05 Jan What Marketers Need to Know about Facebook Global Pages

If you are a brand with a global presence you should consider Facebook Global Pages. Facebook Global Pages aren’t new, they have been around for a few years now, but many brands aren’t taking full advantage of this structure. The main benefit of the global page structure is to provide content that is relevant for specific countries/regions while still maintaining the universal brand name and vanity URL. From a reporting standpoint, you can see insights rolled up across your entire global fan base and share a total fan count. Let’s dive into more specifics about Facebook Global Pages.

Types of Facebook Pages in the Global Page Structure

Under the global page structure, there are three (3) types of pages: default, market, and a root page.

Default Page

The Default Page is the main Page within the Global Page structure. If a user doesn’t meet the language or location settings requirements for any of the Market Pages they will be redirected to the Default Page. For example, if someone is in Japan and your brand doesn’t have a Japanese Market Page they will be automatically directed to your Default Page. It’s important to note that posts made on the Default Page will not be shared to the Market Pages.

Market Pages

Firstly, Market Pages should not be confused with Location Pages. Location Pages are for brands with a physical address(es) while Market Pages can be set up for specific countries and regions. You can have as many Market Pages as you would like. The parameters for who gets served a particular Market Page can be customized, but a user is typically redirected to a specific Market Page based on their location and language settings. Location is determined by IP address and the information on a user’s profile. Language is also determined by their profile settings. For example, if I am in Germany and searching for a brand, I would be served the German Market Page for that brand.

Each Market Page is an independent, standalone Page. It will have its own inbox, admins, timeline, apps, profile picture, cover photo, etc.

Root Page

Within the global page structure, the Root Page is where everything for all Global Pages is aggregated. Note, these pages are not public-facing.

These three page types can be best visualized by this graphic from Facebook:

Benefits & Considerations for Facebook Global Pages

The transition to a Global Page structure is permanent, so make sure you are fully aligned that this is the direction you want to take the brand. The good news is that if you are an admin on both the Global and Market Pages you can make tweaks to countries and languages within the structure.

Benefits of Global Page Structure

• Remove country qualifiers from each Page’s name and have one universal name
• Combine insights, such as likes, across all Pages to one global metric
• Ensure that new visitors land on the localized version of their Page for more accurate information
• Promote one Facebook username across all off-Facebook marketing assets
• If you tag your default Page, a person who clicks the tag will be redirected to their market Page based on location and language

Considerations:

• Permanent structure
• All Pages in the Global Pages structure are required to have the same Page name with no country qualifiers
  • The name and category for each market Page must match the default Page. You can update this when creating your Market Page.
• All Pages in this structure have to be published
• Think about how much content and the uniqueness of that content there is to support Market Pages
• Keep in mind that it is possible to geo-target organic and paid posts to countries from the main Page
• You can have separate business manager accounts associated with a Default Page and Market Pages
• If you are going to have more than one Instagram account, you will need to set up another Facebook Page(s). Only one Instagram account can be connected to one Facebook Page at a time.
• When Facebook does the Global Pages migration, they migrate all fans from the separate Pages to one Page (on the back end), which takes approximately 24 hours. During that time, the number of likes on all of the Market Pages will change rapidly, and admins will see fluctuations in insights such as spikes in likes and unlikes. Page insights should stop fluctuating approximately one week after the initial upload (timing is dependent on how many fans are migrating). Page insights will always reflect this transition.
  • Note: There should be no visible changes to fans during or after the transition

How to Get Started with Facebook Global Pages

It is important to note that not every brand has access to the Global Page structure. This structure is only available for managed Facebook clients (i.e., clients with Facebook account reps). If you do not see the “Global Pages” tab under your settings, you will need to work with your Facebook rep to get access.

To transition to this structure, Facebook will have you fill out a document that lists: the Pages, Page IDs, and Page names under this structure with their associated region codes and languages. You will also need to provide admin IDs for the Root Page. Once you complete this, you will submit it to your Facebook rep for their pages team to transition.

Also, here is the step-by-step process outlined by Facebook on how to implement the global page structure.

If you have questions about the Facebook Global Page structure and if it might make sense for your brand, connect with our team today. Also, keep yourself up to date on the latest in social media marketing by subscribing to our online newsletter below.

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