Manage onboarding requests

If you're managing advertising for clients in Hootsuite Ads, you can send them an onboarding request so that they can grant you access to their Facebook ad accounts and Pages, and optionally, to their customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, without having to share passwords. Main Hootsuite Ads users can white-label the request emails and landing pages that are sent to clients.

Recipients receive an email from Hootsuite Ads with the subject line "Onboarding Request" that includes the company name, and a link to a page that walks them through the process of connecting their advertising assets to Hootsuite Ads.

The requester's name is included if that option is selected in Collaboration Settings. You can also white-label these requests. See Manage collaboration settings for more information.

To request Facebook access through an onboarding request, your Facebook user must be an Admin of a Facebook Business Manager account. The client's assets must also be managed in Business Manager. They will be adding their accounts to your Business Manager, and you will get advertising permissions to their ad accounts and Pages.

Clients can also grant access to one or more CRM platforms to use with the Hootsuite Ads data sync feature for creating custom audiences from their databases. You can connect the following platforms to Hootsuite Ads through onboarding requests: Mailchimp, Salesforce, Google Sheets, HubSpot, and Google Ads.

Send an onboarding request

You can send onboarding requests to more than one recipient, but only one person can complete the request. Once a request is completed, the link is no longer valid for other recipients to use.

1. On the Hootsuite Ads home page, select Collaboration, and then select the Onboarding Requests tab.
2. Select Request onboarding.
3. Edit the message for the onboarding request.
4. Select the services you are requesting access to.
5. Facebook: Select the Facebook user that will have access to manage the client’s accounts through their Business Manager, and the Business Manager that the client’s accounts will be connected to.
6. Select Save your request.
7. Enter the recipient's email address, and then select Send Email. Alternatively, select Copy link, to share the request link another way.

Complete an onboarding request

The following instructions describe the steps required for your client to complete an onboarding request.

Recipients must open and view onboarding requests on a desktop computer. Onboarding requests are not supported on mobile devices. Onboarding request links expire after one month.

The requester receives an email when the onboarding request is complete. Hootsuite Ads also updates the status of the request in the Collaboration Hub. The client’s Facebook ad accounts and Pages become available for selection during campaign creation. If granted access, the client’s CRMs are listed under Settings > Data Sync Accounts.

1. Open the onboarding request email (or select the direct link) and select Grant Permission Now.
2. Enter your name and email address, and then select View request.
3. Select Add to connect to Facebook, enter the credentials of the Facebook user with access to the ad account and Pages you are granting access to, and then select Log In.
4. Select each field, select the ad accounts and Pages you're granting access to, and then select Connect Assets.
5. Select Next Step.
6. If the requester has requested access to one or more CRM accounts, select Add next to the CRM, and then select Proceed.
7. Sign into your CRM account and authorize the data sync connection.
   
8. Select Close.
9. Repeat steps 6-8 as necessary to connect multiple platforms, or multiple accounts on the same platform.
10. Select Next Step.

Accounts connected through onboarding requests have a value of No under Managed, and those connected by the Hootsuite Ads account owner have a value of Yes.

Manage onboarding requests

You can view all of your onboarding requests to see the recipient, status of connected or pending, request date, and which accounts were successfully connected.

1. On the Hootsuite Ads home page, select Collaboration, and then select the Onboarding Requests tab.
2. Click the Onboarding Requests tab to view your onboarding request details.
3. Select Actions on any pending request to:
   • Resend the onboarding email
   • Copy the onboarding link to your clipboard
   • Delete the request

   If one of the network accounts displays a red dot, click the icon to view the error.