This post updated April 27th, 2012hwrr29cyg8gm7kmyvc8idhqsnckh7eoe

At Aspiration, we often talk to organizations with questions about whether to set up a Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82, Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr, or Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q on facebook.com98qz5f79zjxwtk2i3zp641aqtdzzkqdj">Facebook for their organization. I wanted to walk through some of the differences between these to help guide your Facebook set up.wnrip9dm3ud2gs9p6pjyy2f81f2v6vns

Define Your Goalssjnjc7drlw7efny9870akjrlt7mx0ouj

First, if you haven’t already, take a step back and figure out why your organization wants to use Facebook. How is this tool going to help with your communications goals? Make sure that you’re choosing Facebook as a tool that will support your work in some way rather than feeling like you have to be on Facebook (“because everyone’s on it!”) but are unclear why.3wtu2kufyxbx01fn1ekbatg8rva51lfv

The truth is that Facebook can be a major tool to take on. Daily posting, community engagement, responsiveness and relationship cultivation are what you’re committing to. For larger organizations and companies, throwing money at any new tool to explore is fine. But for the rest of us with limited time and resources, before you choose which tools to use, make sure their use maps to something that will support your organization’s work. rjxqq6ogrl0rsts6s7om21rbivlftieaRemember that these tools are supposed to help not hinder your work to make the world a better place. Focusing on goals helps you see how your efforts in a tool like Facebook connect to the real change you are affecting in the world.a3gg7lfsztzjdzcol1yjegwd02ikiwoi

If Facebook still seems like a fit, examine how you want to use it to reach your goals.7870r60jwhqfaxk42i3k0lp00rwhha6f

• Are you using it purely to promote events?ra5i2nt5leoilc11a335gs4ou2hp028i
• To drive traffic to your website?mo9jmknn5xkgqcw3d0y80c7kxxg9vip7
• To cultivate conversations with your supporters?yh7apig4rq5ebxxb170pqanbtlcnelk2

By defining your intentions first, it will make it a lot easier to determine which kind of Facebook property to set up. Let’s take a look at the types.r3ociadut0y814mhiwdj3tbkder3ffwx

Why You Should Noszttsp7xlv76urzy2wcynf7m9i7jdwkvbr7ugh1xrry1jpnlwsrt07vou4ca4x06khi0vt6ign4kpsg2o0mtbfvxbv217s6ht6z7wtmxkpdoxmia8e6fhnoj60hsqaoat Use a Facebook Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82 for Your Organizationg7s7ur1t5v6jcqntm36t2uz7g39mt9hz3ujob19irppgzgxgqsf9z9l7dd77clx5

A Facebook “Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82” is designed to represent only by an individual person. It allows you to “Friendym12am4cxbmn751ihq3xjtt3b0f5f664” other people to indicate that you have a connection, but the other person must approve your “Friendym12am4cxbmn751ihq3xjtt3b0f5f664 Request” to complete the connection.zbugeg82moh54horiyjg3lhh1sbdj8b8

Many times, organizations will set up a Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82 on Facebook to represent themselves. Most of us have our own Facebook Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82, so we feel comfortable setting up a Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82 for our organization when we are presented with the task. However, Facebook wants only individuals to maintain Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82s. They search for organizations representing themselves in Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82s and aggressively delete them because they want all Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82s to represent individuals. 43a3jij1s9lu3v4lhdr4u5vgoe494wyzIn any case, the features for a Facebook Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82 don’t match how most organizations would want to use Facebook anyway. The Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82 has a limit of 5,000 friends (which you must approve), no metrics and low search engine optimization. As an organization, therefore, do not set up a Facebook Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82. The features are not designed for organizations and if Facebook finds you, they will delete you.qwo0huqo9vecjhuumk95335yar4b051g

Do you currently have a Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82 for your organization and want to switch to a Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q?2iokbn5xc67pa7limtnii4c8dl2akiec

Facebook has released a tool to make the migration easy: facebook.com98qz5f79zjxwtk2i3zp641aqtdzzkqdj/pages/create.php?migrate"> Convert Your Facebook Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82 to a Facebook Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q18db77pvmeiw4db8f9c6tddm9yt2jkmb

What’s up with the Facebook Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q?2busdwt4o9sxvt3mi6rquwjiov625dex

A Facebook “Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q” (not to be confused with Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82) is designed for business or official representations of organizations or people. Facebook users are able to “Likeekhc4lmnxuakfkesqz3uubyagm8oltsq” a Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q and that Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q is then indicated on their Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82 as an organization that they Likeekhc4lmnxuakfkesqz3uubyagm8oltsq. There is no limit on Likeekhc4lmnxuakfkesqz3uubyagm8oltsqs and no approval required.39fz14gyv7l2wmaodeivdjmh7mhvutfo

Facebook created the Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q option after they saw the increased use of Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82s by brands and organizations. A Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q allows your organization to have a public Facebook presence, find-able on search engines like Google, that acts like a mini website for your community.v5i3krabj9efgojhbutq1opml0a95qxq

Only a current Facebook user with a Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82 can create a Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q. When they create the Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q, that person becomes the first “Admin” which allows them to edit, post and administer the Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q. That first Admin can then specify other people to be Admins on the Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q however they must be Friendym12am4cxbmn751ihq3xjtt3b0f5f664s on Facebook. When Admins post content to the Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q’s Wall, by default they show up as the Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q and not their personal Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82. You can customize the URL of your Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q as facebook.com98qz5f79zjxwtk2i3zp641aqtdzzkqdj/yourorganization. 2d5oyw5jcxfc00k9bvfn1fvjqvuiq0tjBecause you show up as the organization and have a more public presence, Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7qs give you a much more organizational presence on Facebook.lgmn32ravaod9yu4escokf2xoa70usk6

Another advantage of using a Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q is that Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7qs have a feature called Facebook Insights. Facebook Insights gives you analytics on who is interacting with what content on your Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q. Facebook Insights are not available on Facebook Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82s or Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wrs. Insights are a key reason to use a Facebook Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q. Using Insights allows you to track your progress using Facebook toward your measurable communications goals.fkl7fv5jylh70oksezq0xzq6r4mgenwj

One limitation of using a Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q is that you cannot send “Message”s to your organization’s Likeekhc4lmnxuakfkesqz3uubyagm8oltsq-ers as you can when you’re using a Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82 or Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr. You used to be able to send an “Update” to your Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q’s Likeekhc4lmnxuakfkesqz3uubyagm8oltsq-ers but Facebook took away this feature so that now the main way a Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q sends information out to Likeekhc4lmnxuakfkesqz3uubyagm8oltsq-ers is to post a status update.79fbi3k0etfu6gpjw4q55voidqd3hh1f

When Should I Use a Facebook Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr?ihambtx6u0523bhz30rciag5u6uow5k4

A Facebook Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr is for people or an organization and allows you to “Joinvif3f2mgfdgzn0820829ns4y3rz69ydu”. Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wrs can be invite-only or open.cujpkjbaomc58auqk1gfelt88bueomaq

Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wrs are Facebook real estate designed for (shockingly) groups of people. Before organizations could make official “Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7qs” in 2007, they could create a Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr. Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wrs cannot have their own Facebook URL which can make it more difficult to find in search engines. Also, you must be logged in to see all the functions of a Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr or to join the Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr. Another notable issue is that when owners of the Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr post, they show up as their personal Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82 rather than showing up as the Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr. l4qj36npyro427ipsslwkctxp1km272eIn addition, you can only invite your personal Facebook “Friendym12am4cxbmn751ihq3xjtt3b0f5f664s” to join a Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr. These issues can blur the lines of your personal and professional use of Facebook.wd3vexjdegfbz1snznl4xqk26h06guk3

Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wrs can be advantageous as they can be set up as invite-only or to allow people to freely join. You are also able to send Messages to members in the Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr which Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7qs aren’t able to do. In addition, Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wrs allow individuals to share documents with other members of the Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr which, depending on what you’re using Facebook for, may be a useful feature.f1glikmkbq4qfm4bt750gmuvh1ftwg02

One way that organizations take advantage of both sets of features (Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q and Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr) is to create a Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q to start for their organization, then set up a Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr for a specific target audience like Alumni or an event planning committee. Unfortunately, Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wrs cannot be created under a Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q (in other words a Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q cannot create a Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr), so inside of the Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr you gain Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr functionalities but loses its organizational representation to a large extent.jgqsfda55rvmkdxc62be7xpsi2g0nhbw

Which Should Your Organizationg7s7ur1t5v6jcqntm36t2uz7g39mt9hz Use?zd6j8csgns11ab9mgtabixdhnprjt5wj

Ultimately, Facebook will change and features will be added or removed. Remember, you always want to define the goals so you can easily move those goals to the latest platform whenever it eventually pops up and leaves Facebook in the dust.og3lv46hgbhvh9qrbkg4qr2vwwr71zxf

Is your organization using a Group10myjpzh90klrpac34ldky79i1zhz7wr, Pagerodda0ndyxwj5qgm64xtp6dp5y1a9a7q, or Profilen5qyfridrz89tu3b3mn2y0fe9aygof82? How is it working or not working for you?

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