Another day, it seems, another Facebook update. This one, according to their announcement last month, was to provide a single interface for businesses to manage their Facebook and Instagram accounts across mobile and desktop devices. For businesses that use both platforms, this integration is a welcome improvement.
The Facebook Business Suite, which replaced Facebook Pages Manager, was introduced for small business pages starting in September 2020, with planned expansion to larger businesses next year. A post by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg cited the changes as Facebook’s response to help small businesses “find new ways to sell and reach customers online” in response to the impact of coronavirus.
A sour start on Facebook Business Suite
For us, Facebook Business Suite appeared several weeks ago without any warning or notification. When attempting to schedule a post, a new tab opened into the Business Suite with a cryptic and rather half-baked explanation. Navigating within an account, this same awkward jump page was displayed each time we tried to view published or scheduled posts.
Unlike most prior Facebook updates, implementation of the Facebook Business Suite did not allow page owners to toggle back and forth while acclimating to the new platform. And (a familiar refrain, it seems, with Facebook updates), the desktop interface had some serious bugs at launch. One of the most frustrating was that scheduled posts were sequenced by the last edit date, rather than chronologically.
Sweeter on mobile?
While we found that the mobile version of the Facebook Business Suite offered a more nimble interface for managing scheduled posts, the app store rating of less than two stars indicated that experiences varied based on user intent. Interestingly, now a month post-implementation, the app store shows no rating, “due to an insufficient number of reviews.”
The good news? Facebook’s comment from one week ago notes, “We’ve heard your feedback and we’re working to make the Business Suite better for you!” A similar message on desktop would have been welcome.
Desktop version improvements
Just as we were acclimating to the changes a couple of weeks post-implementation, the desktop user experience abruptly reverted and the Facebook Business Suite was nowhere in evidence. While admittedly relieved initially, we were curious about its sudden disappearance.
With some deep breaths and deliberate hunting, we were able to navigate our way into it and noted some usability improvements. Some of the pages are a bit cryptic and appear to be still in development; others have an improved look and feel and easier access to useful information.
Here’s how we found our way back to Facebook Business Suite. (Disclaimer: Facebook may change this navigation at any time!)
- Go to business.facebook.com
- On the top black bar, in the left corner, click on the words “Business Manager”
- Scroll down towards the bottom and select Business Suite
- On the left nav bar (titled Facebook Business Suite), use the down carrot (arrow) to select your business page
Home screen
The body of the Home screen includes nicely organized and readable notifications highlights, a snapshot of recent posts with engagement in a consumable grid format, and a summary of recent ad information. A column on the right offers a snapshot of insight trends.
At the top of the page, a Create post button opens a new window which is easy to navigate and links directly to the scheduling tool. Posts can be scheduled on either or both platforms (Facebook and Instagram) concurrently. A nice enhancement is the ability to preview posts on both mobile and desktop while creating.
Navigation highlights
In the left navigation, you’ll find Activity, Inbox, Posts, Ads, Insights and More Tools.
- The Activity tab shows notifications for the specific business page.
- The merged inbox can be filtered by platform, if desired.
- When selecting Posts, you land on a tabbed page where you’ll find both published and scheduled posts (happily, now in chronological sequence by scheduled date).
A key item tucked away in More Tools is the Page Settings, which appear unchanged at this time. Page roles are limited to six page managers, which (while probably sufficient) is notable.
Our assessment of the Facebook Business Suite is that it has some nice efficiencies. While the changes in the user experience indicate that it’s still evolving, it may even turn out to be a sweet upgrade.
