Are you a marketing agency or freelancer using Facebook ads as part of the digital marketing strategy for your clients?
Navigating Facebook’s Business Manager (renamed to Business Portfolio in March 2024) can be a nightmare if you aren’t a seasoned Facebook user.
We’ve all been there, experiencing frustration when trying to request access to a Facebook Ad Account that the owner doesn’t have a clue how to grant access to (or even know who owns it).
This article makes it as simple as possible for you to request access to a Facebook Business Manager and Ad Account.
You can skip the hassle of long onboarding documents, draining calls and email back and forth and get straight to work driving results for your clients.
What to jump straight to the tutorial? Click here.
Why do you need access to your clients’ Facebook Business Manager (Portfolio) and Ad Account?
Typically, marketing agencies and freelancers need to request access to a client's Meta Business Manager (Portfolio) so they can:
- Create and run Facebook ads
- Manage a Facebook Business page and reply to messages or comments
- Review analytics and track audience behavior
- Create Datasets and custom audiences for ad targeting
- Manage access and authorized users
- Access commerce manager to manage online product catalogs
Can I just log in to my client’s Facebook Account?
No, because all Facebook Pages are set up through someone’s personal Facebook account, so it's not a separate account on its own. The only thing your client could do is share their personal Facebook login details.
But should they do that? Absolutely not.
Sharing account login details of a personal account is a big privacy and security risk and can cause problems because of 2-factor authentication (required for most Facebook Business functions).
Instead, we will show you what you need to do to get added as a “Partner” so you can work on their social media marketing.
How to request access to Facebook Ad & Business Portfolio (manual method)
Let’s go through the steps to request admin access to Facebook assets via your client’s Meta Business Manager/Portfolio.
The disadvantages of requesting access with the manual method:
- You must know your clients’ Meta Business Manager ID
- Your client must have Meta Business Manager set up (most clients don’t)
- You'll need your contact's name and email address (that should be fine), and they need to confirm your request via that email (more effort!)
- You won’t know if you have access until you check your Meta Business Manager
Spoiler Alert: We built the tool Leadsie to get rid of all those disadvantages.
With Leadsie, every time you get a new client or run an audit for a new prospect, you will no longer need to go through the below process.
With our tool, all you need to do is share your private access link with your client. They log in with their FB account and confirm access. It’s as simple as that! Jump straight to how to get Facebook access with Leadsie.
Prefer a video about how Leadsie makes life simpler?
Explainer: Why requesting access to Facebook assets as a “Partner” is better than as an individual?
There are a few different ways to get access to your clients' Facebook business assets.
Instead of asking for your clients' login (remember, never do that!), or getting individually added via your personal Facebook account to your clients' page or ad account, requesting access as a Facebook Partner is optimal.
Here are a few reasons why you should get added as a partner:
1. You can assign Facebook asset access to your team
So you got granted Partner access by your client, woohoo.🥳 BUT you’re not the one who will manage the account. You need to give your team members different levels of access so they can post content, run reports, manage ads and more.
If you were added as a Partner, you can give your team members access to the required permission levels to manage the client account. It’s not only more secure but saves your client from needing to grant each of your team members individual access.
2. Transparency
If you want to build a lasting client relationship based on trust, you have to be transparent with your client. Getting added as a Partner to their Business Manager/Portfolio means that your client remains in control and always has the ability to see what changes you are making.
Some agencies and freelancers are worried that your client might "steal" your secret tactics. Trust me, all the secrets are out. Your client is trusting you because they don't (and can't) do it themselves, not to steal your secret playbook!
3. Data ownership (GDPR)
Data ownership is a minefield you don't want to get too far into.
Your client retains ownership over their assets and data using Meta Business Manager, rather than connecting your personal Facebook account. You are also not collecting data in your account and avoid any liability for a GDPR breach.
4. A clean way out
Business relationships end. Maybe your client decides to take social media in-house or they want to try another agency - or they stop running advertising.
When the inevitable happens, you don't want to be the holder of all the keys. You want an easy way out, so if the next agency needs access to an account, you are not the one who has to give it to them. We've all been there. Just keep it simple and leave ownership of assets with your client.
Meta Business Manager (or Meta Business Suite) allow you to manage and access all Facebook business assets in one central place. While clients often don't have Meta Business Manager set up, especially if they don't have a Facebook ad account, it is highly advisable for them to set this up.
If your clients don't have Meta Business Manager set up, here is a how to guide.
With our tool Leadsie, you don't need to worry about this bit 😉 Your client will be walked through the creation of a Meta Business Manager, their assets will be automatically added and shared with you.
Step by Step: How to request partner access to Meta Business Assets
Step 1. Go to your Meta Business Manager/Portfolio and at the top, select the Business Manager account you want to use to get access to your clients' assets
Step 2. In the bottom left corner, select the cog symbol “Settings”
Step 3. Click “Partners”
Step 4. Click on “Add” and select “Ask a partner to share their assets”
Step 5. Click “Get started”
Step 6. Fill out the requested information and click “Request asset types”
Step 7. Choose the asset types you require access to and then the permissions you need (you will need to request the permissions separately for each asset type you want access to: pages, ad accounts, catalogs, datasets, and Instagram accounts).
Click each asset type one at a time and use the blue toggles to turn on your requested permissions.
Step 8. Once you've selected all the assets you want access to, click “Next: Confirm and review”
Step 9. Add a message for your client, review your request, click “Send”
Step 10. Your client will now receive an email like this:
Your client now needs to click “View in Business Manager” which will take them to Meta Business Manager, select the permissions for each asset type, and confirm. Then you'll have access.
Want to learn how to get access in just 2-Clicks, without having to know your client's business manager ID? Click here 😎.
How to get access to a Facebook Ad Account only (manually via Meta Business Manager/Portfolio)
For this method, your client does not need to have Business Manager set up, just a Facebook Ad Account.
The disadvantages are:
Here’s how it works:
Step 1. Go to your Meta Business Manager/Portfolio.
Step 2. Click the cog in the bottom right corner for Settings
Step 3. In the left menu, under “Accounts”, go to Ad Accounts
Step 4. Click “Add”, select “Request access to an an ad account”
Step 5. Type in your client’s Ad Account ID (you will need to ask them for this), select the level of access you need
Step 6. Click “Confirm”
Step 7. You will receive confirmation that your request is sent!
An admin of the Ad Account has to confirm it within Meta/Facebook.
As soon as the request access to ad account is granted, it will show as an asset in your Business Manager/Portfolio.
You may see notifications such as 'only people with full control of the page can claim it into this business account', if this happens, you'll need to ask for more permissions from your client.
Learn More: "Everything you need to know about Facebook Datasets"
Troubleshooting
In the process of requesting access to Facebook Ad Accounts or Business Managers you may get some error messages. Here’s what they mean and what you can do!
- “Only people with full control of the page can claim it into this business account” or “You cannot claim this page. You are not an admin on this page or you only have access via an agency.”
If you’re getting this message, you’re probably not the admin of the page that you are trying to add to the page. Don’t know who owns the page or can’t get hold of them? Read our guide on how to recover access to Facebook pages.
- "To gain access to more business accounts, you must consistently comply with our policies when running ads."
It looks like your business account is not in perfect standing - you have previously violated some of Facebook’s policies. To see what the issues were and what you can do about them, visit your Account Quality center in your Business dashboard.
- "You do not have sufficient permissions to import this asset into the given business."
It appears that for the particular asset you’re trying to add to this business, you don’t have enough permissions (i.e. admin rights). Check if someone else in your organization has these permissions and is able to add the asset to your Business Manager?
If you are unable to find or contact that person, you can reach out to the Facebook support. Use our guide on how to recover your lost access for Meta assets you own here.
The easiest way to request access to Facebook Ad Accounts, Datasets, Instagram and more
Ready for the revolution? 😎
We don’t know why people need a PhD in Facebook Ads to give you access, but we were fed up with it. So we built a tool that makes requesting and giving access easy as pie 🥧.
Here's how the whole process works with Leadsie: It’s as simple as copying your link and sending it to your client 🤯
You have 2 links, one for view-only access, one for “manage” access (admin) access. Just share the link that’s suitable with your client.
Only want to request specific assets? No problem, you can also create a custom request and share that with your client.
Your client simply needs to open your request link in their browser (also works great on mobile), login with their Facebook Account, confirm the assets you requested, and it's done 💥
What do our clients say? ❤️
Do you want to simplify your client onboarding as well and save yourself *and* your clients hassle?
See for yourself how much hassle Leadsie saves you, pop in your email below and get a free 14-day trial.
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