How To Use Meta Business Suite? A Step-by-Step Guide

Many e-commerce sellers view selling on Meta as a major advantage due to its broad audience reach and diverse features, which simplify the marketing process for merchants. Some may wonder if there is a platform where they can manage their campaigns, monitor customer insights, and create posts about their products all in one place. 

Enter Meta Business Suite—a simple, unified space where Meta sellers or marketers can control their online presence on Facebook and Instagram. It encapsulates the assets that are required to run a successful marketing campaign, such as ads, posts, reels, and more.

Don’t let it intimidate you—this blog details exactly how to use Meta Business Suite for marketers and sellers on Facebook and Instagram: the Suite basics, its features, and how to connect it with different Meta-related marketing features and use it.

Without any further ado, let’s dive into the realm of Meta Business Suite! 

What Is Meta Business Suite? 

Meta Business Suite is a centralized platform, usually centered around Facebook and Instagram, where you can navigate and manage all your marketing and ad campaigns. 

It connects your business accounts on Facebook and Instagram and offers a common spot to track your ad campaigns, posts, and reel creation, schedule those posts and reels, and more. 

Key Features of Meta Business Suite

The Business Suite simplifies your Meta experience, letting you manage marketing goals easily without juggling multiple accounts or apps. You can do all that in one place. Plus, you can easily access the Business Suite on your desktop or mobile phone. 

Meta Business Suite lets you create ads, set goals, and launch campaigns right from the platform. It also offers advanced budgeting and targeting features to optimize your ad spend. Additionally, you can use the Facebook Pixel to monitor conversions and ensure your ads are reaching the right audience.

Now, let’s look at the key features:

Dashboard

Get an overview of your Instagram account and Facebook page through the dashboard. You can also view your updates, recent ads and posts, analytics, and more. Easily access the dashboard on the Home page.

The best part? You can even create a post and start promoting your business from the dashboard itself. 

View Activity

The Business Suite allows you to easily track notifications for your connected platforms, such as Facebook Page and Instagram profile for your business. 

Insights

Analyze and understand the performance of your social media marketing efforts across Instagram and Facebook. It helps track the metrics, visual reports, and trends, which can help improve your campaigns and create strategies. 

Here’s how it can help you: 

• Paid and organic ads can be analyzed along with the ad account’s cross-platform spend. 
• Overall performance of the Facebook Page and Instagram Professional (Business) profile. 
• Track the boosted posts and their engagement (likes, comments, etc.).
• Audience’s insights based on demographic data. This data contains the audience that follows you on Instagram or who likes your page on the two platforms

To-do List

This feature helps you see unread messages, comments, and other important information. You can access this list on the Home page.  

Schedule Posts Across Facebook & Instagram 

You can easily schedule posts and plan content. Access this under ‘Manage your marketing content’ on the Home page. You can plan schedules for posts & reels, and stories or create plans in the ‘Planner.’

Inbox 

Create automated responses in the Business Suite for your Facebook Page,  Messenger, and Instagram DMs (direct message). This helps build stronger and better relationships with your customers. 

Grow Your Audience

This feature helps you learn about your followers and helps strategize ways 

Tools for Creators

As a creator, you can effortlessly go live, manage paid partnerships, and produce easy-to-share content.

Ad Creation

Use Business Suite to create ad campaigns. Strategically place these ads across Facebook and Instagram. 

More Tools

From the Meta Business Suite on your desktop, you can easily access other Meta tools like Ads Manager, Commerce Manager, Business Settings, and more.

What Is The Difference Between Meta Business Suite & Facebook (Meta) Business Manager? 

Many merchants and advertisers ask the same question: What’s the difference between Meta Business Suite and Facebook (Meta) Business Manager? 

Let’s distinguish between the two and understand their role in the Meta-verse:

Meta Business Suite: It’s a central platform where sellers can manage insights, schedule posts, and reels, and automate messages in inboxes for all Meta technologies: Facebook & Instagram. With it, you can perform all the basic tasks required to manage your marketing campaigns. This offers more front-end services to the user. 

🖥️ When to Use This: This is used when you have to curate and manage content on Facebook and Instagram. You can also gain insights into the performance of your Instagram and Facebook Pages. 

Facebook (Meta) Business Manager: The Business Manager grants administrative access to ad campaigns, pages, catalogs, Facebook pixels, Billing Payments, user permissions, and more. This offers more back-end services to the users. 

🖥️ When to Use This: This is when you need to integrate all your accounts and assets in one place and manage deeper-level tasks like running ads, pixels, payments, controlling access, granting permissions, etc. 

How To Get Started With Meta Business Suite? 

Before delving into using Meta Business Suite, ensure these preliminary assets are ready: 

Facebook Account 

You need a Facebook account to use Meta Business Suite. Ensure the account you use is associated with your online business. 

Meta Ads Account 

To schedule and boost ads on Instagram and Facebook, ensure your Meta Ads account is ready. 

Facebook Business Page

Ensure you’ve created a Facebook Business Page. Meta Business Suite can track and analyze your business page’s performance on Facebook to give you insights into your business.

Here’s what a Facebook Page looks like to your target audience:

Note: In order to run ad campaigns on Instagram, ensure that you’ve created a Meta (Facebook) ads account and Facebook Business page.

Instagram Professional Account

If you want to create and manage posts, ads, and stories on Instagram, you need to have an Instagram professional account. This is an optional prerequisite and is only required if you’re selling on Instagram.

To track the performance of your professional Instagram profile, ensure that your account is ready and set to professional mode. To switch to a professional account, visit your Profile > ‘Edit profile’ button. Scroll down and locate ‘Switch to professional account.’ Follow the steps & you’re all set. 

Suite Talk: What Is ‘Business Portfolio’ In Meta? 🤔 While working on Meta Business Suite, you’ll come across ‘Business Portfolio.’ Business portfolios consolidate your assets like Facebook Pages and Instagram accounts, along with team members, into one place for easier management. Business portfolios were earlier called ‘Meta Business accounts.’ They help you: 1. View and manage all your assets together. 2. Post and analyze insights across Facebook and Instagram. 3. Run ads and manage Shops on these platforms. 4 Control team access to necessary resources. Access business portfolios via the drop-down menu on the left of the Meta Business Suite Home page. If your Facebook Page is linked to an Instagram account, they’ll appear as one combined asset in the drop-down menu.

Now that you have all the important assets ready let’s see how you can connect them to the Business Suite. 

How To Connect Meta Ads Account With Business Suite?

In order to connect your ads account to Meta Business Suite and manage your ad-related activities, you need to follow the steps below: 

1. On Business Suite, go to Settings > Accounts > Ad Accounts.

2. On the top right, click +Add. 

After clicking +Add, you’ll see these options: 

From the three options, select one. Preferably, go for ‘Claim an existing ad account’ to get access.

Follow the prompts and easily link your ad account to Meta Business Suite. Once done, you can create Facebook ad campaigns directly from the Business Suite.

How To Connect Facebook Business Page With Meta Business Suite? 

Your Facebook Business Page is where customers can see and interact with your business directly. It showcases details about your brand, products, and services and shares the latest news, reels, posts, and other content related to your products.

This Page helps your audience connect with your business, learn about it quickly, and access your website and contact details.

Meta Business Suite helps you access the Facebook Page and manage events on it. This way, you can learn about your business’s performance and schedule posts for your audience. 

To connect the Business Suite with your Page, follow these steps: 

1. On Meta Business Suite, go to Settings > Accounts > Pages. 

2. On the top right, click +Add. After clicking it, select one of the options – 

For every option (as shown in the screenshot above), follow the prompts and connect Business Suite with your Facebook Business Page. 

Note: If your Facebook Business Page is connected to your Instagram account, you need to claim both of them together.

Once done, wait for the approval and you are all set! 

How To Add Instagram To Meta Business Suite? 

Now that you have linked your Facebook Page and ads account adding Instagram will be fairly easy and straightforward. 

Let’s see how you can add it to the Business Suite –

1. In the Meta Business Suite (preferably desktop application), select Settings from the left-hand sidebar.
   
2. Under Accounts, go to Instagram accounts > +Add. 

3. When you click +Add, you’ll be asked to claim your Instagram account. Agree to the terms and conditions and click ‘Claim Instagram Account.’
   

4. After this, a new window will appear where you should input your Instagram username and password, then click Log In. If you’re already logged into Instagram, click Continue to connect that account.
   
5. Once you’ve logged in, you’ll be asked to grant Meta Business Suite permission to access your Instagram account. Click Authorize to continue.
   
   If your Instagram hasn’t been linked to a Facebook Page yet, you’ll need to do that now. Follow the steps to pick the Page you want to connect.

Your Instagram account is successfully linked. Now, you can easily track your business’s performance and selling journey on Instagram.

Further Reading: Learn how to grow your small business on Instagram.

How To Connect Shopify With Meta Business Suite?

If you’re an e-commerce store owner on Shopify, you can easily connect Shopify to Meta and start using Meta Business Suite.

In order to connect the two platforms, you need to install the Facebook & Instagram sales channel app. It creates a bridge between Shopify and Meta technologies, making it easier to access Facebook and Instagram. 

Here’s how you can connect Shopify to Meta:

1. Access your Shopify account. Select Sales channels. Choose Facebook and Instagram, then click Add app.

2. Finish the installation by selecting Add Sales Channel > Start setup. 

3. Once that’s done, connect your account by clicking the green ‘Connect Account’ button.

4. Set up the sales channel by following the prompts. Do this to integrate features for ads, commerce, and Meta Pixel.
   
5. Accept the Terms & Conditions and click ‘Submit.’
   

This way, you’ve successfully connected Meta to Shopify.

When you connect the two platforms, your Shopify account gains access to your Meta Business Suite, Facebook ad account, Meta Commerce Manager, and Facebook Business Page. 

Suite Talk: What Else Can You Connect With Meta Business Suite? 🤔 Meta Business Suite offers integration with all Meta-related technologies, including WhatsApp. With this, you can easily set up your business and start interacting with customers. To connect, go to Accounts > WhatsApp account > +Add. Follow the prompts to finish the setup. When you connect to WhatsApp, you can easily manage your tasks on Meta Business Suite. Plus, you can also use WhatsApp Business API, which can help you get the green tick verification, automation, send bulk messages, access multiple account logins, etc.

How To Use Meta Business Suite?

Once you connect the Business Suite with the required platforms, you can kickstart your journey by using the Suite’s features to gain insights, improve your business, enhance work efficiency, and track the performance of your online business in one place. 

Here are the prominent tasks you can carry out: 

1. Schedule posts on Instagram and Facebook. 
2. Manage user permissions and admin rights
3. Social media analytics 

Let’s learn about these in depth. 

How To Use Meta Business Suite To Schedule Posts? 

With the help of the Business Suite, you can easily schedule posts for your Facebook Page and Instagram account. Scheduling eradicates the hassle of timing the posts manually. You can easily schedule them in a sequence based on date and time.

Let’s see how you can do so:

1. On the Suite, you can schedule posts on the Planner, Content, or Home page.

Planner: The planner is a calendar where you can view and time your content and create a post, story, reel, or ad. It’s easy to plan and schedule your content in the planner.

Content: This is a section where you can view published, scheduled, drafts, expiring, and expired content. You can also export data and create reels or posts here.

You can run A/B testing, add mentions and tags, manage video clips, create playlists, etc.

Home: This is the main page where you can view an overview of your marketing content and manage everything from one place.

2. Next, from any of these sections, select ‘Create Post.’
   
3. Choose where you want to share your content – Instagram, Facebook, or both platforms. Create your post by adding images, descriptions, tags, etc. Make edits if need be.
   
4. Once you have created your post, press ‘Schedule’ and choose when you want it to appear on Facebook or Instagram.
   
   You can also directly ‘Publish’ or save your post by clicking ‘Finish Later’ and work on it whenever you need to.
   

Create Posts & Schedule On Planner

From the home page, go to ‘Create Post.’ Create a post:

Once you’ve created a post, schedule the post by adding date and time. Here is how your schedule will look like:

How To Schedule A Reel For Instagram & Facebook?

The steps are almost similar on both platforms when it comes to scheduling a reel: 

1. Go to ‘Create Reel.’ Select where you want to publish the reel.
   
2. Then, select ‘Add video’ or ‘Add photos’ and upload them. Enter captions, hashtags, location, cover image, etc, to make your reel look more appealing.
   
3. Once your reel is ready, select ‘Schedule’ and decide when do you want to publish it.
   
   Just like for posts, you can also directly ‘Publish’ or save it in ‘Finish Later.’

💡Suite Tip: To turn your post or reel into an ad, select the Boost option to enhance its reach.

How To Schedule A Story For Instagram & Facebook?

To schedule a story, follow the steps below: 

1. In the ‘Content’ section, go to Create post > Create Story from the drop-down.
   
2. Create the story by adding images, captions, stickers, location, and more. Make it appealing.
   
3. Choose the platform where you want to publish.
   
4. Once your story is ready, select ‘Schedule’ and decide when do you want to publish it.
   
   Just like for reels, you can also directly ‘Publish’ or save it in ‘Finish Later.’

How To Manage Users On Business Suite As The Admin? 

Meta Business Suite also provides a space where you can control admin rights and provide permission to others. The Business Suite makes it easier to manage multiple users at the same time.

You can view who has full control and who is added to the list-

If you want to add users to the Suite, follow the steps below: 

1. On the left navigation panel, go to Settings > People > + Invite People. 
2. Then, add the email addresses of the users you wish to add. 

3. Next, assign access to these users according to your requirement or their role. Click ‘Next.’

5. Select a business asset. A business asset is essentially your Facebook page or Instagram account. You can choose multiple assets from the dropdown. 

Once you’ve chosen the asset, tick the access points based on the access you have originally assigned. Suppose you have given ‘Partial Access,’ here is how the access points will look:

6. Once selected, review the invitation and, finally, click ‘Send Invitation.’

💡Suite Tip:  If you want to remove a user from the Meta Business Suite, you can go to the ‘People’ section, click the three dots on the right side and click ‘Remove.’

This is how you add users to your list. To manage their access, just click on the user’s name and select ‘Manage’ from Business Account access. 

Furthermore, if you want to edit or assign assets, click the three dots and select ‘Assign Assets.’

Partner Integration

The Business Suite allows you to integrate with partners outside of your workspace, who can edit and work on your assets.

To add a partner, go to Settings > Users > Partners. Click Add, as shown below:

After clicking Add, enter contact details of the partner and follow the prompts. Once done, invite the partner to assist with you.

How To Track Social Media Analytics On Meta Business Suite?

The most important feature of the Business Suite is tracking analytics for your Facebook Page and Instagram Professional account. You can do this using Insights.

Insights is a section dedicated to running analytics, stats, reach, and tracking the overall performance of your content on Facebook and Instagram. You can easily access the final output of your activity (published posts and stories), the results from the last week, and the messaging activity, too.

When you click ‘View Insights’ after opening the Insights section, you enter the analytics. As a newbie, the analytics dashboard will look like this: 

Insights will help you create strategies, understand what is working and what is not, and improve ways you can optimize your campaigns for better performance and engagement.

The Inbox tab consolidates all comments and messages from these platforms into one folder. Alternatively, you can choose to view and address messages from Messenger, Instagram Direct, or comments individually.

Furthermore, you can utilize the Inbox tab, which consolidates all comments and messages from Facebook and Instagram into one folder. You can even choose to view and address messages from Messenger, Instagram Direct (DMs), or comments individually.

How To Use Insights In The Business Suite?

Let’s see how you can use Insights to its maximum potential:

1. Use Business Suite’s goal-setting tool by clicking the New Goal button.
2. Use the Overview tab for a high-level view of your performance and trends in reach and growth.
3. In the Content tab, filter metrics to find top-performing content based on reach, clicks, comments, shares, etc.
4. Set a target related to audience or growth for the next 28 days. Easily review the audience performance and its growth.
5. Check the Results, Content, and Audience tabs for a detailed breakdown of your achievements.
6. Regularly check the Insights tab to monitor your progress towards your goal.

Further reading: Learn about Auction Vs Reservation Ads.

Bonus: Utilize Meta Business Suite & Take Your Business Ahead

The aforementioned sections described the main tasks you can carry out on the Suite. However, there is so much more you can do on it. The Business Suite offers various tools and functions that you can perform for maximum performance, making it easier for you to manage and achieve your goals.

Here’s more you can do with the Suite:

1. Meta Verified: The Suite offers quick and easy access to attain the blue tick verification. This will help you get recognition and instil trust amongst your customers. Provide your business information to Meta and join the waitlist to get the Meta Verification tick.
2. News Pages: Easily register to News Pages. Easily manage your registration and include optional details about your publication.
3. Business Assets: Access business assets and manage people, partners and connect assets. Get an overall view of your business’s summary.
4. Ad Partnerships: Connect with other partners and create an ad partnership on Meta. Add and manage partnership requests and directly shares ads from Instagram or Facebook Page.
5. Security Centre: Evade thefts and hackers from intruding. Keep your Meta Business Suite safe and authenticate two-step verification and other methods to protect it.
6. Authorisations and Verifications: Request permission for CBD verification and complete verification to process your ad campaigns in countries like Singapore.

Conclusion 

The Meta Business Suite has been a game changer for e-commerce marketers looking for a consolidated way to manage their content across Meta. It has everything a marketer needs, from insights to creating posts. 

Streamlining the process of connecting various platforms into the Business Suite and using it to its full potential not only saves time but also enhances the effectiveness of marketing strategies, enabling businesses to reach their audience more efficiently and drive better results.

FAQs

Do I need a Facebook account for the Meta Business Suite?

Yes, you need a Facebook account to use Meta Business Suite. The suite is designed to manage your Facebook business page and associated Instagram accounts, so having a Facebook account is a prerequisite for accessing and utilizing its features.

Is Meta Business Suite free?

Yes, Meta Business Suite is completely free to use. It offers a range of tools to help businesses manage their presence on Facebook and Instagram, including posting, messaging, advertising, and analytics, without any cost.

What is the difference between Meta Business Manager and Business Suite?

Meta Business Manager is primarily a tool for managing multiple Facebook pages, ad accounts, and assets in one place, often used by agencies or businesses with complex needs. Meta Business Suite, on the other hand, integrates Facebook and Instagram management into a single interface, focusing more on daily tasks like posting, messaging, and performance insights. Business Suite is generally more user-friendly and suited for small to medium-sized businesses.

Can I use Meta Business Suite for Instagram?

Yes, you can use Meta Business Suite to manage your Instagram account. The suite allows you to schedule posts, respond to messages, and analyze performance on both Facebook and Instagram from a single platform.

Do I need full admin access to use Meta Business Suite?

You don’t need full admin access to use Meta Business Suite, but you do need sufficient permissions. The specific access level required depends on what you want to do; for example, posting content requires publishing rights, while accessing insights requires analytical permissions. Admins can customize access levels for different users within the suite.

How do I add someone to Meta Business Suite?

To add someone to Meta Business Suite, go to your Business Settings, navigate to “People,” and click on “Add.” Enter the person’s email address and assign them a role (e.g., Admin, Editor, or Analyst) based on the level of access they need. The person will receive an invitation via email, which they need to accept to gain access.

How do I use Meta Business Suite to schedule posts?

To schedule posts in Meta Business Suite, go to the “Posts & Stories” section, click “Create Post,” and draft your content. Once you’re ready, instead of clicking “Publish,” select the “Schedule” option and choose the date and time you want the post to go live. Finally, click “Schedule” to confirm.

How do I use Meta Business Suite on my phone?

You can use Meta Business Suite on your phone by downloading the Meta Business Suite app from the App Store (for iOS) or Google Play Store (for Android). Once installed, log in with your Facebook account, and you’ll have access to all the features, including post-scheduling, messaging, and insights, directly from your mobile device.