Who hasn’t found themselves drooling over a bakery’s social media images? Platters of flaky croissants, cakes that double as works of art, luscious-looking tarts, and the latest and greatest donut combinations can be amazing to look at.

It’s no wonder that La Baguette Panaderia was more than a little irritated when former employees allegedly renamed its Facebook page, modified some content, and used the platform to launch a competing business. All those tasty creations suddenly appeared to have been posted by Tito & Tita.

La Baguette pursued legal action, and the Maryland bakery seems to be doing well. However, there are a couple of important lessons to be learned from this scenario.

First, some people may stoop to that lowest of lows: cupcake fraud.

However, that’s not the only lesson — the other crucial one is that Facebook roles matter.

It isn’t just about protecting your business. Facebook business page roles can also help your social media team run more smoothly and efficiently. Not every brand will have a horror story. However, Facebook pages do more than keep your brand safe — they are a tool to make life easier. Here’s how.

What are Facebook page roles?

Facebook page roles refer to the different levels of access you can assign to individuals who help manage your business page.

Understanding these roles can help streamline your social media operations, ensuring everyone on your team knows what they need to do and when.

Facebook pages, groups, and profiles

There’s a difference between a Facebook business page, a Facebook group, and a Facebook personal profile associated with your email address.

To get the most out of Facebook, you’ll need a business page. Don’t worry — converting a Facebook profile to a Facebook page is easy.

Importance of using page roles effectively

Using Facebook page roles effectively contributes to a well-oiled marketing machine. It informs people of their role in your Facebook strategy.

For example, you can assign the “Editor” role to a content creator for posting and editing or designate a customer service representative as a “Moderator” to handle comments and messages.

Restricting access levels also protects against malice and mishaps. 

La Baguette facebook post, image including watermark
La Baguette now includes a watermark on every image it posts, which helps protect it against images being copied and reused. Image source: Facebook

While La Baguette isn’t the only business to suffer from deliberate mismanagement, problems more often arise from mistakes and personnel changes. When too many people have admin access, there’s a risk of accidental changes to important elements such as your profile picture. Some businesses have even lost account access and need to go through the process of restoring it.

The different types of roles: responsibilities and capabilities

There’s a closetful of Facebook hats for people in your organization. And before you start assigning those roles, it’s a good idea to know what permissions and access each role has.

Admins, editors, and moderators can also monitor live chats.

Admin role

What is a Facebook admin? The almighty administrator has complete control over a page. They also decide how much access is granted to all other team members.

Here’s the official list of their powers:

  • Manage page roles and role settings
  • Edit the page and add apps
  • Create and delete posts as the page
  • Send messages as the page
  • Respond to and delete comments and posts on the page
  • Remove and ban people from the page
  • Create ads, promotions, or boosted posts
  • View earnings insights
  • View other insights
  • View “Page Quality” tab
  • See who published as the page
  • Publish and manage jobs
  • Turn on job features for a post
  • Moderate live chat

The admin is the only Facebook page role that can assign roles and adjust settings.

Editor role

Editors can do almost — but not quite — everything. They can be involved in all things strategy or content-related. They have access to all available information to make data-based decisions and often play an active role in content creation and advertising. They can further moderate page activity and ban people when necessary.

Facebook editors can also communicate as the page, engaging people through posts, direct messages, and comments.

Moderator role

What is a moderator on Facebook?

The moderators are the gatekeepers for your Facebook page. They carefully monitor the content posted on the page. They review and respond to posts, comments, and messages, and have the authority to remove content and ban people who don’t align with community guidelines. They also have insight into page analytics.

While moderators can send messages on behalf of the page, they can’t edit the page, publish content or post jobs on its behalf.

Advertiser role

Advertisers promote your Facebook page. They can boost posts and create ads and promotions. They have access to ad creation tools, targeting options, and performance metrics.

Facebook advertisers can also review page quality and analytics to help them strategize.

Analyst role

The analysts are the data wizards. They review all available insights for the Facebook Page. They:

  • Analyze data
  • Track performance
  • Generate reports

If you want to know how many of your followers view your content from a mobile device, these are the people to ask. Their role in content is passive, though. They do not have the power to create or respond to communications.

Community manager role

The community managers have the most tightly focused Facebook page role. They’re solely concerned with the chat of a business’s Facebook Live streams. They moderate the conversation, deleting problematic comments and pinning important ones for better visibility. They can also suspend or ban users if necessary.

4 Tips for using page roles effectively

Now that you have a basic overview of Facebook page roles, here’s how to get the most out of them for smooth and safe social media management.

1. Assign the right roles to the right people

The first step is to assign the right roles to the right people. Consider the attributes and job positions of members of your team. And if no one fits the bill for analyst or advertiser positions, you can always use outside specialists to fill those roles.

Assigning the admin

The top role demands a high level of trust and responsibility and often goes to business owners or managers. These individuals should be readily available to manage any issues that may arise and possess a deep understanding of the business’s significant objectives.

Designating the editor

Editors take on content creation, publication, and strategy. They should be marketing-minded and trusted to speak on behalf of the business.

Assigning the moderator role

The Facebook moderator job is a good fit for customer service representatives or community managers. They often have experience dealing with customer queries and complaints and know or shape relevant guidelines.

Choosing the advertiser

Dedicated advertisers specialize in paid digital marketing. They need experience creating compelling campaigns and scaling Facebook ads to target the right audience.

Dedicating the analyst role

Analysts love numbers. They need a good understanding of key performance indicators (KPIs) — for both Facebook and your business — and to translate data into actionable insights.

Designating the community manager

Community managers excel in customer engagement and community building. These individuals should be skilled with Facebook Live tools and understand how to enhance these user experiences.

2. Use pending approvals to establish a workflow

Facebook allows admins to maintain control over posts by using a feature known as “pending approvals.” This means that others can create posts, but they won’t go live until an admin approves them.

Have the creator save their post as a draft and select “Request approval” from the dropdown menu. The admin will be notified and can then view the post on the content page.

This feature is incredibly useful in establishing a workflow,  maintaining quality control, and ensuring that all content aligns with a crucially consistent brand voice.

You can also allow people other than your page to post, which can be useful for sharing user-generated content. In your privacy settings, allow “Everyone” to post on the page and then adjust the settings for visitor posts to ensure that “Review posts by other people before publishing” is toggled on.

Page and tagging settings on Facebook
If you want to let third parties post content, you’ll need to allow them to do so in your privacy settings. Image source: Facebook

3. Utilize insights tools for role performance tracking

All Facebook page roles except community moderators can access analytics and view content publishers.

Evaluate editors’ performance by analyzing post engagement and reach. Assess moderators by reviewing response times to customer messages. And know which advertisements are working and which ones aren’t by examining earning reports.

4. Update page roles regularly

It’s vital to regularly review and update your Facebook Page roles as your business evolves. Doing so ensures that team members have the necessary access to perform their tasks while maintaining security. Don’t leave outdated permissions in place.

Facebook page roles need to be updated regularly, example from NBA
This is a recent post from the official NBA account from a recently departed employee who took the chance to slam his employers. While the post was quickly taken down, it lives on in screenshots like this one, shared by the NY Post

Remember, while an admin can remove anyone from any Facebook page role, you’ll need to be an admin to remove another admin. If you’re the only admin on your page, you won’t be able to remove yourself unless you first add another person as an admin and they accept the invite.

Leverage Facebook to reach your target market

Even as other social media platforms become popular, Facebook continues to dominate the market. As of August 2023, it received 49.9% of all social media visits in the U.S.

You can’t be everywhere, and you should prioritize a few social media sites rather than spreading yourself too thin. But it’s a good idea to maintain a strong Facebook business page.

Luckily, you don’t have to do that on your own. Effective use of Facebook page roles spreads out the work and maintains a steady flow of content and communication.

Take a moment to review your current setup. Pull up your settings and review your Facebook roles and the list of people with access to your account.

  • Do you have more than one admin in case of personnel changes — the company’s owner(s) and/or manager(s)?
  • Is the ultimate decision maker an admin?
  • Are you comfortable with the current level of access afforded to all team members?
  • Does everyone have enough access to be able to fulfill all of their responsibilities without having access to capabilities they don’t need or use?
  • Do you have a clear process for content publication so you can ensure posts stay relevant and on-brand?
  • Are you comfortable that all content complies with your business’s brand guidelines?
  • Are people you trust to speak on behalf of your brand ultimately in charge of deciding what your brand does and doesn’t say?
  • Is someone clearly designated to respond to messages quickly on behalf of your brand?
  • Do all outside contractors have the permissions they need — and only the permissions they need?
  • Does anyone regularly review Facebook analytics? (This doesn’t have to be a designated analyst, but it should be someone with the access and ability to take advantage of data-based insights.)

Once you’ve addressed these questions, you’ll be set up for Facebook success.

Remember, Facebook page roles should smooth out your operations. They were created to ensure the right people maintain control over everything associated with your brand. Enjoy greater confidence in your social media management. Craft and schedule Facebook posts with Constant Contact’s social media tools. Start your free trial today.