How to Add Someone to Facebook Business Manager

Bringing a new team member, freelancer, or agency onboard shouldn't mean handing over the keys to your entire kingdom. Facebook Business Manager is designed for this exact scenario, letting you securely grant specific access to your social media assets without compromising your account. This guide will walk you through exactly how to add someone to your Facebook Business Manager, explaining the different roles and permissions so you can delegate with confidence.

First, a Quick Clarification: Business Manager vs. Business Suite vs. Business Portfolio

Meta is in the process of rebranding its business tools, which can get confusing. You might see terms like Meta Business Suite, Facebook Business Manager, or the newer Meta Business Portfolio. For our purposes, they all lead to the same core backend where you manage people and permissions.

Think of Meta Business Suite as the front-end dashboard for daily tasks like posting and checking messages. Facebook Business Manager (or "Business settings" within the Suite/Portfolio) is the powerful engine room where you control foundational elements like people, assets, and billing. While the name on the door might change, the steps below for managing access remain fundamentally the same.

Understanding Roles and Permissions: Who Gets What Access?

Before you click "Add," it's vital to understand the levels of access you can grant. Misunderstanding these roles is one of the most common ways businesses accidentally give away too much control. In Business Manager, you can grant access to two types of users: People and Partners.

• People: These are individuals you add directly to your Business Manager using their email address. Think of your direct employees, like a marketing coordinator or a social media manager.
• Partners: These are other businesses that have their own Business Manager account, such as your marketing agency, a freelance social media strategist, or a creative studio. You grant access to their business, and they then assign their own employees to work on your assets. This is the most secure way to work with outside companies.

When you add "People," you have two main levels of control over your entire Business Manager account.

Admin Access (Use With Extreme Caution)

Admins are the super-users of your Business Manager. They have full control over everything. They can:

• Add or remove anyone, including other admins.
• Change all settings for the business account.
• Add or remove assets like Pages, Ad Accounts, and Pixels.
• Take control of assets and assign them to people.
• Ultimately, they can even delete the entire Business Manager account.

An Admin role should only be given to business owners or top-level, trusted managers. Think of it like giving someone the master key to your entire office - only do it if absolutely necessary.

Employee Access (The Recommended Default)

Employees have a much more limited, and safer, level of access. They cannot change any of the core Business Manager settings. Their power is entirely dependent on what Admins assign to them. An employee can only see and work on the specific assets (like a Facebook Page or an Instagram Account) that an Admin has explicitly granted them access to.

This should be your default choice. It's always better to start with the lowest level of permission necessary and grant more access later if needed. You can't cause widespread damage with Employee access, the person’s actions are confined to the assets you assign them.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Adding a Person in Business Manager

Ready to invite your team member? Follow these steps precisely to get them set up correctly.

1. Navigate to Business Settings
   Go to business.facebook.com/settings. If you land in the Meta Business Suite first, look for the "Settings" gear icon on the bottom left sidebar.
2. Find the "People" Tab
   Once in settings, look at the menu on the left. Under the "Users" section, click on People. You'll see a list of everyone who currently has access to your business account.
3. Initiate the Invitation
   In the top right corner, click the blue "Add people" button.
4. Enter Their Email and Assign Business Access
   A new window will pop up. First, enter the work email address of the person you want to invite. It's best practice to use their professional email, not a personal one like a @gmail.com or @yahoo.com address.
6. Next, you’ll choose their level of business account access. Again, unless you are adding a business partner with ownership-level trust, select Employee access. You can manually grant "Admin access" later if you toggle on "Show advanced options," but it's rarely needed.
8. Click Next.
9. Assign Access to Assets and Tasks
   This is the most important step for defining what the person can actually do. Remember, giving "Employee access" simply lets them into the building, now you have to give them keys to specific rooms (your Pages, Ad Accounts, etc.). A new screen will appear with three columns:
   • Left Column (Select asset type): Here you'll see categories like Pages, Ad accounts, Catalogs, Pixels, and Instagram accounts.
   • Middle Column (Choose specific assets): When you click a type from the left, this column will populate with all assets of that type you own.
   • Right Column (Set permissions): Once you select a specific asset, this column lets you define what tasks they can perform on it.
   Example: Adding a Community Manager to Your Facebook Page
   1. In the left column, click on "Pages".
   2. In the middle column, check the box next to your business's Facebook Page.
   3. In the right-hand column, toggle on the specific permissions they need. For a community manager, you might turn on:
      • Content: Create, manage, or delete posts, stories, and more.
      • Messages: Send messages from the Page in Inbox.
      • Community Activity: Review and respond to comments, remove unwanted content.
      Let's say they don't handle ads. You would leave the "Ads" toggle off. This granular control is what makes Business Manager so powerful.
   Repeat this process for any other assets they need, like an Instagram Account or an Ad Account. For an Ad Account, for example, you can grant permission to manage campaigns, view performance, or manage the account's settings.
10. Send the Invitation
    Once you've configured all their asset permissions, click the Invite button at the bottom right. An invitation will be sent to the email address you entered. The user will show up in your "People" list with a "Pending" status until they accept the invite from their email.

How to Add an Agency or Freelancer (The "Partner" Method)

If you're hiring an agency or a freelancer who has their own established business, avoid adding them as "People." The proper, more secure method is to add them as a "Partner." This allows them to use their own Business Manager to access your assets, keeping security clean and separated, making their professional relationship distinct from that of an internal employee.

1. Find the "Partners" Tab
   Go back to your Business Settings. This time, under "Users," select Partners.
2. Start the Sharing Process
   Click the "Add" button and then select "Give a partner access to your assets."
3. Enter the Partner's Business ID
   You'll need to ask your agency or freelance partner for their Business ID. They can find this by going to their own Business Settings > Business Info. It's a long string of numbers listed right under their business name. Enter that ID into the box and click Next.
4. Assign Assets and Roles
   The next screen will look identical to the "Assign Assets" screen when adding a person. You'll go through the exact same three column process. Select the Pages, Ad Accounts, and Pixels they need to work on and assign them the necessary task permissions in the right-hand column. When you're done, click Save Changes.

The partner will now see your assets listed within their own Business Manager, ready for their team to get to work. When your project ends, you can easily remove their access in one click from the same "Partners" screen.

Best Practices for Securely Managing Your Team

Getting your team into Business Manager is just the first step. To keep your digital assets safe and your workflow efficient, follow these simple rules.

• Use the Principle of Least Privilege: This fancy term means you should only ever give someone the minimum level of access they need to perform their job, and nothing more. Start everyone except owners with "Employee" access. Don't give full "Manage Page" access if all they do is moderate comments.
• Perform Regular Audits: At least once a quarter, go through your "People" and "Partners" list. Are there former employees or old agencies who still have access? Remove them immediately. Check if current team members’ roles have changed and adjust their permissions accordingly.
• Enforce Two-Factor Authentication: For an extra layer of defense, you can require all Admins and Employees in your Business Manager to use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). You can find this setting under Security Center. This makes it significantly harder for unauthorized users to gain access even if they manage to steal a password.

Final Thoughts

Mastering how to add team members to your Facebook Business Manager is foundational for scaling your marketing efforts securely. By understanding the difference between roles and diligently assigning asset-level permissions, you can confidently delegate tasks without sacrificing control of your valuable online presence.

Once your team is configured and ready to go, the real work of planning and executing a winning content strategy begins. Managing this process across multiple platforms can feel just as chaotic as managing permissions. After years of running into this ourselves, we built Postbase to bring calm to the chaos. With a simple visual calendar for planning, an all-in-one inbox for managing community engagement, and clear analytics dashboards, we make collaboration for social media teams feel streamlined and intuitive - not like yet another complicated maze to navigate.