Meta — Facebook Page, Business Portfolio, Instagram + Linking

What you're building — 4 things, in this order:

1. A Facebook Page — the business's public home on Facebook.
2. A business portfolio — the business's control room at business.facebook.com. (Meta renamed "Business Manager" to business portfolio — same thing, new name. Old guides saying "Business Manager" mean this.)
3. An Instagram Business account.
4. The links between them — Instagram ↔ Facebook Page, and both inside the portfolio.

⛔ Before you start — you must have ALL of these

Part A — Create the Facebook Page (15 min)

Step 1 — Log in

Log in at facebook.com with the client's personal account.

Step 2 — Start the Page

Go to facebook.com/pages/create (type it straight into the address bar).

👀 You should see: a "Create a Page" form with a live preview of the Page on the right.

📸 images/01-step-02.png — the blank Create a Page form with preview panel.

Step 3 — Page name

Type the exact real-world business name. No ALL CAPS, no slogans, no "Official" tacked on, no extra keywords stuffed in — Meta's Page-name rules prohibit all of these.

Step 4 — Category

Start typing what the business does and pick the most specific match from Meta's suggestion list (e.g., "Plumber," not "Local business"). You can add up to 3 categories. The category controls which features the Page gets (hours, address, services, booking).

Step 5 — Bio

Paste the short bio (what the business does + for whom + where). Then click Create Page.

👀 You should see: "Finish setting up your Page" — a guided checklist of extra screens. Do not skip them:

Step 6 — Finish the guided setup, one screen at a time

1. Contact info: website, phone, business email.
2. Location: street address (or turn on service area for mobile businesses) + hours.
3. Profile picture (logo) and cover photo — the specs from the Before-you-start table.
4. Action button: pick the highest-value action for the client — usually Call now, Book now, or Send message.
5. Invite friends / notifications / marketing emails: all optional — skip or accept as the client prefers.

👀 You should see: the finished Page with logo, cover, bio, and a blue action button under the cover photo.

📸 images/01-step-06.png — the completed Page header.

Step 7 — Set the username

Switch into the Page → Settings & privacy → Settings → find Username. Set the same @handle you'll use on Instagram (5–50 characters, letters/numbers/periods only).

🚩 If it says the Page isn't eligible for a username yet: brand-new Pages sometimes have to earn it — publish a few posts, get some followers, and come back in a few weeks. Note it as a follow-up task; don't fight it.

Step 8 — Publish 3–5 starter posts

An intro post, services, photos of real work. Never send traffic (or run ads) to an empty Page.

Step 9 — Check the Page type

In late 2025 Meta began labeling every Page as Business or Creator type. Check the Page's settings and make sure it's set to Business (you can only switch type once every 7 days).

Part B — Create the business portfolio (10 min)

Step 10 — Go to business.facebook.com

Log in with the same personal account. Click Create account (newer UI: Create a business portfolio).

👀 You should see: a short form asking for three things.

📸 images/01-step-10.png — the portfolio creation form.

Step 11 — Fill the three fields

1. Business/portfolio name — real business name, no special characters.
2. Your name.
3. Business email — the client's business-domain inbox. ⚠️ Not a personal Gmail, and never an agency address: whoever controls this inbox anchors the portfolio.

Click Submit.

Step 12 — Confirm the email

Open the business inbox and click Confirm now in Meta's email.

👀 You should see: the Meta Business Suite dashboard for the new portfolio.

🚩 No email? Check spam, then resend from the banner in Business Suite.

Step 13 — Fill in business info + turn on 2FA

Settings (gear, bottom-left) → Business settings:

1. Business info: legal name, address, phone, website — exactly as they appear on official documents (this matters if Meta ever asks for business verification).
2. Security Center: require two-factor authentication for everyone in the portfolio. Do this today, not later — Meta lockouts are brutal.

Step 14 — Add the Page to the portfolio

Settings → Accounts → Pages → + Add → Add an existing Facebook Page → pick the Page from Part A.

👀 You should see: the Page appear in the portfolio's Pages list instantly (because the same person has full control of both — no approval needed).

Facts to remember: a Page can be owned by one portfolio only, and once added, the portfolio owns the Page.

Step 15 — Add a second person with full control

Settings → Users → People → + Add → enter their work email → choose access:

• Full control — owners only; keep it to ~2 people, always including the client.
• Partial access — everyone else; then assign them specific assets (Page, Instagram, ad account) on the next screen.

⚠️ Being added to the portfolio grants nothing until you assign assets — don't skip the assignment screen.

Step 16 — Add the agency as a partner (not a person)

Settings → Users → Partners → + Add → Give a partner access to your assets → enter the agency's business portfolio ID (the ~16-digit number from the agency's own Business settings → Business info) → select the assets and access level → Save changes.

This is the correct agency model: the client's portfolio owns everything; the agency is a partner. Partner access never transfers ownership and can be revoked in one click when a relationship ends.

📸 images/01-step-16.png — the Add partner dialog with the portfolio ID field.

Part C — Create the Instagram Business account (15 min)

Step 17 — Sign up

In the Instagram app (or instagram.com): Create new account, using the business email. Choose the same username as the Facebook Page handle, a strong password, and enter a birthday (required age gate; not shown publicly).

Step 18 — Complete the profile

1. Profile photo: the logo (square upload; shows as a small circle).
2. Name field (not the username): this is searchable — use "Business Name | Service | City."
3. Bio: the approved 150-character bio.
4. Website link.

Step 19 — Switch to a professional account

In the app: profile → ☰ menu → Settings and activity → For professionals → Account type and tools → Switch to professional account.

👀 You should see: intro screens, then a category picker.

📸 images/01-step-19.png — the "Switch to professional account" screen.

Step 20 — Pick category, then pick "Business"

1. Choose the category matching the Facebook Page category.
2. When asked Creator or Business: pick Business. (Creator is for influencers/public figures; Business unlocks the address, contact buttons, booking actions, and shopping. Trade-off: Business accounts are limited to royalty-free music in Reels.)
3. Add the contact info (business email, phone, address if local).

Facts: switching is free and reversible; a professional account cannot be private.

Part D — Link everything together (10 min)

⚠️ Don't confuse this with Accounts Center. Accounts Center links a personal profile to Instagram for login/cross-posting. That is NOT the business connection and won't make Business Suite work. The business link is Facebook Page ↔ Instagram professional account, done in Page settings:

Step 21 — Link Instagram to the Page

On desktop, switch into the Page → Settings & privacy → Settings → Linked accounts → Instagram → Connect account → log in with the Instagram business account → choose whether Instagram messages land in the Page inbox (say yes — one inbox is easier).

👀 You should see: the Instagram username listed under Linked accounts with a "Connected" state.

🚩 Rules: one Page ↔ one Instagram account, and you need full control of the Page to do this.

📸 images/01-step-21.png — Linked accounts showing Instagram connected.

Step 22 — Add Instagram to the portfolio

business.facebook.com → Settings → Accounts → Instagram accounts → + Add → Connect your Instagram account → log in (enter the 2FA code if prompted) → assign which people can manage content, messages, ads, insights.

👀 You should see: the Instagram account listed in the portfolio. (If it was already linked to the Page in Step 21, it may appear automatically — that's fine.)

Facts: an Instagram account can be owned by one portfolio only — the client's. Agencies get partner access, never ownership.

Step 23 — Prove it works

Open Meta Business Suite (business.facebook.com) → Home. Confirm you can see both the Page and the Instagram account in the account switcher, and that Planner lets you schedule one post to both at once. Schedule a test post.

👀 You should see: the Page name + Instagram handle together at the top left of Business Suite.

📸 images/01-step-23.png — Business Suite showing both accounts connected.

✅ DO / ❌ DON'T

Optional: Meta Verified for Business (paid, from ~$14.99/mo per asset) adds a verified badge, impersonation protection, and better support. Not required for anything in this SOP — offer it to clients who care about the badge, and check current pricing at meta.com/meta-verified.

☑ Definition of Done

• Facebook Page created: name, ≤3 categories, bio, contact info, location/service area, hours, logo, cover, action button
• Page type = Business; username set (or noted as pending eligibility)
• 3–5 starter posts published
• Business portfolio created on the client's business email; business info filled; 2FA required
• Page added to (owned by) the client's portfolio
• ≥2 people with full control (client included); agency added as partner via portfolio ID
• Instagram Business account created: matching handle, logo, searchable name field, bio, website, contact info
• Instagram linked to the Page (Linked accounts shows Connected) and owned by the client's portfolio
• Test post scheduled to both from Business Suite Planner
• All logins + portfolio ID recorded in the client's password-manager entry
• 📸 screenshots captured at every marked step and saved to images/