A lot of local businesses here in Abbotsford, and the Fraser Valley, have gone through some renovations in the last few years.
We’ve gone through a branding change as well, and the reality is that all the steps involved can take a lot of work.
When our grand launch day finally arrived, we were more than ready to share our hard work with the world. All our ducks were in a row, paperwork finished, and the new artwork prepped and ready to go. One of the last things we had to do was announce our new name on social media!
Changing things on most of our social media accounts went very smoothly. Instagram was a breeze, as were Twitter and Google. However, (surprisingly) Facebook was more of a challenge than we had anticipated.
Facebook Procedures
On the surface, it looks easy. You just go to the About section of your business page and click “edit” next to your page name. However, this is where we encountered a surprise.
Facebook’s algorithms will not approve your name change if it looks too different to the previous one. We ran into this problem because our new name looks nothing like our old name… and Facebook refused to approve the change! (Even more surprisingly, though, they had no issue with us changing the username, which gives you your vanity URL!)
In the Page Support Inbox, next to the message telling us of our new name failure, there is an option to appeal their decision. However, our experience (and further research!) showed us that this will do absolutely nothing to help your plight.
So, we found a work around… and it was a success! Being the helpful folks we are, we thought we would share our process…
2-Tier Process
For the easiest success, it is best to do the change in 2 phases.
PHASE 1: First, you change it to a temporary name that incorporates both your new name AND old name. (So, for example, if you are changing your business from something like “Joe Bloggs Plumbing” to “Easy Run Waterworks”, you would make the new FB page name something like “Easy Run Waterworks – Joe Bloggs Plumbing”.) You need to leave it like that for at least 7 days (as per Facebook rules).
PHASE 2: Once your 7 days is up, go back to the name edit option, and repeat the process, but this time change it the name you ultimately want. (i.e. dropping the old name part). Done!
I totally understand the logic behind it. Facebook works on a lot of automation but still wants to protect the everyday user from scams and confusion. You also want your customers/audience to understand that you are the same company with just a new name, and this 2 step process does reinforce that. It is just a tiny bit annoying when you just want to get things done and move on!