Hey there! I've been through scenarios like this, either from the beginning, or on the receiving end of a bad plan that was executed by people that are no longer with the business so essentially worst case scenario. My company essentially sells the same thing, but targets very different audiences, as well as owning specific products within that market so I understand the task in front of you from that perspective :)

A big part you want to consider, in my experience, is that security protocols and documentation for existing passwords and identifying any instances of two factor authentication, or a huge way to prevent a lockout in the future!

Here's an example of where that didn't go correctly – a business that we had acquired as a team years before I was on boarded, did not have any proper protocols in place in terms of properly switching admin users to be full account owners for the meta-business account itself. So, even though we on the Facebook page and the Instagram, they cannot be connected, because we no longer have a user connected to the business account that has the highest level of access So, even though we on the Facebook page and the Instagram, they cannot be connected, because we no longer have a user connected to the business account that has the highest level of access.

The take away from that scenario, is that multiple back ups have to be established, so that if one person falls off the face of the Earth, or is no longer with the company, we are not locked out of any functionality for our socials take away from that scenario, is that multiple back ups have to be established, so that if one person falls off the face of the Earth, or is no longer with the company, we are not locked out of any functionality for our socials.

When it comes to merging profiles, a major consideration is how will this potentially affect the customer journey? Is there enough of a specifically engaged community that it can, or should stand separate from the other profiles? Will merging the accounts be a benefit in the long run or is it just going to make managing page easier for your team? Does the brand voice match across some combination of these new and existing profiles? 

OK, but enough rambling! Here are the rules, have a plan to document everything, ask yourself what is the worst case scenario and work backwards on a built-in solution, identify what the short and long-term goals are, and agree on a timeline for different stages in the transition process with your stakeholders. Lastly, make note of any decisions that can be looked back at for historical context. Lack of historical context, can really be detrimental for troubleshooting in the future with how quickly our landscape changes as social media professionals so do yourself and those on your team a favor by planning for that.

Best of Luck!

Wow, Ben, thanks for diving in with so many details. Really appreciate the time you took to respond. Great call out on the admin access… I think every social media manager has been in the situation you described one time or another. It’s a preventable rite of passage that with good planning, future generations will never experience. 

Wow, this was a great thread to read. My company is looking into acquisitions, so this was very helpful to start wrapping my head around things to think about.