Years ago, the page category of Facebook was chosen when you created it. You’d have to decide whether you wanted a page dedicated to local services, books, and magazines, to sports, or whatever. Once you picked a category, you would get locked in, or at least almost locked in; there was some compliance within your general category, but if you needed to change the overarching super-category, you had to jump through a bunch of hoops.
These days, setting a category for your Facebook page is much more flexible. You are not limited to one type, either; since Facebook lets you fit multiple categories into your page, you can choose up to three. For instance, a local newspaper could choose a magazine category, a local services category, and a website category, and all of them would be legitimate.
Facebook page categories
Facebook has turned the page category box into a pretty free-form and open selection. There are a lot of different categories to choose; so many I cannot possibly list them here. Every keyword seems to have a dozen various categories attached to it. For instance, if I type in these keywords, here are suggestions Facebook gives:
- Local: Farmer’s Market, Government Building, Government Official, Local Travel.
- Boat: Boat Rental, Boat Tours, Boat Service, Marina, Sailing Instructor, Boat Dealership.
- Music: Artist, Song, Music Award, Music Video, Music Venue, Music store, Musician/band, Arts and Entertainment.
The list goes on and on and on. Facebook also lets you put in three different but specific categories. As they claim, they only hold the three most particular categories. So, for instance, if you added “music” and “song,” it’s possible that they would only keep “song.”
This means it’s important to dig down to three relevant and specific categories to fit your brand. A general contractor for different home repairs might plug in electrician, plumber, and carpenter, though this might leave out some of their essential services. Alternatively, they could put in house renovation, overall contractor, and landscaper.
It’s a good idea to think about three different phases of your Brand and find categories that include as many of the fields as possible to get a general overview of your page type. Remember, though, that different categories can implement various features.
The features of Page Categories on Facebook
Facebook’s limitations on what pages can do is a little of an old system, and I wouldn’t be shocked if they remove or revamp it in the next year or two. I’ll sum up how it works now, but don’t be worried if it changes; just let me know in the comments and I will look over what they have changed. For now, you can use their table as a reference here.
Right now, ten features of a page are “variable” depending on your page category. But actually, only 4 of them are changeable. According to Facebook, every page has:
- The ability to compose a short description of the Brand or entity that it represents.
- The ability to link to a particular website for the Brand or entity the page represents.
- The ability to list special services that the brand or entity provides.
- The ability to turn on review system and ratings (previously attached to being a local business) so that fans and followers can review and give star ratings to the brand or entity.
- The ability to add an email for people that use it as a method of contacting representatives of the brand or entity.
- The ability to enter a phone number, again for people to use to contact the brand or entity the page represents.
Also, some categories have access to extra features, such as:
- The ability to include an address is only available to Facebook pages in categories that intimate a related business address, such as brands and organizations, companies, people or sports entities, and local services.
- The ability to display a location map with a mapping system powered by Facebook, beneficial for people to locate a company branch near their location; available to the same categories as above.
- The ability to list particular business hours of operation, where hours of service can mean the distinction between a customer making a drive or being disappointed when they arrive.
There is some adaptability in what is and isn’t allowed, and I think that Facebook defaults to “allowed” whenever possible. For instance, a page that represents a book would not be allowed to include business hours, but if they are also registered as a local service, they should be allowed.
How to change your page category on Facebook?
While creating a new page, or editing your existing page, you can choose or change your categories at any time. To edit your page’s category, you should follow these steps:
- Click “about” on the left side of your Facebook page.
- Click “Edit” right next to the “Category.”
- Enter up to 3 categories and choose what you want from the dropdown list that appears.
- Click “Save.” And voila!
You can change your page’s category as many times as you like, there are no limitations for that. If you can’t find a category that describes your Page, try to choose the closest available option.
If you have any other questions about Facebook categories, you know you can always ask us in the comments below.
