Unfortunately, this is a phrase we’ve heard way too often from clients and prospects. We wish there was a quick, magical solution to fix this problem, but sadly, that’s not the case.

This is why it’s ESSENTIAL to have more than one Facebook Profile connected to your Facebook Page.

A quick note here about jargon because, yes, it does matter…

  • A Facebook Profile is the account used by a person.
  • A Facebook Page is the account used by a brand or business.
  • Multiple Profiles can work for or be connected to a single Facebook Page.
How This Plays Out

When a new Facebook Page is created for a brand or business, it must be created through an existing Facebook Profile. The Profile that creates the account will have primary admin control over the Page.

Most of the time an employee is assigned to (or offers to) create a Facebook Page for the business and sometimes even manage it. Great! Now you don’t have to worry about that.

But then a few months or years from now, that employee moves on from the company, they get fired, etc. and then you need to have someone else manage your Page, or you need to manage it yourself. Or maybe you even hire someone like us to manage your Facebook Ads, so we need to get access to your Page.

That’s when you discover that you don’t have access to your own Facebook Page. Yikes!

If this sounds familiar, read on to find out what to do to get this fixed. If this hasn’t happened to you yet, congratulations, but you should still read about how to avoid this to make sure it doesn’t happen to you…

What To Do Next

If you’ve found yourself in this unlucky situation, the first thing to do is…

1. Try to Re-Gain Access to the Page Via Your Ex-Employee

If you’re still on good terms with your former employee, then the fastest way to regain access to your Page is to ask them to make you an Admin on the Page. Here are instructions from Facebook about how to do this.

2. Reach out to Facebook for Help

From our experience, this option takes forever and isn’t always successful. Facebook Help isn’t the fastest to respond. Sometimes, they don’t fully understand the situation, leading to lots of extra communication and back-and-forth, and you may have to dig up documents to prove that you are the owner of the business being represented by the Page. If you need to do this, go to https://www.facebook.com/help

3. Start Over

This is definitely a last resort, but if you can’t regain access to your Facebook Page in any way, you may have to bite the bullet and start a new Facebook Page for your brand. If you have to go this route, prevention is the best solution. So, keep reading to find out what to do when you make your new Page.

How to Avoid This

First, have you double checked all of your social media platforms, not just Facebook, to make sure that you have ownership or admin control of your accounts? Don’t forget to check your Google Analytics and your social media and online advertising accounts too. I’ll wait…

Ok, so if you really do have access to all of your accounts, again, congratulations. But there are still some things you should do to ensure you never lose access to your Facebook page.

Because the truth is, things happen, and if your personal Profile should ever get flagged for spam, gets accidentally deleted, etc. you don’t want your Facebook Page to be in jeopardy.

1. Add Additional Facebook Page Admins

Facebook Pages can have more than one Admin, so we recommend adding a backup Admin to your Page – even if you’re the only one who plans to utilize the Page. Your backup Admin should be someone you trust, maybe an employee, business partner, investor, or even your spouse or a close friend. It’s important to pick someone you trust because as an Admin on your Page, they will have the ability to make changes to the Page, including deleting the Page and removing other Page Admins.

2. Include Facebook Page Ownership in Your Contracts

If you’re working with an outside contractor or other party to create your Facebook Page, make sure you have a written condition that you are set as an Admin on the Page from the start.

In short, you should always have at least two Admins on your Page. That way if something happens to your personal Profile, someone else can still access the Page.