If you’re working for a company or the owner of a company that has an active business Facebook page, you’ve undoubtedly at least heard about Facebook Business Manager. Facebook Business Manager has been around for over three years, and has sparked some internet chatter about the good, the bad, and the ugly of using this project management tool. Whether you’ve only heard of Facebook Business Manager or you’ve even tried to switch your business over, you’ve probably come across some difficulties and heard stories of the complications. We’re sitting down today to give you an overview of the pros and cons of using Facebook Business Manager to manage your Facebook business page, and try to guide you to an answer as to whether or not this is the right step for your business.
What Is Facebook Business Manager?
To start, let’s take a look at what exactly Facebook Business Manager is, and why it was created. Facebook Business Manager is a single location from which a company, and its authorized employees, can manage multiple Facebook pages, ad accounts, etc. Before Facebook Business Manager, companies had to rely on individuals to manage from their personal Facebook pages. Facebook Business Manager allows the pages to be managed and owned by the company.
Facebook Business Manager was created as an attempt to streamline management of Facebook pages and ad accounts by a company, for added convenience, ease in management, and tighter security. Whereas before, if you were managing a team of 5 members who each played a role in managing Facebook accounts, each member would have to use their personal Facebook profile to manage the accounts, which means sharing login information with 5 different team members. You can see why this is not the most airtight option as far as security goes. Additionally, it would be a much larger hassle to try to keep track of what each of these 5 team members is doing on each different Facebook page. With Facebook Business Manager, everything is kept in one place, making it more secure, streamlined, and efficient.
So, then, what’s the question? Shouldn’t every company be using Facebook Business Manager solely based on the information laid out above? Before we decide, let’s talk pros and cons.
Facebook Business Manager: The Pros List
Let’s break this down to some concrete reasons why Facebook Business Manager is a good idea.
1. It’s Free
This one really needs no explanation. Facebook Business Manager can be set up and
used at no extra cost to you. It’s not often that you come across something that makes your life easier AND doesn’t cost you. For this reason, we are filing this under pros.
2. It Saves Time and Money
Though Facebook Business Manager can be a bit of a pain to set up (more on that later), it should ultimately save time – and, as they say, time is money. By making workflow more efficient, Facebook Business Manager is time-effective. This means fewer billing hours spent on the unnecessary hassle of managing multiple Facebook pages through separate accounts, which in turn means more time you can be using on other more pressing or important
projects. It also means all the money you spend on Facebook (ads and such) can be billed to one credit card or account – yours. Imagine having different team members setting up ads all using their personal Facebook logins? You’d be spending extra time reimbursing each employee for this. Facebook Business Manager, once again, puts this all in a single location, making it much simpler and more efficient.
3. It Increases Security
As we explained before, Facebook Business Manager will tighten security for your company. Rather than having to share login information with each of your team members, an admin can invite each employee to Facebook Business Manager so they can manage Facebook pages without actually knowing the passwords. You will rest easier at night knowing your company has this added layer of security.
4. It Makes it Easier to Manage
Managing employees through one location greatly decreases the hassle of trying to keep track of what each team member is doing on each page through separate accounts. Different team members can be given different levels of responsibility and access within Facebook Business Manager, and you can more easier keep tabs on each one. This will improve communication, help any problems that arise to be dealt with more swiftly, and hold employees accountable.
These are some of the up-sides to using Facebook Business Manager, all of which are tempting reasons to make the switch. But, as with everything, there are some potential downsides as well.
Facebook Business Manager: The Cons List
1. It’s Kind of a Pain
To learn and set up, that is. Facebook Business Manager can take a long time to set up, depending on how big your company is and how many different pages and ad accounts you manage. In addition to this, it can be a complicated process to learn how to use it fully. This may be one of the top complaints you’ve heard against Facebook Business Manager, and it is certainly a valid one. However, as we explained above, the time it takes to set up Business Manager and the effort it takes to learn it will be made up for once you start experiencing the benefits of using this management tool.
2. It’s Impossible to Remove Ad Accounts
Though Facebook Business Manager has no limit to the number of ad accounts you can add, they’re stuck there once you have added them – you are unable to remove ad accounts. You can remove pages, however, should the need arise, but it is not simple to do so.
3. It’s Buggy
Many people report encountering all sorts of bugs when using Facebook Business Manager. This may mean you’ll be unable to post a comment at a certain time, or your account may be flagged for unusual activity. This is a clear inconvenience.
So… Should You Make the Switch to Facebook Business Manager?
We’ve laid out for you both pros and cons of using Facebook Business Manager. While the project management tool may save you money, increase security, and make your management experience more efficient, it is also time-consuming to set up and learn to use. It definitely has some added hassles that come along with it, such as difficulty in removing pages and annoying bugs. As the tool advances we expect Facebook Business Manager will become more sophisticated and the bugs will be worked out.
Now that you have both the good and the bad in your knowledge, you can weigh one against the other and decide what the right move for your company is. While this is a decision only you can make, we recommend taking the plunge and enduring the hassle of setting up Facebook Business Manager as it provides many long-term benefits including the ease of management it provides, as well as the tightened security and advanced features that Facebook now offers only through Facebook Business Manager.
While you make your decision, if you need some extra Facebook guidance, sign up for our free updates and feel free to contact us with questions so we can help you maximize your business presence on Facebook. We can also setup your Facebook Business Manager for you!