Accepting page requests on Facebook is an important part of managing your business’s social media presence. When another Facebook user sends a page request to your business page, you need to approve or deny it in order for them to start interacting with your page. However, if you use Facebook Business Manager to manage your pages, the process for accepting page requests is a bit different than if you were just using a personal profile.
What are Facebook page requests?
A Facebook page request is when one user asks to be able to follow or interact with another user’s public page. Page requests can be sent to and from both personal profiles and business pages. When a page request is sent to your business page, it will show up in your page’s Notifications tab as a request waiting for approval.
Some common reasons a user might send a page request include:
- A customer wants to follow your business page to see updates on new products or promotions.
- A vendor wants to connect with your company.
- An industry contact wants to network with your brand.
- A job seeker is interested in openings at your company.
Approving legitimate page requests allows interested parties to engage with your business on Facebook. However, you can also deny requests that seem suspicious or spammy.
Why use Business Manager?
Facebook Business Manager is a tool that allows you to manage multiple Facebook pages, ad accounts, and more from one central dashboard. With Business Manager, you can easily control larger social media presences across several channels without having to switch between different profiles.
Some key benefits of using Business Manager include:
- Manage multiple Facebook pages, Instagram profiles, and Messenger experiences from one place.
- Gain insights through analytics across all your connected assets.
- Create and manage Facebook ads and Pixels.
- Add team members and control permissions.
- Streamline your workflow.
Business Manager essentially acts as the central hub for your business’s digital presence and marketing efforts on Facebook. Whether you have one social media account or 20, it pays to have them united under the Business Manager roof.
How page requests work through Business Manager
When someone sends a page request to one of your Facebook pages, you will receive the notification through Business Manager (not your individual page’s profile). Here is how it works:
- A user searches for your Facebook business page and clicks the “Like” or “Follow” button.
- This sends a page request notification to your Business Manager account.
- In Business Manager, go to the Notifications tab at the top of the screen. All new page requests will be listed here.
- Click on a request to review the user’s profile and activity. Determine if it is safe to approve them.
- From the request details screen, click “Confirm” to accept the request or “Delete” to deny it.
- Once approved, the user will be able to interact with your Facebook page.
One thing to note is that other admins connected to your Business Manager account will also see page requests come in. So you can either have a single person managing approvals or divide up the task. The key is checking Business Manager itself for new requests rather than individual page profiles.
Tips for reviewing page requests
Not every page request you receive will necessarily be from a legitimate user. Here are some tips on vetting requests:
- Click on the user’s name and scrutinize their profile. Look for red flags like a lack of posts, friends, photos, etc. This often indicates a fake or spam account.
- Check to see if you have any friends/contacts in common with the requester. Mutual connections are a good sign.
- Does their profile seem to match up with someone who would realistically want to interact with your business? Be wary of requests from irrelevant accounts.
- Look for a pattern of sending page requests but not actually engaging with the pages they get approved for. Spammers will sometimes do this in hopes of being approved for nefarious purposes.
- Trust your instincts. If a profile seems suspicious for any reason, it’s best to simply deny the request.
Taking the time to thoroughly vet each request before confirming will keep your page safe and productive. Don’t hesitate to block any accounts that appear fake, compromised, or malicious in nature.
Best practices for managing Facebook page requests
Here are some top tips for streamlining the page request process:
- Assign specific admins – Rather than having your whole team sift through requests, appoint 1-2 people to handle reviews and approvals.
- Set a review frequency – Check pending requests daily or a few times per week so they don’t pile up.
- Create criteria – Establish guidelines for the types of accounts you will/won’t accept (location, industry, connection strength, etc.) to guide decisions.
- Block liberally – Don’t hesitate to deny and block any user that seems questionable. Protecting your page is the priority.
- Reply when needed – If denying a request from a known contact, consider replying to explain why if appropriate.
- Give access cautiously – Be selective about who gains access to interact with your page since it gives them some power over your brand perception.
By putting procedures in place to manage requests, your Facebook presence will benefit. Stay vigilant against fake accounts, but welcome legitimate interactions.
Modifying page request settings
In addition to manually reviewing and accepting/denying each request, you can also adjust your Facebook page settings to filter requests automatically. Here are your options:
- Automatically approve – Any request gets immediately accepted without review. Riskiest option.
- Manually approve – Default setting. Requests pend until individually reviewed.
- Automatically decline – All requests are automatically rejected. Closes page off to new followers.
- Disable requests – Removes the option for users to even send page requests. Prevents any new follows.
The manual approval method is best for most business pages. However, you can tweak these settings as needed. For example, you may want to disable requests leading up to a major product launch to control traffic, or automatically approve requests during the holidays to grow your audience.
To change the settings in Business Manager:
- Go to the Business Settings section.
- Choose your Facebook page.
- Click Page Requests on the left sidebar.
- Update the setting and save your changes.
Take some time to test different request flows to determine what works best. Just be sure not to sacrifice security in the name of convenience.
Why requests might not appear in Business Manager
In some cases, you may notice users are requesting to follow your Facebook page, but those requests are not showing up for review in Business Manager. There are a few potential reasons for this:
- You have page requests automatically set to approve or decline.
- The user is already connected to you in some way (friend, family, co-worker, etc). Facebook may automatically approve requests from existing connections.
- It’s an older request that was ignored and expired.
- The page and Business Manager account became disconnected.
- There is a technical glitch preventing the requests from surfacing.
If you suspect your Business Manager is not showing all page requests properly, first check your page settings. Then try disconnecting and reconnecting your Facebook page to Business Manager to reset the connection.
You can also ask someone you know to send a test page request from their account. See if it surfaces for you to confirm things are working. If requests still do not appear after troubleshooting, reach out to Facebook support for additional help.
Conclusion
Facebook page requests require special handling when your business pages are run through Business Manager. While it takes a few extra clicks to access and review pending requests, it allows you to evaluate follows and tighten security. Set clear policies for vetting requests, require manual approval, and frequently check notifications to successfully manage your Facebook audience.