Facebook Business Manager is a free helpful tool that allows businesses to plan, track and evaluate organic and paid social content on Facebook (or meta as they’re now called). That’s all well and good if you’ve used Business Manager before, but if you haven’t then it might sound like we’re talking a whole other language.
Let’s start at the beginning for those of you who have never stepped foot in the land of Facebook Business Manager.
Where do I find Facebook Business Manager?
You don’t need a golden ticket or a fancy invite from Mark Zuckerberg himself. Instead, you’ll simply need a profile on Facebook and a Business Page.
You will need your personal profile to create the Business Manager account. You can use your Facebook username and password to sign into Business Manager. Create your business manager account here. Once you’ve reached this page, complete the following steps:
- Click Create an account and this will start the process.
- Then you will need to enter the name of your business, your name and your work email address.
- Next, you’ll need to submit a few more business details before clicking submit.
It’s important to note that you can only create two Business Manager accounts under your profile. So, if you need more than one, you’ll need to speak to someone else within your company to create additional Business Manager accounts. But for now, let’s just start with the one.
That’s great, you now have a Business Manager account!
How do I add my Business Page to Facebook Business Manager?
Now, remember the Business Page we mentioned earlier? This is where it comes in. A Business Page is different from a personal page, and if you don’t already have a page for your business, they’re easy to set up. All you’ll need is your business name and a little description, a profile photo and a cover photo. For the rest of the steps head over to Facebook’s set-up instructions here. Once you’ve reached this stage it makes it a lot easier to use Business Manager as you can now add this page to your account.
If you’re adding your own Business Page to your Business Manager account then you’ll already be the admin for that page. However, if you’re trying to add the page to someone else’s Business Manager account then they will need to be an admin on your page for at least 7 days before adding your page to their Business Manager. If you’re not an admin on a Facebook page that you’re trying to add, then find out how to request access here.
Next, it’s important to remember the page you’re trying to add to your Business Manager can’t be owned by another person or business. If you want to add a Page you don’t already own, then the current page owner can transfer their ownership of the Page to you.
Here are the steps you need to follow to add your Page to your Business Manager account:
- Go to Business settings within Business Manager. It looks like a little gear icon and can be found on the bottom left of your sidebar.
- In the sidebar, click on Accounts which will then drop down to a new menu, from here click Pages.
- Next, click the blue Add button in the drop-down menu.
- Select Add a Page.
- Enter the Facebook Page name or URL.
- Click Add Page. You should see your page on the next screen. From here, you can add people to manage the page.
And that’s it, you’re ready to start using Facebook Business Manager.
Why is Facebook Business Manager useful?
Now that you have the account all setup, let’s talk about some of the ways you can use it to manage your Facebook, Instagram and Messenger accounts. One of the best features of Business Manager is that you can use it to control everything in one place. It doesn’t matter if you’re using a desktop or mobile because Business Manager is accessible on both, through either the website or app.
One of the most useful tools on Business Manager is that you can publish feed posts and stories for Facebook and Instagram without having to switch accounts. Because Meta is Facebook and Instagram, the ability to access both from the Business Manager is a smooth process. This also means you can schedule posts ahead of time, ensuring your content is going out to your audience when they are most engaged through the media library. There is a helpful calendar tool within Business Manager that will help you see when you have scheduled content for, how often and at which times too.
Not only can you manage your posts on Business Manager, but you can access your inbox too. Read and reply to your messages and comments on your Facebook page and Instagram account on one page rather than logging into each profile to reply. You can also generate automated replies within Business Manager to create a seamless customer experience for when they contact you through social.
Perhaps the most beneficial element of Business Manager is that you can create ads through the platform. Again, you can design and publish adverts to your Facebook and Instagram pages from one place to create a cross-platform promotion. By doing this your audience will be seeing the same brand messaging across both platforms which will cause less confusion and potentially more engagement and recognition for your brand.
If you’ve started creating ads already or you’ve scheduled and published a few organic posts then you’ll be able to track the insights and evaluate the success of these posts on Business Manager too. See how they’re performing by tracking key trends which will help you learn more about your target market and your current social media followers.
Business Manager is a one-stop shop for making the most out of your Facebook and Instagram content. With access to heaps of tools, you can quickly transform the running, success and performance of your business on social media. For more help with your social media management please contact us today and we will put you in touch with one of our experts for more help.
