You can! 🙂
BUT… Facebook Profiles and Pages operate very differently.
(Updated June 2017)
It makes sense to be able to like a page as your business right? Facebook have certainly improved this over the years and it’s easy as pie to change between the two.
Do not create a Facebook Page from the main login of Facebook! You MUST create a business page via your Profile otherwise you will miss out on all the marketing opportunities available to you!
Find out How to Create a Facebook Page for your Business here.
TIP: Although you can like a Page as your Business by switching between your Profile and your Business Page name, you will not show in the “likes” box on the Page itself. Likes ONLY count from a Profile not a Business Page.
To switch between being “yourself” and “your business page” follow these steps:
- Visit your Business Page.
- Beneath one of your posts you will see that you are most likely commenting and liking as your business page already (it’s your page right?! If your page is linked to Business Manager, you’ll see that you’re liking and commenting as yourself and you will need to change manually to switch to your business profile).
- Now visit any page you want to like or comment as your Business Page on, you’ll see in at the end of the post where you can like and comment, there’s a little down arrow (as above), and you can switch to be ANY PAGE you manage, then like and comment! Easy peasy! I’ve used the Mashable page as an example below:
To switch back, or to another page simply hit the button again and change back to yourself.- If your page is tagged in a post on another page, Facebook will notify you and you can easily like/comment as your business page.
What You CAN’T Do (Yet!)
Some people have the ability to create a Group linked to their Page (currently being rolled out) where you CAN post as your business Page (Hallelujah, thank you Facebook!)
Liking Apps
You may also find that on occasion when you have switched to your Business Page name and you find a Page you want to like, it isn’t actually a Facebook Page at all but a Facebook App, which is an entirely different beast altogether. When you do happen across an App, Facebook will request that you switch back to your Profile before you can like the Page, if you do so they will also ask you to approve the App and that it can access some of your Profile information.
An easy way to avoid the frustration of landing on an App is by entering your search term in the Search box and clicking the “See more results” link at the bottom of the Search Box as Facebook will show you the top 5 results. Once you do this on the left hand side you can select “Pages” so you can target your likes.
Help – I Can’t Like a Post or Website Page!
I frequently get emails asking me why this is the case. When you are logged in as your Business Page and leave Facebook, you won’t be able to like stuff around the web. Always make sure you have switched back over to your Profile before you leave Facebook otherwise you won’t be able to Like and Share stuff to your Newsfeed.
I’m sure at some point in the future Facebook will make these processes a little easier, but for the time being once you get used to switching and having a little play around with how you use Facebook as your business page, it does get easier!
Do you have a Facebook Question that needs answering? Drop me a line to hello@im-va.com or post in on my Facebook Page and see if yours is featured in a Blog Post! All the best, Emma 😉
Hi Emma,
Thanks for the great info, I have been going crazy trying to figure out why I can’t “like” a page/person etc… when logged into FB through my ‘business’ account. However, I am still having an issue. I only have this one account – I do not have a personal FB (to switch back and forth with) so I am still not seeing other business/individual like buttons within FB itself. If I go to their main website I can like them, but liking from my FB account just doesn’t work.
Any ideas/hints/tips you could offer me before I go insane?
Thanks a ton! 🙂
Hi. I have made a Page for my Business using my email address and a password. Of course!
I now learn that Business Pages are very limited – you cannot search or like other pages for instance. Thanks for the info!
Apparently you have to have Personal a/c linked to it.
Question: How do I set up a personal Account? If I try they obviously say “You already have an account” and I cannot do it.
I’m having the same problem. Did you get it solved?
HI Michelle, thanks for your comment.
If you have a business “profile” rather than a “personal” profile you will not have the same functionality. Business profiles can not add friends and like across the FB network. It’s basically a business profile to administer facebook pages from. You will need to set up a personal profile in order to interact. As it says above you can change to be your “business page” within your personal profile, without having to have a “business profile”. Sounds complicated I know!
Best bet – get a personal profile, add yourself as an admin to your business page and administer it from within the personal profile.
Hope that helps! Emma 🙂
Hi there,
I’m in the same situation. I must have created a business profile.. because im in the same boat as tresor.
So if i create a personal profile for my business can i add myself as admin to the business page without creating a new page? as i have over 100 followers that i don’t want to loose..
Sorry this is all a bit confusing lol
Cheers.
Hi Emma
What a GREAT post! I have search info on this wide and deep and your info is excellent. Thank you!
I have an issue where after step 2
” 2.On the right hand side of your Page you will see an “Edit Page” button, with an “Admin” panel underneath (only you as the Admin can see this). Directly underneath are the words “Use Facebook As…….”
I do not have the “Use Facebook As…” button. Our set up is really weird overall. For example, I do not have the Search Box on the main page, I need to go to Edit Page to see my search bar (?). Anyway, do you know why I can’t see “Use Facebook As…”?
Thanks again
I was soooooo looking forward to the reply to Edyta – we have the same issue – and do NOT have a personal profile to switch back and forth between either.
I have been looking for this solution also. This has got to be one of the most user unfriendly things Facebook has ever done.
I am glad for you post however. For a while, I thought the problem was just me, and that I couldn’t find the right setting on my Facebook page. Now I know this is what Facebook does to everybody on their page. Very annoying.
I have the same issues as Edyta. I don’t have those options or a search box on my business profile either? I’ve been searching on this all day and I can’t figure it out! I see other business pages with their likes listed… When I go to EDIT PAGE > FEATURED, the Add Featured Likes button is grayed out/unclickable. I’m hoping you can help! Thanks.
Brilliant post Emma! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the community;) You’re helping many people – i’m sure.
Thank you so much, Emma!
So in order to create a Page that LIKE other pages and function otherwise “normally”, it has to be created from a real Profile?
Hey it works, just add my personal profile as admin to the business page, now I can assess and like other pages when I’m using it as the business page from personal profile!
Was so loss at first, glad I found the answers here!!
thank you for sharing!!!! : )
I can’t even send a message from my facebook business page, or chat from my facebook business page, or sign up for any subscriptions from my facebook business page . . . is this normal? or can it be fixed?
I have a facebook business page and despite switching from my personal profile to my business page it still won’t let me like other business pages as my business page. This is a real pain and i can’t find any way to sort it out, does anyone know how?
Facebook changes so much. It’s frustraing. I’ve found that same isue – once you click on another page you want to Like, the Like button is gone.
Here’s a step by step way that I do it. It works every time. http://www.jennascribbles.com/geek-stuff/how-a-facebook-page-can-like-or-follow-another-page/
Thanks Jenna, that works for me.
Jonathan at Peakland Arts.
You’re welcome. 🙂
* * UPDATE – my method no longer works every time. UGH. But it’s worth a shot. I can get it to take about 60 to 70% of the time. So frustrating!!
Jenna
Hi Emma, I have a business page, every time I log in it will only show me the “settings and “logout” on the upper right corner. I have no search bar either and can’t join any community pages. I’ve been monitoring and sending emails to FB but to no avail. I’ve attached an image so have a clearer pic of my concerns. This has been going on for a month now.
Any suggestions? Please help. Thanks!
HI Tresor, sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I get many, many emails about this same issue. It appears that you may have created a page via the Facebook Login screen rather than via your Personal Profile? If you do this you will NOT have full access to Facebook Pages, it’s a kind of “basic” Facebook Page. You may be able to create a new one via your Profile with the same name and merge the pages to solve your situation. Please see FB help here: http://www.facebook.com/help/436935466337298/
why i can’t like page ??
and i can’t unlike page ??
SOOO Helpful! Thanks!!
Thanks for all your comments on this post, as you know Facebook changes frequently especially from a Pages point of view. Do you all have the option (those that have personal accounts linked to their page) have the option to change your voice and use Facebook as option now?
Lifesaver, I was about to start tearing out hair and gnashing teeth.
Never a good look Elizabeth 😉 Glad it helped!
Just found your site by typing my issue into google. Very well written explanation. Thank you very much Emma!
i liked many pages in facebook like 5200+ pages .. and from today morning ,, its saying a person can like oly 5000 pages ! and my friend has liked 6000+ pages ,,
but some times i can like some pages 🙁
it says like this 🙁
Sorry – you will have to “unlike” some pages! How do you keep up with over 5000 😮
hi emma i cant like any page on facebook.
Hi- I am really struggling here.
My boss has added me on our business page – however he sent through the request to my work email – not my personal FB account – so every time I log in it takes me straight to the work page – how do I make this work email login into a personal one as well so that I can start interacting & liking other pages!
Hi Kelly, you will need to get your boss to add you as a manager to your personal account preferably, otherwise it won’t work in the correct way. Personal Profile admins = full access 🙂
Hi Emma, I was aware of the mechanics of how “liking” from a business page is meant to work before reading your very clear and cogent explanation, and have “liked” some business pages while using facebook “as my business page”. On checking with admins of pages I’ve liked, my “like” is showing up as a personal one, rather than from my business page. Is this a known issue and do you know of a work around?
thanks,
Gordon Alexander
HI Gordon, you must make sure you are logged in to your Page as your Page name rather than as your Profile before you go and like business pages in order for it to show as your Page. Please be aware that liking as a business does not contribute to the overall likes of a Page. Emma
Facebook doesn’t like me. I only have one profile for my business. It worked only once to like another business, and never more. I searched online for help and don’t see where the problem is. I click on “like” it brings me to the likes report page of of the business I “like”, but nothing happens in my own facebook page when I go back. No connection. Similarly, when I like an article or video, it won’t appear in my facebook page. NO CONNECTION. Well, when I try to connect facebook with this post I got error”4be11f40e4bf4bc1be078955b99997f7$462c29d443de8449151708fb0509aabb.”
Hi Lixia, you can only “like” something outside of Facebook when logged in as your Profile (not your Page). If you want to share something or want to show your fans you approve of it, it’s best to share the URL of the page as a post. Hope that helps! Emma 🙂
Hi Emma,
I set up a business page and don’t have the recommendation box on the right hand side for my clients to give referrals. How do I get this? When I have set up accounts for my clients in the past, this box has shown up automatically. I don’t have a mailing address listed because I’m a home-based business. Could that make a difference?
Thank you in advance,
Christine
Hi Christine, in order to get the recommendations box on your Facebook Page you need to provide an address and also display the map (if you select the tick box underneath the map to say display this map on your page, this will show the box for you). I’m also a home based business but I provide my post code rather than the actual house that I live it – worth considering? Emma 🙂
Thanks for answering my question. In my FB about section, I have no map. I only have my city and state showing because I didn’t give an address. It won’t let me list my address. How to get the map back? FYI, Google Places won’t accept PO boxes.
I’ve already created a business page. I do not have a personal profile.
Do you know why I can’t create events? **Will linking the BP to a PP fix the events app?**
Since facebook changes so frequently, IYO what is the best practice to get a PP and connect it to the BP?
Thanks
Hi Emma, I created a fb business page from the facebook page not from my profile. I understand that this has some limitations. Since creating it a week ago I can´t find it on the FB search box and now that I´ve “liked” it won´t let me be the administrator. Got any idea of what is wrong with my page?
Thanks!!!
Hi, I am in a similar position to some others on this feed. I have set up a business page and now have over 1000 fans but unfortunately I don’t have access to all of the options because the business profile is so limited. Is there a way that I can keep this page and link it to a personal account rather than starting all over again? Will this allow me all the functions?
Hi Emma, i try engaging with the people who liked my page, as a my business page but i don’t get access to their profiles. Id this just something facebook does to protect its people from spammers? (Which I’m not) I just wanted to like and comment on any relevant content.
Thanks for the help. once I went back to my profile and then went on my business page I could at least like a page. But I need the profile to join the group.