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  Step 6

  6. On this screen, do nothing except scroll to the bottom and click "Save Changes and Next." Do the same thing on the next screen.

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  Step 7

  7. You'll be taken to this screen. Wait a few minutes, and then go to your Facebook homepage. That's where you'll be invited to enable Timeline. Be patient at this point -- sometimes it requires you to wait before the changes take effect.

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  Step 8

  8. When you go back to your Facebook homepage, you'll see this. Success! Click Get It Now, and you're in!

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  You've Done It!

  Here's where you fiddle with your timeline, set it up the way you like it, and when you click Publish Now, your Timeline goes live. Or, you can wait two to four weeks (there is no set date), and you can opt in without going through this process.
  If you want to get into your timeline from another computer, the address for this developer's version is located at this URL: http://www.facebook.com/[yourusername]?sk=timeline and of course [yourusername] is your own Facebook user name.