Tips on how to merge Fb accounts
Merging Facebook accounts seems like a convenient option for companies in the process of consolidation or acquisition.
Merging accounts is currently not possible. However, marketers can request the merging of Facebook accounts if they have an identical name or represent a similar product or service.
Now what if your accounts don't meet these criteria? Unfortunately, it's not possible to actually merge your Facebook accounts, but there are a few possible workarounds.
This article will share tips and tricks on how to merge Facebook accounts. But first, let's discuss the benefits of this strategy.
Why should you merge Facebook accounts?
Merging accounts is not for everyone, but there are some instances when it could be beneficial.
Easy administration
In the past, it may have been logical for companies to have separate accounts, but circumstances can change.
A multi-company organization may prefer to merge accounts for easier management. After all, it's more convenient to publish content from one account than to manage multiple.
For marketers, managing a social media marketing calendar for two or more accounts can be problematic. Each account is likely to have its own brand voice, content guidelines, or design. It can also be difficult to monitor social media metrics and create effective branding strategies across companies.
In these circumstances, combining all of the elements in one account can save a great deal of time and effort.
Enhance the customer experience
Posting content from an account can have a positive impact on your engagement results.
All your audience needs to do is follow your main account to interact with your content.
An alternative option is to search multiple accounts to view content related to a specific department, service, or product. This is not always ideal.
When your audience wants to get in touch with your brand, all they have to do is send a message to the main account. You don't have to dig through your various accounts to find the right people to talk to.
Add diversity
Combining two or more accounts means more variety for your content.
For example, let's say you run a fashion website and your sister company runs a travel website. Instead of sharing exclusively fashion-related content, you can spice it up with travel content.
Over time, you can potentially gain followers interested in both travel and fashion. The combination could lead to improved social media engagement and an increase in your number of followers.
How to manage your Facebook accounts during a business consolidation
Business consolidation occurs when two separate companies are combined into one unit.
Let's say Marketing Agency A and Marketing Agency B have been consolidated into Marketing Agency C.
Agency A and Marketing Agency B both have separate Facebook accounts.
In the coming months, you might want to merge Facebook accounts or create a new one. In this way, the new Marketing Agency C account combines followers, posts, and images from the previous accounts.
Again, in most cases you will not be able to merge Facebook accounts. What strategies are there to deal with this situation? Here are some tips to help you:
Create a brand migration process
Consolidation doesn't happen overnight, and it may take your current followers some time to get used to the transition. Before deleting your separate accounts and creating a new one, plan a brand migration process.
Contact the parent company's brand manager for more information on the future of the consolidated brand.
Here are a few questions to consider:
- How will the consolidated business communicate with customers?
- What will the new brand voice and aesthetic be?
- Who are your target customers?
- How would you describe your buyer personalities?
Keep the answers in mind when creating a social media strategy that is aligned with your new brand identity. The end goal is to develop a brand voice and aesthetic that resonates with both audiences of your previous accounts.
Create a transition timeline
Whenever you create a new brand identity and account, you need to give customers the time to make the transition easier.
This could look like this:
- Month 1: Start a social media marketing campaign announcing the consolidation and your new account. Post some content from the new account to the old accounts to encourage customers to follow your new account.
- Month 2: Cross-post more frequently and adopt a brand voice and aesthetic that mimics the consolidated company's new brand identity.
- Month 3: Before giving up your social media account, create a definitive post in your old accounts that includes a link to your new consolidated account. That way, customers who check out your old branded accounts in the months ahead will know where to find you.
The key to success, of course, is starting social media marketing campaigns to raise awareness about the consolidation. You can also encourage your current followers to stay on your new consolidated account so they can get relevant updates.
Merge brand identity
Every company has its own identity and target group. The key to a successful consolidation is to understand the characteristics of the two separate companies and to bring them together after the consolidation.
For example, let's say Business A is a travel website and Business B is a fashion brand. The tone of Business A is fun and whimsical, while Business B is fashion conscious and feminine. Instead of preferring one brand identity over the other, you might consider adopting key traits for your brand voice and content after consolidation.
Next, consider when a particular audience or buyer personality is more active.
You may find that fashion conscious audiences are more likely to interact with your content on weekdays. Then publish content from Business B at this point. In contrast, travel-related content on weekday afternoons or weekends might be more appropriate.
In the initial stages of the brand transition, keep the accounts up to date, link them together frequently and link them to the new company. Share the same posts so people know the brands are now assigned.
In the beginning, brand identity may not be perfect. So change your strategy until you figure out what works best. Eventually, your audience will get used to your new brand identity and you can successfully merge Facebook accounts.
How to manage your Facebook accounts for a company acquisition
A company acquisition occurs when one company acquires the shares in order to own another company. In this case, the acquired company no longer exists.
How do you merge Facebook accounts when a company does not technically exist? Keep the following tips in mind:
Decide on the next steps
Rate the number of followers on the acquired company's Facebook account. If the acquired business has a low number of followers and your leads or buyer personalities overlap, simply encourage the current followers of the acquired business to follow your new account.
If the acquired company has a valuable number of followers, then you need to create a migration plan to include them in the parent Facebook account. Share posts from your main Facebook account with the acquired company's social media account.
Over time, loyal trademark attorneys will follow the master account so you can close the acquired company's Facebook account.
Create relevant content
Take into account the characteristics of the followers of the acquired business and incorporate them into your buyer personality.
Think of the content that will appeal to the target audience of the acquired company rather than sharing all of the parent company's content from the start. Use blog posts or graphics that target the acquired company's social accounts audience.
Of course, you don't have to revise your entire content strategy to target this new customer base. Create content that will appeal to this audience occasionally so that they will be encouraged to stick around and check out what the parent company is offering.
How to manage your Facebook accounts when you change your company name
Changing your Facebook company name is a pretty straightforward process. According to Facebook, you can easily make the changes in Business Manager.
This is how it works:
- Visit the store settings.
- Select Business Info and then Edit.
- Replace the current company name with your desired company name.
- Click on "Save".
While these steps are very simple, it does take time to build awareness of your new company name.
If not done well, engagement can drop as current followers cannot find your business. Additionally, social media engines won't be able to index your new URL right away, and it could take weeks or months to restore your old traffic.
To avoid these drawbacks, here are some tips you need to know:
Let the followers know about the name change
The obvious step is to let the followers know about the name change.
Before you take the plunge, include the new company name in your promotional materials; B. Emails or blog posts. That way, you can increase awareness of the change that is about to take place.
Enter the old name
You don't have to drop the old company name right away.
Instead of choosing between the old and the new, your new name could also include your old company name. A good tip is to follow this format: "New company name (formerly old company name)".
Freshworks Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has changed its company name from "Freshsales" to "Freshworks CRM". So that you don't lose the SERPs, your website is listed as "Freshworks CRM (formerly Freshsales)".
With this strategy, customers familiar with your old company name can still find your page on Facebook and be aware of your rebranding.
How to manage Facebook accounts if your company has multiple accounts for different departments
Sometimes companies have multiple accounts to serve specific purposes from different departments.
Take Airbnb, for example, which has two separate Twitter accounts: @Airbnb and @AirbnbHelp.
The general Airbnb account is used for marketing purposes while the help account is mainly used by the support team for customer complaints.
A company could also have region-specific Facebook accounts.
For example, McDonald's Facebook posts may differ by country or region. You can find this by navigating to the "Switch Region" option.
Here you can choose to view McDonald's local posts from the US or opt for posts from a specific location or country.
How do I manage multiple Facebook accounts in different departments or regions? Here are some tips to know:
Implement brand guidelines
The account may be different, but the main brand is still the same. To make sure all departments are on the same page, implement branding guidelines that include the tone, feel, and aesthetic to ensure the customer experience stays consistent.
Follow the communication guidelines
Whether the Facebook page is for your marketing, sales, or support team, your communication strategy should stay the same. Employees who manage accounts independently from their department should use the brand's preferred language or language when replying to messages or comments.
Monitor different accounts
In this day and age, a social media misstep can cause you to lose potential customers.
To ensure a great customer experience, marketing teams should also monitor accounts from different departments.
Have a primary team or person monitor all social media accounts. When different departments create their social media calendars or strategies, the changes need to be approved by the main social media team.
An alternative option is to invite a representative from the various departments' social media teams to the monthly marketing plan meeting. This ensures that everyone in the company is on the same page.
Conclusion
How do you merge Facebook accounts? Although in most cases this is not possible, you can use workarounds.
Companies in the process of consolidation and acquisition are recommended to create a migration plan and transition schedule to ensure that existing followers stay with the company. In the meantime, people with different accounts in different departments should ensure consistency by following the brand's guidelines.
There are several reasons why you may feel the need to merge Facebook accounts. However, the key to success lies in remembering your brand identity and your buyer personality. Always remember to create relevant content and strategies that are tailored to your audience.
As long as you take this into account, you are on your way to success.
Are you looking for ways to merge Facebook accounts? What strategies will you use to ease the transition to a new account?
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