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

• 

  Step 1

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

• 

  Step 2

  2. Click "create new app"

• 

  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.

• 

  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.

• 

  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.

• 

  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.

• 

  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.

• 

  Step 8

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

• 

  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.
  

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How to Increase Your Influence on Twitter

What is an influencer?

An influencer is “someone who influences”. Influence, as defined by Merriam-Webster is

: the power to change or affect someone or something : the power to cause changes without directly forcing them to happen
: a person or thing that affects someone or something in an important way

Therefore, in describing a Twitter influencer, I would say ‘someone who influences people on Twitter’ and ‘a person that affects someone on Twitter in an important way.'

What does an influencer really do?

An influencer affects someone. As in “the power to cause changes without directly forcing them to happen.” So without telling people what to do exactly, or without specific instructions, the actions of the influencer affects the actions of the person being influenced.

Why would you want to be an influencer?

Why is this so powerful and why would you want to be a Twitter influencer? There are many reasons to want to be an influencer. As an influencer, you get to affect behavior, so as a Twitter influencer, you influence Twitter behavior as in you affect what people talk about, share and tweet, RT and chat about and even who they will follow. This is pretty powerful stuff. Think about how Twitter influence can affect web traffic, audience growth, product sales, product launch, consulting gigs, brand recognition and client work. If this makes sense to you, read on.

How can you find and identify Twitter Influencers?

There are social media tools available which will help you identify your Twitter influencers. Klout, Kred and Tospy come to mind, and of course, there are many others.
The tools are easy to use and if you are new to social media, new to Twitter or new to a specific industry, those are great places to start your search for influencers in your niche. These tools can also help you build your own influence. The effectiveness of building up your social media influence using these tools has been debated many times over, and that’s another blog post in itself, so I am going to let it rest right here. Let me just say it’s really hard to put a number on it!
In this recently written article by Michelle Hummell, she answers How to Find the Right Twitter Influencers to Grow Your Business by identifying 3 groups of influencers, namely

• customer demographic
• industry influencers
• amplifiers

How does this having this information help you? Answer these questions: Who knows most about your product? Who knows most about your industry? Who shares most about your brand? Bingo…! Those are your influencers! (and that person could be you; you could be an influencer in your industry already.)

How to Become a Twitter Influencer

How To Become a Twitter Influencer: Science and Practice talks about two additional influencers; Hub Influencers and Bridge Influencers. It’s a super interesting read by Neil Patel for Social Media Examiner, yet it leaves the reader hanging a bit. As I read the comments, one comment jumped out at me. It stated:

“Becoming a hub (influencer) isn’t easy.”
“There is nothing easy about becoming a Twitter influencer.”
No offence, but your post doesn’t give any help about the HOW, just information about those who already are twitter influencers.”

There, that was my cue to write this Twitter article.
Am I an expert on Twitter and influence? By no means! Am I the best person to answer this question? Probably not! Yet I do know that I influence people with my written words and I know I influence my audience on Twitter. So far, I have a passing grade; I am working on increasing my own influence by trying to be more consistent, have more conversations, be more active and grow my audience.
Regular people can become influencers. Regular Twitter users can become Twitter influencers. It takes hard work, perseverance, collaboration and a strategy to build and increase your influence on Twitter!
Read. Learn. Apply.

25 signs you are on your way to become a twitter influencer in your industry

1. You are present!
2. You tweet (quality content) daily
3. You tweet organically too, not only automated
4. You have conversations (you talk @people)
5. You answer questions
6. You ask questions, people read your tweet(s) and answer
7. You get retweeted
8. You seek out new connections
9. You share OPC (other people’s content)
10. You are listed on industry-specific lists
11. You have subscribers to your Twitter lists
12. You share images
13. You have a personalized Twitter profile and bio
14. You have a social media voice and personality
15. You thank people for sharing your content
16. You experience audience growth
17. You participate in chats
18. You have a diverse audience
19. You are known by name, not just your handle
20. You get thanked for great content
21. You use the right hashtags when appropriate
22. You are told you influence people
23. You inspire people to take action
24. You are consistent
25. You have a twitter strategy

Read more at: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/how-increase-your-influence-twitter-0

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How To Get More Interaction On Google+ [INFOGRAPHIC]

   Image source : http://i.imgur.com/iUZYKLD.png

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