At least once a week I have a friend/acquaintance reach out to me because someone they know needs help accessing their Facebook Page (or Ad Account). The problem is – they don't know who the current Admin is on the Page (or Ad Account)… or, they know exactly who it is, but that person is now estranged from the company and is not being compliant and turning the Page/Ad Account back over to the business. This is a serious problem – and it's oh, so, preventable. What I am about to tell you should be required reading for anyone who is starting a business Page on Facebook – and surely for anyone who currently has a business Page on the platform. As a business owner it's essential to understand the basics of Facebook Business Manager to manage ownership of your assets.
For the purposes of this article, we'll discuss the two most common Facebook business assets: Pages and Ad Accounts. Each asset has their own infrastructure. When you create a Page, you automatically get Admin access. Being a Page Administrator is the highest access level a user can have on a Page. If you review the chart below, you'll see the 6 page roles that are available for Pages.
You'll notice that Admins and Editors are very similar – the only difference is that Admins can manage page roles (and settings) whereas Editors can not. What that means is that if you name another person an Admin – they have the power to remove YOUR status as an Admin. You can see how that would be problematic! Now, that being said, having a secondary Admin is a wise-move, in case you get locked out of your account for some reason. It never hurts to have a backup. This person should be a highly trusted person, however, because you are also giving them a lot of power.
A similar structure is in place on Ad Accounts, with the Admin having full power including the ability to manage Admin permissions and edit payment methods, over the next level down, the Advertiser. In this situation you'll want to exercise the same caution with who you give Admin permission to.
Here's the thing… sometimes you simply HAVE to give someone else Admin permissions on your Assets. Let me explain my own situation. I run Ads for a variety of clients, and I am often running Lead Ads and using Zapier to connect the leads to the mailing lists of my clients. Facebook protects lead information, only allowing Admins to access the information. This means that, in order for me to effectively take the Ads off my client's plate, I need Admin access on their Page (and they often want me to be able to maintain the Ad Account too – updating the payment method when necessary, etc.). What those charts don't tell you – is that there actually IS a role that trumps the Admin named on the assets… and that's the Admin of the Business Manager that OWNS those assets.
What is Facebook Business Manager?
Facebook Business Manager is a free organizational tool that is provided by Facebook. It's a tool that businesses should use if they manage multiple pages, and/or if they have multiple people managing their page(s). Surprisingly, many business owners I meet are not doing this! It's totally fine to outsource the management of your Page, but you should never completely hand over the Admin rights without establishing ownership of the assets in question. Let's take a look at what Page Role Settings look like when Business Manager is in use:
You can see in the above screenshot that there are 2 admins assigned to the Page (there are actually more, but only 2 are shown in the screenshot). Without Facebook Business Manager, any of those Admins could go rouge and effectively take over the Page. This company worked with me to setup Business Manager ownership of their assets. This means that the Admins of that Business Manager Account have complete ownership over the Page – even above the Admins. Business Manager has 2 access levels, Admin and Employee:
Within Business Manager only “C-level” employees should have Admin access, because employees never need that kind of power. This is like a security system to ensure that your business always maintains control of your assets. Facebook does recommend having at least 2 Admins within a Business Manager account, just in case one person gets locked out… these people should be trusted, invested, “long-term” employees. Someone who you KNOW with confidence has the best interest of your business at heart.
If your business decides to work with an agency, like mine, you will be able to assign that agency permissions as well (seen in the example above (2 images up!). This allows my business manager to assign permissions to your assets (if I need a VA or co-worker to complete a task within your Page/Ad Account) – none of which will trump the permissions of your owned Business Manager account.
How do I set up Facebook Business Manager?
To set up Business Manager you should visit business.facebook.com. From this page you will find more information about using the free organizational tool and you'll be able to click on the “Create Account” button in the upper right hand corner to get the process started.
Do you need help getting Facebook Business Manager set up?
Contact us today to schedule a strategy session, request an Audit, or outsource the project.