Facebook Groups vs Facebook Events
Do you know the difference between Facebook Groups and Facebook Events?
You should!
Especially if you are on Facebook for more than just social interaction with friends.
If you want to do business on Facebook, you better have a good understanding how to use Facebook for business – getting leads or selling.
Facebook Groups are a permanent way to grow an online community.
Facebook Groups can be open, closed or secret:
- Open Facebook Groups means that anyone can ask to join, anyone can see what is being discussed and anyone can find the group in a search.
- Closed Facebook Groups are found in searches, but no one can see the content from the outside. You need approval from an admin to be admitted as a member to the group. Friends can ‘suggest’ or ‘invite’ you to join the group, contingent on admin approval.
- Secret Groups can not be found in searches. The only way to join a secret group is by direct invite. None of the content or the members are visible to anyone.
Facebook Groups are a great tool to build an online community. For your brand, yourself, your passion, your community, your school, your club, your organization, your charity etc. However, don’t ever assume people love and like what you do. Never add people to groups without asking them first!
Facebook Events are short events, or gatherings, limited in time. An event can last no longer than two weeks and people are invited to the event, first by the organizer, and then later by other participants. Once you get an invitation, you can decline it or accept it – meaning you are not put into the event without being asked. You get to choose whether this is something you are interested in. If you accept, you’ll get notifications about new information being posted in the event so you can stay up-to-date on what’s going on. If you decline the invitation, you will not get any further notifications about the event.
Facebook Events are great for when you have a real-life event like a concert, charity run, conference, in-store sale, fundraiser, book signing, special event etc. They can also be a great tool for virtual events like Facebook parties, voting events, on-going in-store sales and more.
Many people mix up Facebook Groups, Facebook Events, Facebook Profiles and Facebook Pages and their specific uses!
And this results in some bad manners…!
Let Me Explain Facebook to You!
It’s really quite simple.
Your Facebook Wall = Yours!
Post at will, friend whom you want and make it yours.
Your Facebook Page = Your Business
Post professional advice, information and deliver value. Or not.
Your Facebook Event = Your Event
Invite whom you want, but I caution you to be selective with regards to location-based events vs virtual events.
Your Facebook Group = Your Group
Make up the rules, make it about your passion and make it a fun community. Be clear about the rules!
My Facebook Wall = Mine!
Don’t tag me in your dumb images and don’t post dumb stuff on my wall.
My Facebook Page = My Business
Don’t spam me, leave unrelated comments or ask for a like on your page while being on my page.
My Facebook Event = My Event
I can invite whom I want, and offer value. You can accept or decline the invitation. No hard feelings.
My Facebook Group = Mine
I make up rules, make it about my passion and make it fun. I will invite only those who I think might share my passion.
NOW (pay attention, here is where it goes wrong!)
Don’t mix up MY Facebook profile with YOUR Facebook Groups!
Remember in your group “You make up the rules, make it about your passion and make it a fun community”
Therefore, do not assume your values are mine, your passion is mine and I want to have the same fun as you like to have!
Do not add me to your Facebook Group without my consent!
We Are Never Ever Going To Be in A Facebook Group Together Again If You Add Me Without Permission!
My very funny and brilliant friends Amanda and Rachel of The Tag Team make hilarious videos and one recent one tackled this issue head on!
“Annoying things that people do online that they would NEVER do in real life“
(this link takes you to their hilarious video!)
Adding people to groups without their permission
-> DO not do that in real life because that would look like this:
- Driving up to a restaurant
- Yanking a few girls out of their seats
- Throwing them in the minivan
- Blindfolding them
- And then you drive them to this abandoned warehouse
- and you shove them in that room
- Then you remove the blindfolds
- Then there are pretty pictures of a whole bunch of items you are having a Facebook Party for, or that you sell
That’s what adding someone to your group looks like, especially if you sell a product or service!
Not pretty, fun or acceptable!
Once You Are in a Facebook Group, Follow The Rules
So maybe you got added to a group, maybe you decided to join a group. And you look around.
You might consider staying… except:
-> Nothing worse than being in a group where people ignore the rules and spam everyone in the group and the admin don’t stop it!
Here are some Facebook Group rules to think about.
- Read the groups’ mission or vision statement – or at least the ‘about this group’ information – so you know the purpose of the community
- Check under ‘files’ if there are any other documents you need to read.
- Participate and listen first, before jumping in and taking over the wall.
- Adhere to posting rules.
- Introduce yourself to the group if appropriate.
- Add value by answering questions.
- If you see a violation of the rules, private message the group admin.
- Do not start discussions of political nature.
- Do not call people names.
- If you feel there is no value in the group, remove yourself from the group and then;
- Start your own group!
Are You Selling Something on Facebook?
If you are selling something and you want to use Facebook to get leads, by all means, do it.
But learn to do it right!
Build a community of followers; people who love you, your brand and what you do and want to be part of your group to the point that when you invite them to be part of it, they accept an invitation to join!
How do you BUILD such a community?
- Set up a Facebook Page to do business
- Offer value, for free!
- Run ads to draw people to your Page and then;
- Build relationships
- Build trust
- Connect one-on-one
- Offer more value, for free!
- Then invite fans to join your group; in a post on your page or via private message, or email.
- Private message people you are connected with (on your profile) to ask them if they want to join your group!
- Never use your personal Facebook profile to sell.
Social Media Etiquette Recap
If this hit home with you – you either have been put into groups and hated it – or you’ve been the one who (unintentionally) made people mad by adding them to groups without their permission, I ask you to share this article so many more people will understand why it is such bad social media etiquette!
We are never ever going to be in a Facebook Group together, again, if you continue to add me to groups without my permission.
In fact, I will probably break up with you forever and unfriend you!
Your Turn!
- Do you have something to add?
- Do you have a horror story about being added to groups?
- Have you been invited to groups only to find out they were being used to sell products?
Tell me about it; leave a comment!
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