Public on social networks - what is it, how to create it and what is the difference between it and a group

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Groups, communities, personal accounts, chats on online platforms have long been familiar to everyone and do not raise questions. But what public pages are on social networks and why they are needed remains unclear. Meanwhile, they can be an excellent tool for making money on the Internet or help in finding friends, fans, and potential clients.

The main thing is to know how to properly create and use such an unusual means of interaction with subscribers. Let's try to explain the essence of the term in simple language. Let's determine its positive aspects, advantages over classical methods of cooperation on the Internet and the need to use it for yourself and your business.

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What does public mean on VKontakte?

A public page is essentially a small public blog that every social network user can read. It cannot be closed from prying eyes, like a personal account or group, but at the same time, publications here are completely controlled by the creator. Or a regular participant will not be able to post.

The author independently decides how the information on the wall will be updated: subscribers can offer their news, wait for approval for their publication, or be content with texts and photographs posted by the owner of the public page. Naturally, the subject matter in either case is strictly limited. Control requires less moderation than in a situation with the opening of a community. On the other hand, every day you have to guarantee the placement of new posts, while in groups this is often done by the users themselves.

Difference 4. Location of the Discussions section

The Group Discussions section is at the top, and in the public by default it moves down and is on the right.

If you want Discussions in the public to be at the top, this can be arranged. The sections you designate as the main or secondary block will be displayed in the public at the top.

Is it possible to make the Group Discussions section so that it appears at the bottom right? No you can not. But if you really want to, then you can.

We make the next feint with our ears.

We create a public. We include a Discussion section in the public. It appears on the right side of subscribers. After that, we transfer our public to the group. The Group Discussions section remains on the right.

Personally, I think this is the best place for a Discussion section: in plain view, but not above community posts. Conversion elements, such as newsletter subscriptions, for example, should be placed above posts.

As a result, group discussions look like this:

Conclusion 4. For most businesses, the best place for the Discussions section is at the bottom right. In the public it is there by default. The group will have to use cunning methods.

Why create public pages on social networks?

While personal accounts are the main tools for communicating with a large number of friends and like-minded people, public pages should serve as a source of information. Events and news, photographs, texts on the same topic - you can share any interesting materials.

But whether subscribers will be able to comment on posts or whether they will have to be content with viewing is up to you to decide. Even if you choose the first option, the discussion cannot become too heated. It is easy to control and close if the “trolls” start to cross the line.

Animals, travel, politics, sports, cars - the topic can be absolutely anything. Large companies and online stores often choose this choice for interacting with customers. They provide the opportunity to timely report on new products, emergency situations, and conduct surveys.

Publics for self-expression

Creative people often find it difficult to find like-minded people. Fears and complexes are too strong that the reaction of others will be negative. A public page is a tool that allows a photographer, writer, or artist to make themselves known without fear of hearing judgmental comments or criticism. It is enough to limit the possibility of answers.

Depending on how quickly the number of subscribers grows, the author will decide the fate of further interaction. You can continue to talk about yourself, but in a different format, by creating a channel on YouTube or an account on Instagram. You can attract investors by going beyond simple information sharing. Or allow subscribers to post their own posts along with your posts through the “suggest news” button.

You can even change the main topic if the number of followers is not growing, but you want to get your “minute of fame”.

Publics for promoting a brand/personality

This goal is pursued by popular people, music performers, artists, and bloggers. They publish current photos, information about official events, upcoming meetings and much more. The best part is that you don’t have to maintain a public page yourself, unlike an Instagram account. Administrators can post posts after prior approval.

Commercial use

Earning money on the Internet using personal accounts and public groups has long become a reality. In this sense, information publics on social networks are no worse than other tools. Two types of monetization can be considered the most effective:

1. Promotion of a product or service. By posting, the author draws attention to his product and offers it to subscribers. The brand may already be well promoted or may be new to the market. The main rule: exclusive content, whether photographs or texts, should appear regularly, constantly stirring up the interest of buyers.
2. Earning money from advertising. This method is most often implemented by bloggers who have nothing to offer their audience as a product. But they provide potential clients with a loyal target audience, ready to make a purchase right now.

The key difference between the first and second types is that the 1st is available even to the author of a tiny blog who is just starting to collect his subscribers, while the second requires hundreds of thousands and even millions of followers.

Earnings from advertising

Let's take a closer look at how relationships with a potential advertiser are built. To begin with, we note that the search for companies willing to pay for a post, photo or other material with information about themselves falls entirely on the shoulders of the creator of the public page. Only a blogger with an audience of at least half a million people can afford to simply wait for incoming offers and agree or refuse them.

It is also necessary to remember that paid advertisements in the public on the social network VKontakte must correspond to the stated topic. If you are talking about the art of photography, try to start collaborating with photo and video equipment manufacturers. Do you travel a lot and share information about it? So, look for travel companies, airline ticket booking services, hotel chains.

There are exceptions to the rules, but you shouldn’t overdo them.

Promoting your product

In this version, the authors of the mini-blog have much greater freedom. You can start advertising immediately after opening a public page, although at first it will not bring significant profit. The main thing is to maintain a constant increase in subscribers and sufficient activity.

Unlike people for whom it is much more important to assert themselves than to receive a financial response from the public, you cannot afford to disappear for several weeks or even days. Fresh content should be regularly displayed in the followers' news grid. Moreover, it must correspond to the stated topic and be logical.

This means you will have to draw up a publication plan for at least a month and strictly follow it. Another important and difficult point is related to the expectations of subscribers. They will always demand more from you: from a photographer - unique rare photos, from a traveler - visiting the most non-tourist and dangerous countries. Otherwise, it will not be possible to maintain the interest of the audience. And only in between all this, you can continue to advertise your services and products.

Group and public: what is the difference

Some differences have already been mentioned earlier, but let’s look at them in more detail, using the example of the VKontakte social network. Both provide an opportunity for like-minded people to exchange interesting information without leaving the site. But obvious differences are noticeable already at the subscription stage and then become more and more obvious:

1. A public page is available to absolutely every network user, while joining a public group may require administrator approval, a personal invitation, and compliance with certain rules.
2. In the community, the participants themselves can create content, as well as develop the topic through mass discussions. A public page only provides the opportunity to offer its owner a post, and he decides whether to publish or refuse it independently, as well as about subsequent commenting on the material.
3. Communities require constant moderation. It is very difficult to keep track of hundreds of topics, messages, photos, comments, without allowing insults and other negative aspects. You can look at the public page a couple of times a day to filter the proposed news or post prepared information.

In very simple words, the difference between a group and a public is that for the stable and effective operation of the first, a valuable team of administrators is needed, while the second can be backed by one person.

Pros and cons of communities

If a public page is so simple and easy to maintain and moderate, why do hundreds of people bother creating something else? The fact is that the format has several undeniable advantages. The main ones include:

1. Ability to filter participants. Set a specific topic, turn on privacy settings, and only the audience you are interested in, for example, women or men of a certain age, will be able to join the group.
2. The functionality of the community is much wider.
3. The service itself is more familiar and understandable to people, and therefore they join here more willingly.

There are also disadvantages. And first of all, this is increased attention from the leaders of the social network. At their discretion, they may close a functioning group if they discover numerous complaints from users.

Another drawback is the very difficult moderation that was already mentioned earlier.

Pros and cons of public

Unlike the previous option, the functionality of the public page is limited, and there is no filter for subscribers at all. This means that a significant portion of them may not be suitable for the advertiser. The disadvantages are significant, especially if the main purpose of the creation remains to make money. But there are also advantages:

1. Ability to devote a minimum amount of time to maintaining order and efficiency of work.
2. All micro-blogs to which a VKontakte user is subscribed are displayed on the main page of the personal account, which means that the likelihood of visiting them increases compared to groups.
3. The ability to completely close yourself off from negativity by simply limiting comments.

The decision about what exactly will be more useful and enjoyable in the work must be made by each author independently. The topic, the size of the potential audience, the goals of the community, and much more are important.

How to create a public page on VKontakte

The action plan for opening a public page is simple and easy to follow even for a child. The steps are as follows:

1. If you do not yet have a personal account on a social network, register. It will require you to link your mobile phone number or email, as well as reveal your real name. The site’s policy is aimed at combating “fakes” and “trolls”, so hiding behind someone else’s avatar, as was the case before, will not work.
2. If there are no problems with registration, go to the “My Communities” tab and look for the “Create” button in the upper right corner.
3. You will be asked to come up with a name and determine the type. We are interested in “Public Page”.

Voila! All that remains is to fill the service with interesting material and attract the maximum number of network users to it.

Some more useful information

In the initial stages of business promotion (I think this option is the most popular), it is not so easy to immediately decide what is best for you.

And, if you created an excellent group, promoted it, and suddenly realized that a public page is closer and more necessary for you, then there is no reason for frustration, you don’t have to delete it. Everything can be easily fixed with one (or almost one) click of a button. It is possible to transfer it to community status.

The same changes can be made in reverse order. Just keep in mind that at least 30 days must pass before the change. And in the case of a large number of subscribers (10,000 or more), the VK administration has the right to consider your case personally.

How to promote a public page

At this stage you will have to put in the most effort. Start by preparing at least a month's worth of content. Yes, it’s important to do this right away, because you need to post posts at the promotion stage with enviable regularity, and they should differ from competitors with their own flavor. A public page, unlike communities, lives off of likes and reposts, and no one will add boring information to their wall or share with friends.

Then move on to cheating. Yes, you can’t do without this unpleasant moment in the first stages either. Even if you want the public to be surrounded only by people who are interested in it. The fact is that the “right” audience will not subscribe to an unknown page. For help, it is best to turn to specialists. You will have to spend some money, but it is not so significant that you need to save.

Having figured out how to distinguish a public from a group, and having decided which option is more suitable, you can proceed to active steps to create a public page. The first year of its existence is the most important. If you attract enough attention, you can make decent money within a few months.

What content should you choose for your public page?

To answer this question, you need to understand what a public is. For those who want to earn money, this is primarily a business. And, as in any business, before taking action, you should decide on the target audience. The number of subscribers and the effectiveness of the public page as an advertising tool will depend on the right choice.

Statistics show that public content should be of interest to a female audience over the age of 18. It is this category of subscribers that is considered the most active and is more willing to part with money. Such a public will be happy to like and share the original content of the public page with all their friends, thereby attracting new participants.