Facebook Business Manager redesign with bulk permissions management rolling out

Facebook’s new look for Business Manager is phasing in and includes welcomed changes to permissions management for agencies and brands.

Graham Mudd, VP of product marketing for ads at Facebook, said in an interview that the changes are “around making our platform easier and more consistent to use,” and added that advertisers should expect to see more of these types of updates in the future.

Business Manager UI updates. Business Manager, the tool for agencies and brands that manage multiple pages and accounts, is getting a new look. A navigation menu on the left after you log in includes links to key management areas such as Ads Manager, Audiences, and settings.

There’s also a new “Create Ad” shortcut at the top of that menu to make getting that process — the primary reason you’re in Business Manager most of the time — started faster.

The list of shortcuts to frequently used features will be tailored to you based on your own usage.

Business Manager bulk permissions management. A reworking of permissions management is part of the UI changes to Business Manager as well.

You’ll notice a “Partners” section under “Users” in your Business Settings. Here, agencies will see the list of their clients that have provided access and the assets they’ve shared.

The bulk buttons aren’t exactly prominent in this new design, but once you find them, you won’t forget. Here’s a look at the asset assignment window that pops up when you click on one of the “Share Assets” buttons when you’ve selected a partner from your list.

Under the “People” section, you’ll see the individuals who have access to your Business Manager account. Clicking on their names will bring up a list of the assets that have been assigned to them. From there you can click on the “Add Assets” button on the right and quickly assign assets and permissions for that person.

The changes are supposed to make it easier to control access and get and grant access to pixels, ad accounts, pages, product catalogs, etc.

There is still some basic information you’ll need to get, and permissions for specific people are still managed at the asset level. If you’re granting access, your partner or agency will, of course, need to have a Business Manager account, and they’ll need to give you their Business ID and contact’s name and email.

Why you should care. Business Manager hasn’t always felt intuitive. Granting and receiving access to accounts within Business Manager has often been a frustrating, time-consuming process. The new navigation structure and bulk editing capabilities for permissions are welcomed changes. There’s still a learning curved involved in getting comfortable with the navigation, but with so many products housed under one hood, simple is no longer feasible.

Facebook teased these changes to Business Manager earlier this year when it announced the overhaul of the Ads Manager interface that started rolling out this month. Some advertisers have been experiencing bugs and other performance issues since last fall, however.