First and foremost, without granting the necessary access, the agency won’t be able to start working in the Meta panel (this includes both advertising activities and managing a fanpage). Additionally, not having access to all essential elements of the Meta ecosystem (detailed below) often leads to delays or even prevents certain campaigns from being created. That’s why we recommend handling this at the beginning of the collaboration so that you can avoid thinking about it later.
What Can You Grant Access To?
Unfortunately, the matter of access within the Meta environment is more complex than one might expect. Permissions can be granted for individual elements of Meta’s advertising ecosystem, and there are quite a few of them. Access can be granted to:
- Business Manager
- Ad account
- Facebook Page (fanpage)
- Instagram account (fanpage)
- Pixel (now referred to as a data set)
- Product catalog
- Apps (if the client has any)
- Verified domain
- Lead Access, useful for Lead Ads campaigns
The number of accesses you grant depends on factors such as the client’s existing resources and the scope of activities being managed with the agency. To avoid confusion and, most importantly, unexpected delays, it’s worth determining exactly what the agency will need and granting all necessary access at the start of the collaboration.
Why Is All This Access Necessary?
- Business Manager – Required for domain verification or setting up a Commerce Manager.
- Ad account – Needed for creating, optimizing, and reporting on Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns.
- Facebook Page – Necessary for posting, commenting, creating ads, and creating Lead Ads forms on Facebook.
- Instagram Account – Required for posting and commenting on Instagram, and creating ads.
- Pixel – Needed for creating events, custom conversions, or making changes to an existing pixel.
- Product Catalog – If the client already has a product catalog, access is needed for creating product campaigns.
- Apps – Required for launching app promotion campaigns.
- Verified Domain – Necessary for setting new events due to iOS 14 changes.
- Lead Access – Needed to download leads collected via a Lead Ads form in the ad panel.
Access can be granted at different levels depending on the element in question. For example, access to a Facebook Page can be granted at the level of administrator, editor, moderator, or advertiser. The level of permissions should be based on the scope of the collaboration (e.g., without admin rights, the agency won’t be able to independently create Lead Ads forms). Granting admin access provides both parties with peace of mind, as the agency can handle everything without involving the client.
How to Grant Access
The process of granting access primarily depends on two factors: the ad account and the business manager. Below, we show how to grant access depending on your situation:
A. I have an ad account and my own business manager
B. I have a private ad account
C. I don’t have an ad account or business manager
A. I Have an Ad Account and My Own Business Manager
If you have an ad account and your own business manager, access can be granted in two ways. The first method is inviting the agency as a Partner.
To do this, you’ll need the Agency’s Business Manager ID. Once you have this number, go to Business Settings in your Business Manager, then to Users and Partners. At this point, click Add and Grant Partner Access to Your Assets.
Next, enter the previously mentioned Agency Business Manager ID.
After entering the ID, choose the elements you want to grant access to, such as the page, ad account, pixel, etc. The agency will receive an email notification, which they must confirm. Once the email is confirmed, the agency will gain access to all the elements you selected.
You can also reverse this process—allowing the agency to request access to the specific elements they need for the collaboration. To do this, simply provide the agency with your Business Manager ID. In this case, you’ll receive an email notification, which you must confirm. After doing so, the agency will gain access to the elements you approved, such as the page, ad account, pixel, etc.
Another method is to invite the agency’s employee to your Business Manager. To do this, go to the Users section, select People, and then click Invite People.
In the next step, grant access to the necessary elements like pages, ad accounts, product catalogs, apps, and pixels.
After selecting all the necessary elements, click „invite.” The person you invited will receive a notification at the email address you provided (this can be a work email), and they will be asked to confirm the granted permissions. Once confirmed, they will have access to all the elements you assigned earlier.
B. I Have a Private Ad Account
Having a private ad account (one that contains your name) typically means not having a Business Manager. While you can link such an account to any chosen Business Manager, it will always remain the property of the private individual. If this account belongs to an employee and organizational changes occur, you may face the challenge of setting up a new account (resulting in the loss of historical data and pixel information linked to your website).
For this reason, we recommend setting up an official, neutral ad account for the company, along with a Business Manager that isn’t tied to just one employee. This is a much safer option.
Private ad accounts also pose challenges when granting access. While you can invite the agency to work on your ad account by going to the ad account settings, you’ll only be able to invite people who are your Facebook friends.
To avoid inviting agency employees solely for the purpose of granting access, you can reverse this process. The agency can request access to your ad account. All you need to do is provide the agency with your ad account ID, which you’ll find next to the account name.
The agency will then send a request for access with a specific permission level, and the ad account administrator will receive a notification via email and Facebook. Only after confirming this request will the agency gain access to the account.
In this case, the agency will also need to send a separate request for access to the fanpage (only the page name is required for this). The fanpage administrator will receive an email and Facebook notification. Once confirmed, the agency will gain access to the page. The process for granting access to other elements, such as the pixel, works similarly—you provide the agency with the pixel ID, and then receive a request for access.
C. I Don’t Have an Ad Account or Business Manager
If you don’t have an ad account or a Business Manager, no worries. Setting up both is very easy and only takes a few minutes.
Since the created ad account will always belong to the organization that set it up, we recommend that you create the Business Manager and ad account yourself, with potential guidance from the agency on exactly what needs to be done.
In exceptional cases, the agency can set up the ad account themselves and link it to their Business Manager. However, be aware that the agency will retain ownership of that account.
To grant access to an account created by the agency, they will need to temporarily invite you to their Business Manager. The invitation will be sent to a previously agreed-upon email address. After confirming the email, you’ll gain access to the ad account.
As seen above, having your own Business Manager and ad account is much more convenient for both parties.
Update to the article in 2023 by Patrycja Gala.
O AUTORCE
Karina Niksa
Senior Analytics and PPC Specialist
W Yetiz zajmuje się głównie realizacją kampanii reklamowych w Google Ads, Ceneo i Allegro. Do pracy motywuje ją chęć poszerzania wiedzy oraz rozwoju kompetencji z każdym nowym projektem, aby stawać się coraz lepsza w zadaniach, które realizuje na co dzień. Miłośniczka natury i podróży w mniej znane rejony. Równowagę odnajduje w jodze, robieniu na drutach i graniu na gitarze basowej.
