Facebook pages allow businesses, brands, organizations, and public figures to establish an official presence on Facebook. As your business or brand evolves, you may find it necessary to delete an existing Facebook page and create a new one. Here are the steps for deleting a Facebook page and setting up a new one from scratch.
Why Would I Need to Delete My Facebook Page?
There are a few common reasons you may need to delete your current Facebook page:
- You want to change the name of your Facebook page
- You want to change the category or focus of your page
- Your business has pivoted and your existing page no longer represents your brand appropriately
- You want to start fresh and improve your page’s reputation
Facebook does not allow you to change the name or category of an existing page. Therefore, if your business has undergone a major change, it is better to delete your page and create a new one that properly represents your brand.
How Do I Delete My Facebook Page?
Deleting your Facebook page is a simple process, but keep in mind that once you delete a page, it cannot be undone. Here are the steps to delete your Facebook page:
- Go to your Facebook page and click “Settings” at the bottom of your cover photo.
- On the General page, click “Remove Page” in the bottom left.
- Click “Permanently delete [page name]” to confirm.
- Enter your Facebook password and click “Continue” to complete the deletion.
Once you permanently delete your page, all content will be removed including posts, photos, events, messages and fans. The page username will become available to be claimed by a new page.
How Do I Create a New Facebook Page?
Creating a new Facebook page from scratch takes a bit more effort, but gives you the opportunity to completely rebrand your page. Here are the steps:
- Go to Facebook and click “Create” in the top navigation bar.
- Select “Page” from the dropdown menu.
- Choose a category that best represents your business or brand.
- Enter your new page name and click “Get Started.”
- Select a profile picture and cover photo to represent your page visually.
- In the “About” section, fill out details describing your business or brand.
- Click “Continue” and your new page will be live, though currently unpublished.
With your new page created, it’s time to begin developing the content, inviting fans and launching it officially. Here are some tips for optimizing your new page:
Set Up Key Information
- Complete your page bio, description, website URL, contact info and other details in the “About” section.
- Choose relevant keywords that describe your business to help with search optimization.
- Select your page username carefully as it cannot be changed once set.
Design Your Page Layout
- Customize your tabs to highlight your products, services, photo galleries, events and other important content.
- Organize your photos neatly into albums based on relevant topics.
- Pin key posts like your latest products, announcements or special offers to the top of your page.
Invite Fans From Your Existing Networks
- Let your current customers and email subscribers know about your new page.
- Share the page on your existing social media accounts and company newsletter.
- Run a promotion or contest exclusive to new page fans to drive likes and followers.
Post Engaging Content Frequently
- Share content daily that provides value to your target audience like tips, new products, behind-the-scenes photos, etc.
- Respond promptly to all comments and messages.
- Run contests and events to increase engagement.
With a solid strategy focused on providing an excellent user experience, you can regain and even surpass the number of fans from your previous page over time.
Can I Retrieve Content from My Deleted Page?
Unfortunately, once a Facebook page is deleted, all of its content is permanently removed and cannot be retrieved. However, here are a few ways you may be able to recover some of your old content:
- Check your computer and mobile devices to see if you have any page content saved locally, like images, videos or documents.
- See if you emailed any of your page content like images or links to yourself or others.
- Use Google and other search engines to find if copies of your posts or images are still cached or were shared elsewhere online.
- Reach out to any former fans who may have shared or saved your content previously.
While you won’t be able to fully recover all of your deleted content, taking some time to dig around can help you salvage assets for your new page.
What’s the Best Way to Manage Multiple Facebook Pages?
If your business has several brands or locations, you may need to manage multiple Facebook pages. Here are some tips for efficiently managing and posting to multiple pages:
Use Facebook Business Manager
Facebook Business Manager allows you to control all of your pages as well as ad accounts, Instagram profiles and more from one central dashboard. You can easily cross-post to all connected accounts.
Create Publisher Pages
Publisher pages give editors access to post and schedule content to your pages without having full admin access. This allows your team to collaborate easily.
Use Social Media Management Tools
Tools like Hootsuite and Sprout Social make it easy to schedule posts across multiple pages. You can draft content once and queue it to publish to each page.
Analyze Performance
Look at the Facebook Insights for each page to see which types of content perform best on each. Customize your posting strategy based on what resonates most with each page’s fans.
Check Notifications Frequently
Stay on top of comments, messages and activity across all your pages by checking your notifications regularly so you don’t miss important interactions.
What are Facebook’s Page Deletion and Creation Limits?
Facebook does impose some limits on how frequently you can delete pages and create new ones:
- Pages can only be deleted twice per day.
- No more than 5 pages can be created in a single day.
- A maximum of 250 pages can be created per account.
If you try to delete or create pages beyond these limits, you will receive an error message. Limits reset at midnight Pacific time each day.
Keep Facebook’s deletion and creation limits in mind as you manage your pages. Having a clear purpose and plan for each page you create can help avoid exceeding the limits.
Conclusion
Deleting your existing Facebook page gives you a fresh start to create a new page that better represents your current business or brand. Be sure to delete your previous page properly so it is completely removed. When establishing your new page, take the opportunity to optimize the layout, invite fans from various networks and consistently post high-quality content. With a strategic launch plan, your new Facebook page can gain traction quickly.