We’ve covered how important Facebook can be to a local business. There are few platforms as useful as Facebook for interacting with potential customers, sharing information, and keeping people informed of everything from new products to promos, and so on—that’s all before we even discuss how effective a Facebook ad campaign can be. But despite this, there are still a few reasons why some businesses would choose to leave Facebook. Here are a few of the common ones:

• A desire to focus on fewer social platforms – Some businesses don’t want the added complexity of managing Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, or who knows how many other social platforms. Many want to save time and effort.
• A lack of return from Facebook marketing – Often related to the item above, some businesses just don’t see return on their Facebook efforts. Perhaps they struggle to gain an audience. Maybe they got a few bad reviews and their reputation looks poor on the platform. Whatever the case, some businesses feel it’s best to just pull the plug.
• Aversion to social media or Facebook in general – Facebook has drawn controversy in the past, which leaves many businesses to wonder whether it’s the right platform for them. And some people just simply hate social media altogether, and would rather not use it at all.

But Wait! Before You Delete…

We have instructions for deleting your Facebook account below, but before you do it, you may want to consider the following:

• The audience is huge – According to Pew Research Center, 71% of American adults use Facebook. If you want to get in touch with customers or potential customers, there’s a dang good chance they’re on Facebook.

• You may need to improve your approach – If your Facebook page isn’t performing, ask yourself: are you consistently posting content? Is your information up to date? Are you using all the built-in tools like online chat that help you connect with customers? Have you used boosting or social ads to build audience? Check out this piece for more on using Facebook to grow.
• You may need better tools – If Facebook is a drag on time or if your reviews aren’t looking so hot, you may want to consider a growth tool like Swell. Swell brings together messages from texts, Facebook Messenger, and even a chat that lives on your website, so you can easily keep on top of customer or prospect inquiries. When it comes to reviews, Swell automatically texts your customers invites to leave you reviews on platforms like Facebook and more. This approach is a great way to boost your rating, so you look awesome no matter where people find you.

Still want to ditch the ol’ Facebook machine? Here’s how.

Consider Unpublishing Instead of Deleting

Note that you don’t have to completely delete your page to remove it from the public’s eye. Many businesses will simply unpublish their page, which hides it from everybody but page administrators. If you decide to come back to Facebook, you’ll be able to pick up where you left off rather than starting from scratch.

Deleting Your Facebook Business Page

If you do decide to delete your page, Facebook will give you 14 days to change your mind. If you decide you want your page back, it’s easy to restore it if you’re within that window of time. After that? You’re SOL.    

Let’s look at how to unpublish your page and how to delete your page. Both are super simple, but note that the following instructions focus on the Facebook desktop experience.

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1. log in to your Facebook business page:

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2. Click Settings in the secondary toolbar, near the top right corner of the page.

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3. Next, you’ll either unpublish your page or delete it for good.

Unpublish Your Facebook Business Page

‍1. In the General section under Page Visibility, click edit.

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2. Check the box that says “Unpublish.”

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3. Click Save Changes

Delete Your Facebook Business Page

1. In the General section under Remove Page, click edit.

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2. Click Delete [your page name]

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3. Click Save Changes

Conclusion

For what it’s worth, we still feel Facebook can be an effective tool for growing your business if you use it right. Check out our recent article for some pointers on how to get the most from Facebook—you might be surprised how useful it is if you put in some effort.

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