Facebook Page Admin Hell

While Facebook is busy clicking the “Convert Page to Place” button, humble Page Admins are left embattled and bewildered by the senseless usability they have to deal with. Here are the two most bizarre and frustrating aspects of Adminning, presented so that whoever works on these things at Facebook can just copy and paste them to their boss and get some changes rolling.

1. Page admins can’t like or post comments as themselves on their page

This is bad for marketing, sharing, and community building.

I may want to like something and have it published to my news stream, so my friends see it and can share it. (SHARING, ADVERTISING)

I may need to speak in a voice not brand-authorized. Sometimes I need to be myself, assert opinions that belong to me alone. (BRANDING, SOCIAL PROOF)

Sometimes I need to comment just to get a conversation rolling. (COMMUNITY BUILDING)

Compounding the duct tape over my virtual mouth, my back up page admins, so inducted in the event that I perish, are similarly prevented from contributing to the conversation. That’s another couple otherwise engaged people who can’t like or comment. (MARKETING, WORD OF MOUTH, SOCIAL PROOF)

No less a social butterfly than Tamar Weinberg has herself railed against this insanity. Facebook, listen up. Here’s a super simple way to make it work:

See what I’m doing there? I’m solving a bunch of problems for zillions of people.

Facebook does have a “business account” you can set up in the freaking unlikely event that you don’t already have a Facebook profile. I assume, if you cheated, this would allow you to admin and post on the page. They make it clear that you better not try it, lest you be socially outcast forever.

Pages seem to be designed, in fact, to hide your identity. The setter-uppers of this mess envisioned that it would look more professional, I suppose, if you spoke as the brand. In fact, being able to post as yourself is regarded as a bug by Facebook Help.

2. Page admins are not notified when stuff happens on their page.

I know, what?!

I refer you to the hundreds of page admins begging Facebook to add this feature because they’re missing chances to engage with their community and/or turbo-delete unsightly profanity.

Yup. So when you get back from killing Foursquare or whatever you’re up to today, Facebook, please have a breakout session on Page Adminning and plan some improvements.

Thanks.