How to activate Facebook share counts
This article will walk you through the steps needed to connect to a Facebook App and make sure your website's Facebook share counts are up to date.
Due to recent Facebook API changes, social share counts cannot be retrieved without using a Facebook App.
Connecting to Facebook’s API without providing a Facebook access token, which is generated by a Facebook App, does no longer return share counts.
To activate share counts in Social Pug there are two options:
Option 1: Connecting to the Social Pug Facebook App
From Social Pug -> Settings -> General Settings tab -> Misc section, select the “Social Pug App” option in the “Facebook Share Counts Provider” field.
With the “Social Pug App” option selected, a button named “Authorize Social Pug” should show up.
Clicking it should redirect you to Facebook, where you should be prompted with an approval window. In order to approve the connection between the Social Pug Facebook App and your account, please click the “Continue as…” button.
Important note: No sensitive information is being collected or manipulated by the Social Pug Facebook App. Also, the Social Pug Facebook App will not and cannot post on your behalf.
Once you’ve approved the connection with the Social Pug Facebook App, you should be redirected back to your website, in the Social Pug -> Settings page. A notification should be displayed at the top of the page letting you know the authentication was successful.
A green notification should also show up under the “Facebook Share Counts Provider” field, letting you know the app was authorized.
Alongside the “Authorized” message there should be an expiration date. Upon authorization Facebook generates an access token that has a two month expiration period.
Once the access token expires, the app will need to be reauthorized. Social Pug will prompt you with a notification once the access token expires.
Important note: The two month token is a Facebook limitation and there’s not much that can be done about it using this authorization process.
Option 2: Creating your own Facebook App and connecting to it
If you already have a Facebook App created for your website, you can connect it by navigating to Social Pug -> Settings -> General Settings tab -> Misc section and adding the Facebook App ID and Facebook App Secret.
If you don’t have a Facebook App and wish to create one, make sure to follow the video from this link (the video has no sound): https://www.dropbox.com/s/rzgvz9yd10wt1ni/create-facebook-app.mov?dl=0
Important note: Facebook has certain limits when it comes to connecting to their services. Using your own Facebook App can lead to reaching these limits if your website sees high traffic.