What is the difference between a group and a public VKontakte page: find 10 differences

Do you know how a group differs from a public VKontakte page or do you think that there is no difference? Many users, when registering a site, do not hesitate to click on any of the proposed subtypes, without focusing on the goal they are pursuing in creating a community. However, if you delve into how a public page differs from a group, it becomes clear that they operate on completely different conditions.

Public pages on VK appeared later than groups; most people still do not really understand what their advantages and disadvantages are. In this article, we will take a closer look at how a group differs from a public VKontakte page and tell you which one is better to choose for different types of activities. You will also learn how to register communities and what difficulties you may encounter in the process. Additionally, we will tell you how to transfer a VKontakte group to a public page; by the way, this action is performed literally in two clicks.

What is a group and public VK?

Before we figure out what is the difference between a group and a public VKontakte page, let's define each of the concepts.

• A public page is an official platform for promoting a brand, association, or famous person. Conducted on behalf of the promoted object, it is completely open to all users of the social network.
• A group is a platform that brings together people of similar interests. Here you can communicate and ask questions, post on a common wall, and take an active part in the life of the community. At the request of the administrator, you can make it open or closed.

The concept of the VKontakte community

The VKontakte community is also called a public . This is the official page used to disseminate information about:

• product;
• service;
• personalities;
• companies, etc.

The public is also dedicated to a specific topic, but the source of information is exclusively the administrator.

The public cannot be made private, but it is possible to comment on published posts.

How are they different from each other?

To understand what is better in Contact - a group or a public page, you must clearly know how they differ from each other. We propose to understand in detail the intricacies of this issue.

1. The principle of access to content is different. A public page does not allow you to hide the content, either partially or completely - all its information is available to subscribers and site visitors in full. Only confirmed members of the association have access to group materials.
2. The way to create a contact list differs. Any user can become a public subscriber without having to submit an application; Members of the group are accepted only after the request is submitted and approved. The admin of the first community cannot edit his list of subscribers, while the admin of the second community is free to remove and add members.
3. Subscribers to a public page on VK are not able to post on the wall, but can select the “Suggest news” function. The administrator himself, at his own discretion, decides whether to post this material. Anyone can post in the group, but the admin is free to impose any privacy settings on this option.
4. The interface and layout of the sections are different: on a public page there are only two blocks “Information” and “Pinned Post”; in a group community you can add a block “Latest News”. The “Discussions” tab in the public is located only on the right side of the page; his opponent is allowed to change the location. By the way, don't underestimate this block. Many communities have sprung up creating discussions. The main thing is to approach this issue correctly.
5. Some functions differ. In the group type you can upload documents. A public page allows you to specify the creation date and use the Events feature.
6. If you are a public admin, you will not have the “Invite friends” option (it is available in the group), but there is a similar analogue - “Tell friends”. By the way, this aspect, due to its importance for promotion, very clearly demonstrates how one type differs from another.
7. The location of sections in subscriber profiles differs. You can see the public pages to which a VK user is subscribed directly from the main profile page, but you will have to enter groups separately.

Thus, we have examined the concepts of a group or a public page on VKontakte, which is better is up to you, but be sure to weigh all the pros and cons, study how they differ from each other.

What's better than public?

There are not as many public pages as groups, but this does not mean that they are less effective. In fact, most entrepreneurs don't need to create a community, but a public page.

Publics work well for companies, celebrities, products, and music groups. That is, if you want to promote toothpaste or a cafe on social networks, you need to create a public page.

Public is best suited for:

• Traffic directions to the site. Because a group is a more independent cell. Regulars of the group may never go to the site, even if every post contains a link to it.
• Advertising sales.
• Sales of information courses. But here the situation is the same as with stores - if you have a website on which sales are conducted, create a public page. If sales are only in VK - group.

Which is better to choose?

You now know what a public page on VKontakte is, but now let’s look at in what cases it is recommended to choose this type of community:

• If you want people to follow you voluntarily and don't like intrusive solicitations through invitations;
• If the composition of the audience is not important to you, because you cannot control it;
• If you are ready for the fact that all your materials and recordings from VK will be visible to absolutely all Internet users;
• If you don't want other people to be able to post on your wall.

A public page is an ideal option for promoting a brand or maintaining an account for a famous person. This type of community is somewhat similar to an open profile on Instagram - you share your life, people subscribe to you, follow your news. You cannot remove members of such a community; all your activities are freely available.

So, what is better to create, a group or a public VKontakte page? Let’s look at in which cases the first option is more suitable:

• If you want to be able to restrict access to materials or hide content;
• If you need to control and edit group members;
• If it is important to you that community members can write on a common wall;
• If you have a lot of friends in your personal profile who will be happy to support you, you will need the “Invite Friends” button, which is only available here. This is the first thing you have to do - add people to the group (friends and all kinds of strangers).

The group allows you to create your own cozy little world, in which the admin is king and God. All its participants are united by a common interest and it does not lie solely in the desire to monitor the activities of the community owner. There is more life and communication here, people constantly come into contact and interact with each other.

Additional factors

In all 6 types of communities, in the “sections” settings there is a “products” block, which allows managers to put the goods and services offered. A very convenient function for visitors to familiarize themselves with and promote. Even in an event, you can customize this format, for example, for different conditions for selling tickets to a master class.

In the communities in question, you can remove members. Blocked pages appear periodically and are completely deleted. We need to get rid of them. And you can also add any unwanted participant to the blacklist.

Any community can be promoted through targeted advertising. An excellent opportunity to tell many people about your activities. I will help you set up your advertising correctly and track its effectiveness. Please contact me through my contacts.

If you mistakenly made the wrong community, then there is no reason to be upset. You can transfer a VKontakte group to a public page and vice versa. The first time you can do this right away, then only after one month, if necessary.

Table for selecting the desired type of community. The main differences between a public page, a group and an event.

Subtleties and nuances that you should know about

We hope that now you understand the difference between a public page and an open group in VKontakte, and you know which type is better to lean towards. Also, you should know the following points:

1. It's okay if you initially chose the wrong type of community, you can always change it. Right on the main page, under the avatar, find the “More” button, which reveals additional options. There is a “Translate” button - click and change. The moment of transfer in one direction or the other is no different;
2. The translation function is available only once every 30 days and works only in the desktop version of the site;
3. This opportunity is available only to community owners (not admins), namely its creators.

Well, the difference between a group and a public VKontakte page, if the first is closed, is very big. In turn, if a group site is open, it quite closely resembles a public one. The final decision is made by the owner of the page, based on the characteristics of his activities, the chosen methods of promotion, and personal preferences. If in doubt, we recommend testing both types of platforms to better understand how they differ from each other. As they say, everything is learned by comparison!

Possible problems when changing a group to a page and vice versa

When transferring one type of community to another, there are 3 restrictions:

1. Only the person who created this group or public can carry out the procedure (see who the owner or creator of the VK group is).
2. The number of participants should not exceed 10,000. Otherwise, you need to make a request to the technical support of the social network.
3. The last community type change occurred less than 30 days ago.

If your case does not meet at least one of the conditions listed above, this action cannot be performed.

When transferring the group's community to public, all invitations will be eliminated. The block where the topics were discussed will change its location. And also the very possibility of discussion will disappear. But posts will be left, except for those left by non-subscribers of the community. Blocks on news and documents will no longer be available. All these changes must be taken into account when deciding to change the type of community.

VK events

VKontakte also allows you to create Events. It can be organized on behalf of a personal profile or a community.

Organizing a separate event makes sense for an event that will be repeated regularly. Or the topic may change, but the target audience is the same.

Advantages of Events compared to groups and public:

• The block with the event is displayed in the right column (Nearest event)
• It is possible to invite people from your friends list
• If the Event is created on behalf of a community, then you can invite subscribers of this community
• If you agree with the administrators of other groups, appointing them as Event administrators, then thanks to them you can get many additional participants.

But please note that it is not always logically justified to promote the Event. There are several reasons for this:

• More than 50% of participants in the VK social network close the opportunity to invite people to Events
• The use of mailing services is prohibited
• High risk of ending up in a bathhouse
• Usually the Event is organized for a certain period. If the deadline has passed, the event becomes inactive, and the participants on this site settle as “dead weight”
• To maintain a platform for the Event, it is necessary to generate new content and warm up the audience. And as you understand, these are extra cash costs.

Therefore, we can draw a simple conclusion that it is better to organize Events in exceptional cases. It is more logical to provide information about this or that event that you want to hold there.

Hi all! At the request of workers, I am posting a post on how to create a VKontakte group. This may be useful for those who run their own business on VKontakte, but cannot yet go broke on a social network administrator. Also, for those who are not aware of VKontakte, there is a so-called creator of a group (community). If he is removed from the community, then the community itself is removed. Therefore, it is very important that a group is created from the account who will be the copyright holder of this group. And there have already been cases where dishonest admins created groups to order, promoted them with the employer’s money, and then “stole” them. And then you can prove the opposite. We've sorted out who should create the group. Let's create it.

Click on My Groups. Next we see the inscription at the top right - create a community - click on it. A window pops up in which we enter the name of our group/public page and select its type. And when we have decided on the type of community, write its name and click “create community”.

Basic principles

Let's imagine that you decide to create your own community, but how to do this? Very simple! On your page, on the left side of the window, find the line “My groups” and go to it. Next, find the “Create Community” button. A new window will open in which you must specify the type of community by selecting from three options: group, public page or event. And this is where the fun begins: what to choose? If, in general, everything is clear with the event, then with the other two, not so much.

In order to choose this or that type of community, you must ask yourself the question: what audience will it be aimed at and how do you see it? In short, the group is designed rather for live communication; it is a club of interests where people are united by something in common. Participants can take part in . As for the public, it is more focused on promoting, for example, a brand, or, as an option, disseminating news about some establishment, etc. Accordingly, the opportunities for participants in these types of communities vary greatly.