Have you ever noticed how many businesses seem to have more than one Facebook page? Usually, it happens by accident: one service of an organisation branches off to have its own page, not realising that the company as a whole can promote the same messages. Or perhaps a revamp of their comms services led to the creation of a new Facebook page, despite one already existing, having been left untouched for a few years.
Whatever the reason, it is confusing for the customer, but it is far more confusing for the company themselves, especially when the time comes that they look to undergo some social spring cleaning and collate all of their Facebook output into one page. But that can be easier said than done; if you have multiple pages on the go (one business had six!), how do you know which page you want to keep, and how would you go about this process?
Well let’s say that across the board, you have 1,000 Facebook fans; however, more than 75% of these are from one particular page. Well, that’s a sign that this is the page you should keep. For the other pages with comparatively small like totals, these are the ones you would be best advised to get rid of. The reasons for this are obvious. If there is a generally even number of likes between each page, though, it will ultimately be your decision as to which page you keep alive.
Also consider which pages have been the most active in recent times. If one page has a large following but hasn’t been touched for five years, would that audience even notice if you deleted it? Conversely, a page with a lower following but with a lot of current activity will seem more appealing to potential followers, as they will realise that you are in business and very active on Facebook. So, it’s a balancing act between the number of likes and the amount of recent activity. Common sense would suggest that you will have focused on the more popular page in recent months anyway, but this isn’t always the case.
Okay, so you have the potential to build a Facebook audience, you know which pages have the most followers and the most recent activity, and you now know which pages you want to remove. How do you do this? There are two ways.
1. Delete the page outright via your settings. Bear in mind, though, that there will be a two week window after this (in case you change your mind), before Facebook gives you the option to permanently delete the page.
2. Merge the page with the one you aim to keep. This way, you are essentially retaining all of the posts and all of the people who like your company on FB. Note, though, that the names, general descriptions and locations of each page have to be the same in order for a merge to be successfully carried out. This can create confusion as to which of the pages ends up being saved, so take your time if you’re going down the merging route.
Hopefully, this clears up some of the issues people have had with multiple Facebook pages and how to bring them together as one. Oh, and make sure that somebody has the admin rights to the new/combined page; all of that work is futile if there’s nobody in the office who can manage it!