Scenario #1: Someone you hired created your Facebook Business Page however long ago, then left the company, and now you can’t get into your official Business Page to make changes.
Scenario #2: You have admin access to the Facebook Business Page, but Business Manager won’t allow you to add admins or do anything Business Manager-related and keeps telling you that only the Page Owner can do anything.
I’ve run into both scenarios and this is what I did.
Scenario #1:
First of all, message the Facebook Business Page and request Admin access. I did this a few times before filing a Trademark Claim in case the Facebook investigation/review including checking into messaging activity. There’s a chance they’ll see you tried to resolve this issue amicably. (Also, on one occasion we discovered that someone in the company had access they didn’t know about until they received the message sent through Facebook!)
When messaging fails, file either a Copyright Claim or a Trademark Claim.
Both methods will allow you prove company ownership through email, URL, documents and also allow you to add details to the end of your claim. This will allow you to better explain the situation and get actual support for your issue.
Again, I would message the page and/or the profile user you know to have been managing the page and request access a few times before filing the claim – if for no other reason – because it’s the easiest way to regain access to your business. And if you feel you must be assertive in your message, maybe state that you’d like to resolve this amicably but will be forced to file an Intellectual Property claim if they don’t grant you access as the rightful business owner.
Scenario #2:
Let’s say you have full administrative access to a Facebook (Meta) page and hired an ad company to run company ads through Facebook Business Manager. You have since removed the ad agency, but now Facebook won’t allow you to add anyone new to the Facebook Business Manager area, and tells you that only the Page Owner can do anything. You might be in a situation where a block was placed on your ads. Could be you got flagged after removing the agency. Who knows, but I ran into this situation with the owner submitting his ID and company ownership papers only to get nowhere. Then I found the ad block and used this link to request a review: https://business.facebook.com/business/help/422289316306981?id=434838534925385
The thing about this link is that at the bottom there are links for:
- Confirming your identity
- Securing your account
- Requesting a review
And really, any link that gets you in contact with someone at Facebook to regain access to your business account – you should exhaust all possibilities. It’s fairly easy to report a fraudulent account and try to get that account closed, but it’s a real challenge to regain access after someone managed it and then abandoned it without granting you access, first. The takeaway here is that if you ever hire someone to start your Facebook Business Page, the first thing they must do after creation is send you an manager request. Always have access to your account, always secure that first so you don’t run into these issues.