Facebook launched its professional mode feature in 2017 as a way for users to distinguish between their personal and professional presences on the platform. Professional mode allows users to create a separate profile just for work that keeps their personal life private while still enabling them to connect with colleagues, clients, and business contacts.
When you switch to professional mode on Facebook, your name, profile photo, cover photo, and public information change to reflect your professional brand. You can also set up a professional inbox for receiving messages separate from your personal Messenger.
Facebook’s professional mode has multiple levels that provide increasing capabilities for businesses, brands, and creators. The different levels allow professional users to unlock additional features beyond just a separate profile and inbox for work. Understanding the various levels can help you determine which tier is right for your professional needs on Facebook.
Level 1 – Basic Professional Profile
The first level of Facebook professional mode is a basic professional profile. This entry-level option allows you to create a separate profile and inbox for professional use under your personal account.
With a Level 1 professional profile, you can showcase your skills, credentials, work experience, and services to establish your professional brand. A customized cover photo and profile photo help present your professional image.
Posting as your professional profile allows you to share professional updates, articles, websites, events and more without mingling them with your personal timeline posts. You can make business connections by adding professional contacts.
The key capabilities unlocked at Level 1 include:
- Separate professional profile
- Custom professional cover and profile photos
- Professional inbox for messages
- Ability to post as professional profile
- Add professional contacts
Level 1 grants baseline professional features without advanced analytics or promotion options. It’s ideal for individuals who want to keep work and personal profiles separate without heavy business use of their account.
Level 2 – Professional Dashboard
Moving up to Level 2 Facebook professional mode unlocks a professional dashboard. This adds increased capabilities for managing multiple professional pages and profiles from one central hub.
The key features of the Level 2 professional dashboard include:
- Unified inbox combining messages from multiple professional accounts
- Post composer allowing you to post to multiple profiles or pages at once
- Overview of metrics and notifications from professional accounts
- Ability to create and manage Facebook ads
With the professional dashboard, you can easily switch between your personal profile and any workplace profiles or pages you manage. The dashboard provides quick access and visibility into notifications, messages, and performance stats across your professional presence all in one place.
Level 2 with the pro dashboard is ideal for marketers, social media managers, agencies, and anyone managing multiple brand profiles that need a unified management experience.
Level 3 – Business Manager Integration
The top tier of Facebook professional mode is Level 3 which includes integration with Facebook Business Manager. This provides robust analytics, ad management, and collaboration capabilities for brands and businesses.
Connecting a Business Manager account unlocks the full suite of professional tools:
- Access to Facebook Business Suite with advanced analytics
- Advanced ad creation, management and reporting
- Integration with business processes like Commerce Manager and API integrations
- Collaboration tools for multiple team members
Level 3 professional mode tied to Business Manager is designed for brands using Facebook professionally at scale. It provides complete oversight and optimization of business objectives like sales, leads and traffic across all professional pages and profiles.
The professional dashboard is still available at Level 3 for an optimized management experience. With Business Manager integration, the dashboard gains additional data views, filters and comparative analytics between connected professional accounts.
Changing Levels
It’s easy to upgrade your Facebook professional mode at any time as your professional and business needs evolve. You can request an upgrade through your professional dashboard.
Here’s an overview of how to change levels in professional mode:
- Level 1 to Level 2 – Request dashboard access in profile settings
- Level 2 to Level 3 – Link existing Business Manager account in dashboard
- Level 3 to Level 2 – Remove Business Manager connection
Downgrading levels will turn off access to features from higher tiers but won’t delete data. You can always upgrade again to regain access to those professional tools. However, downgrading from Level 3 to Level 1 will unlink full Business Manager integration.
Use Cases by Level
The right professional mode level for you depends on your goals for a professional presence on Facebook. Here are some common use cases at each tier:
Level 1 Use Cases
- Personal branding – Photographers, fitness instructors, consultants, etc.
- Basic business profile – Local businesses, boutiques, restaurants
- Student/academic profile
- Separate work profile for any individual user
Level 2 Use Cases
- Agencies – Social media managers, marketing professionals, PR agencies
- Publishers – News outlets, bloggers, content creators
- Artists & influencers – Musicians, actors, speakers, thought leaders
- Professionals – Lawyers, recruiters, real estate agents
Level 3 Use Cases
- Large brands – National/global product brands, retailers, franchises
- Local businesses expanding – Multi-location restaurants, salons, boutiques
- Ecommerce companies with product catalogs
- Advertiser accounts spending significant budgets
Professional Mode Setup
Ready to create your professional presence on Facebook? Here are the steps to get started:
- Go to Facebook Settings & Privacy
- Click “Professional Settings” to begin setup
- Follow prompts to create professional profile
- Customize profile image, cover photo and public information
- Set up professional inbox for messages
- Start sharing professional content and adding contacts
- Request dashboard access or link Business Manager (if needed)
It only takes a few minutes to create your initial professional profile. Add a profile/cover image, customize public details and begin posting to establish your professional brand on Facebook.
Conclusion
Facebook’s three-tiered professional mode provides increasing capabilities for personal branding, business marketing and ad management. Understanding the features at each level makes it easy to choose the right fit:
- Level 1 – Basic professional profile
- Level 2 – Unlocks professional dashboard
- Level 3 – Integration with Business Manager
With professional mode, any individual user, marketer, business or brand can create a dedicated presence for work. Keep your personal life private while accessing tools to help promote your professional activities on Facebook.