If you’ve ever tooled around Facebook chances are you’ve asked yourself this question. You are not alone in your confusion.

Though at first glance these different incarnations may appear to be the same, there are very clear distinctions. To achieve even mild Facebook success, this is information you must know.

Facebook Profile (Home)

The Profile is your mandatory starting point. This personal account (think of it as your FB home) is required before you can move up to pages and groups and is limited to “one per person.”  Setting up a second account may violate Facebook’s Terms of Service, which could cause all your profiles to be removed.

The Facebook profile is about you, the individual. Though you can build beneficial business relationships here, it’s intended to be more personal. You can, however, mix business and personal. By using the Friends List feature, you can send out status updates, photos and notes.  This takes a bit more presence of mind but can be an extremely useful tool for both targeted marketing and reputation management.

The FB Profile limits you to 5000 friends (the average personal user has about 120 contacts).

Facebook Page (Workplace)

Designed for self-promotion, your FB Page is a sort of mini-storefront. As such, use a friendly, casual, but professional demeanor. Provide useful information, links to articles and blog posts, images and video — anything that creates perceived value. Because all status updates appear in your fans’ news feeds (making it visible to all their friends), FB Pages can help attract new fans (customers) through existing clients.

Analytics tools are provided and customization is available, allowing you to monitor your progress and bring your pages to life. With unlimited fans and multiple administrators possible, Pages becomes the best choice for businesses.

Facebook Groups (Club)

Find like-minded individuals through the FB Group (or Club). People like to do business with those they trust and feel most comfortable with. A group can be organized around your business or product, creating a community – but be sure to provide something of value to your members. This is not the place to market aggressively; instead it is a forum where customers can get advice or to learn to use the products you sell.

FB Groups can be Open (anyone), Closed (group admin approves members) and Secret (Only members and those invited know about the group).

Are you using your Profile to its best advantage, as a stepping stone to creating your Page and Groups?