The purpose of Business Manager is to act as a CONTAINER for Facebook assets and manage users for the container. It is possible to give users access to a Business Manager container without first “friending” them.
First let’s define assets. A Facebook asset, for the purpose of this article, and using Facebook terminology, is one of the following:
User access is given to assets one at a time. No Business Manager Accounts.
Assets for all brands are placed in one large Business Manager Account.
Business Manager accounts are created for each individual brand.
If you are an individual business owner, plan to be very active on Facebook and Instagram, and will have someone on your team or an external vendor assisting you with your Facebook and/or Instagram, you will want to create a Facebook Business Manager account. You will need to create your own Business Manager account. Your vendor should not do that for you. Once created, give your vendor access to your Business Manager account. It will be one of several managed by your vendor, as illustrated in Method 3. You will place your Facebook Business Page, Instagram Account, and Ad Manager inside of that Business Manager container. In most cases, if you are a small business, it is important to not allow anyone to put your assets in their Business Manager account, as you will not be able to get your assets back without the vendor releasing it.
Typically an agency has clients with a wide range of technical expertise and ability. Because a client needs to set up their own Business Manager account, you will need to decide if it is possible to walk them through that, or if it makes more sense to just take their assets under your wing. You also may have contracts in place that relieve any concern for the client if you take on their assets. Each client situation will be unique, and you may end up with a mixture of all three methods.
Facebook Business Suite is yet another way to view assets that you have been given admin or editorial access to. Instead assets being grouped by business, you view them by Business Page. It is a much more visual interface, and it may have been created to assist with gaining an overview that includes Instagram activity. Facebook may unexpectedly start forwarding you to Facebook Business Suite when you try to go to Facebook Business manager.
If you need to switch from one to the other, below is a screenshot showing how to do that.
App Grid > Mange Business: Business Suite
Give Feedback > Switch To Business Manager
Facebook Creator Studio allows you to view assets by Business Page, and then upload and schedule posts and ads. You can also view engagement stats.