Social Auto Poster Addon

The Social Auto Poster Addon is a professional tool that enables you to automatically post events published in Modern Events Calendar (MEC) to your social media platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Meetup, and Instagram. By integrating these platforms, you can ensure your audience is immediately notified of new events, increasing reach through automated or manual sharing.

Initial Setup

• MEC Lite or Pro: The Social Auto Poster is compatible with both the Lite and Pro versions of Modern Events Calendar.
• Installation: After purchasing, install and activate the addon through your WordPress dashboard.
• Accessing the Menu: Upon activation, a new menu item labeled Social Poster will appear under the MEC menu. This is where you will configure global settings and specific platform integrations.

General Settings & Functioning

The addon offers global controls for how and when your events are shared across all connected accounts.

• Default Schedules: Located in the Settings tab, this allows you to determine if events are shared immediately upon publication or after a designated period.

• Global Filters: You can filter which events are posted to specific accounts based on Categories, Organizers, Speakers, or Locations.

• History & Analytics: The History section provides statistics about your posted content in both list and chart views, allowing you to monitor and analyze social activity.

Platform-Specific Integration

Facebook (Meta – Current Flow)

Overview

This guide explains the current official process for creating a Facebook App and configuring the permissions required for posting content to a Facebook Page using the Meta Graph API.

The steps below are based on Meta’s current developer interface. Some steps may vary depending on updates to Meta’s platform or interface changes. Always refer to Meta’s official documentation for the latest information.

Step 1: Create a Facebook App

1. Go to the Meta App Creation page:
   https://developers.facebook.com/apps/creation/
2. Enter:
   • App Name
   • Contact Email
3. Click Continue.
4. In the Use Cases step, select:
   Manage everything on your Page (recommended for Page posting).
5. Choose a Business Portfolio if needed, or select:
   I don’t want to connect a business portfolio yet
   and complete the app creation process.
6. Open the App Dashboard.

Step 2: Configure Use Case

1. In the App Dashboard, go to Use Cases.
2. Open: Manage everything on your Page
3. Click Customize (if available) to manage permissions.

Step 3: Required Permissions

For publishing posts to a Facebook Page, the following permissions are typically required:

• pages_manage_posts → Create, edit, and delete posts on a Page
• pages_read_engagement → Read Page content and engagement data
• pages_show_list → Retrieve the list of Pages the user manages (usually added automatically)

Note: Some permissions may depend on each other based on Meta’s permission structure.

Step 4: App Modes

• Development Mode
  Only users with Admin, Developer, or Tester roles can use the app. This mode is intended for testing.
• Live Mode
  Required for production use. Some permissions may require approval through Meta’s App Review process before they can be used by non-role users.

Step 5: App Review (If Required)

If your app requires advanced permissions:

1. Go to App Review in the dashboard.
2. Select the required permissions (e.g., pages_manage_posts).
3. Provide:
   • A clear description of your use case
   • A step-by-step explanation of how permissions are used
   • A screencast showing the full flow (Login → Page selection → Posting content)

Approval is required before non-role users can grant and use these permissions in Live Mode.

Step 6: Get App Credentials

From Settings → Basic, copy:

• App ID
• App Secret

These credentials are required for API authentication.

Step 7: Generate Page Access Token

1. Open Graph API Explorer:
   https://developers.facebook.com/tools/explorer/
2. Select your app and generate a User Access Token with the required permissions.
3. Call the endpoint:

/me/accounts

4. Retrieve the Page Access Token for the target Page.

Note: Tokens may expire and require regeneration depending on Meta’s security policies.

Step 8: Publish a Post (Graph API)

Endpoint:

POST https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0/{page-id}/feed

Required Permission:

• pages_manage_posts

Example:

curl -X POST "https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0/{page-id}/feed" \
  -d "message=Your event message here" \
  -d "link=https://your-event-url.com" \
  -d "access_token=YOUR_PAGE_ACCESS_TOKEN"

Official Meta Documentation

• Create an App:
  https://developers.facebook.com/docs/development/create-an-app/
• Permissions Reference:
  https://developers.facebook.com/docs/permissions/
• Pages API Overview:
  https://developers.facebook.com/docs/pages-api/
• Publishing Posts:
  https://developers.facebook.com/docs/pages-api/posts/

Important Notes

• Some steps or options may vary depending on updates to Meta’s interface or policies.
• Certain features may require Business Verification depending on the app’s usage.
• App Review approval is required for advanced permissions in Live Mode.
• Token expiration and permission availability depend on Meta’s security policies.

Instagram

To post events to Instagram, you must use an Instagram Business account that is connected to a Facebook Page.

Linking the Accounts

1. Convert your Instagram account to a Business or Creator account if it is not already.
2. In your Facebook Page settings, connect your Instagram account to the page.

How the Integration Works

The Social Auto Poster addon uses the Facebook Graph API connection to publish posts to Instagram. This means the Instagram connection depends on the Facebook configuration being completed successfully.

If the Facebook integration is not configured correctly, Instagram posting will also fail.

Configuration in MEC

1. Open MEC → Social Poster → Instagram.
2. Select the appropriate account type.
3. Save the settings.

Once configured, newly published events can automatically be shared to your Instagram feed.

X (Twitter)

To connect X, you must create a developer application in the X Developer Portal and configure OAuth authentication for your website.

Step 1: Create a Developer Account

1. Log in to your X account and go to the X Developer Portal.
2. Click Sign Up and apply for a Developer account.
3. Complete the registration process and verify your email address if required.

Official Documentation:

Official X Developer API Docs
Developer Account Setup FAQ

Step 2: Create a Project and App

1. In the Developer Portal dashboard, open Projects & Apps.
2. Click Create Project.
3. Choose an appropriate use case.
4. Enter a project name and description.

Visual Guide:

Step‑by‑Step X Developer Portal Setup (third-party)

Step 3: Configure OAuth Authentication

1. In the app settings, go to User Authentication Settings → Set Up / Edit.
2. Enable OAuth 2.0 authentication.
3. Set App permissions to Read and Write.
4. Set the Type of App to Web App.
5. Copy the Redirect URL from MEC → Social Poster → X on your website.
6. Paste this URL into the Callback URI / Redirect URL field in the X Developer Portal.
7. Enter your website address in the Website URL field.
8. Save the configuration.

Step 4: Connect X to MEC

1. Go to the Keys and Tokens section of your app.
2. Copy the required credentials (such as Client ID, Client Secret, or API Keys).
3. Return to MEC → Social Poster → X in your WordPress dashboard.
4. Enter the credentials and complete the authentication process.

Once connected, the X account will appear in the list of available social accounts.

Linkedin

To publish events on LinkedIn using the Social Auto Poster addon, you must have a LinkedIn account and a LinkedIn Business Page connected to your personal account.

Step 1: Create a LinkedIn App

1. Go to the LinkedIn Developer Portal.
2. Click My apps and then Create App.
3. Fill in the required information:
   • App Name
   • LinkedIn Page (Business Page)
   • App Logo
   • Privacy Policy URL
4. Accept the terms and click Create App.

Step 2: Add Required Products

1. Open your LinkedIn App dashboard.
2. Go to the Products section.
3. Enable the following products:

• Share on LinkedIn
• Sign in with LinkedIn

These products allow MEC to authenticate with LinkedIn and publish posts to your LinkedIn page.

Step 3: verify the LinkedIn page

1. In your LinkedIn app dashboard, open the Settings tab.
2. verify the LinkedIn page.

Step 4: Configure OAuth Authentication

1. In your LinkedIn app dashboard, open the Auth tab.
2. From your website dashboard go to MEC → Social Poster → LinkedIn.
3. Copy the Redirect URL displayed there.
4. Paste this address into the Authorized Redirect URLs field in the LinkedIn app.
5. Save the changes.

Step 5: Connect LinkedIn to MEC

1. In the LinkedIn Developer dashboard, copy the following credentials:
   • Client ID
   • Client Secret
2. Go to your WordPress dashboard: MEC → Social Poster → LinkedIn.
3. Enter the credentials.
4. Click Needs Authentication to authorize the connection.

Meetup

To enable the Social Auto Poster addon for Meetup, you must create an OAuth client in the Meetup developer portal.

Step 1: Create an OAuth Client

1. Go to the Meetup OAuth Clients page.
2. Click Create New Client.

3. Fill out the required information for your application.

Step 2: Configure the Redirect URL

1. From your website dashboard navigate to MEC → Social Poster → Meetup.
2. Copy the Redirect URL displayed there.
3. Paste this URL into the Redirect URI field when creating the OAuth client in Meetup.
4. Save the configuration.

Step 3: Wait for API Approval

After submitting your OAuth client, Meetup may require API verification.

Once your application is approved, the following credentials will be available in the developer dashboard:

• Client ID
• Secret Key

Step 4: Find Your Group Slug

Each Meetup group has a unique slug in its URL.

Example group URL:

https://www.meetup.com/mec-wordpress-plugins-group

The group slug is:

mec-wordpress-plugins-group

Step 5: Connect Meetup to MEC

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard: MEC → Social Poster → Meetup.
2. Enter the following information:
   • Client ID
   • Secret Key
   • Group Slug
3. Save the settings and verify the account.

After verification, the Meetup account will appear in the connected social accounts list.

Individual Event Management

For granular control, you can manage settings for each event on the Edit Event page.

• Social Poster Tab: Use this to activate or override global settings for a specific event.

• Manual Publishing: The addon provides a manual publish option on the event page, allowing you to share events at your discretion.

Use Cases (When This Addon is Useful)

• Automated Social Marketing: Ideal for organizations that want to ensure every new event is instantly promoted on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram without manual entry.
• Targeted Audience Engagement: Useful for businesses with multiple social accounts; for example, using filters to post “Business” categories to LinkedIn and “Entertainment” to Facebook.
• Delayed Announcements: Perfect for timing social media “drops” by using the Default Schedules feature to post events several hours after they are published on the site.

Situations This Addon May Not Be Ideal

• Personal Branding on Facebook: This addon will not work for users who want to post events to a personal Facebook profile, as it only supports Facebook Pages.
• Immediate Meetup Syncing: Because Meetup requires manual API verification, this addon is not suitable for users needing an “out-of-the-box” instant setup for that platform.
• Non-WordPress Environments: This tool only functions within the Modern Events Calendar ecosystem on WordPress.

Troubleshooting for Beginners

• Events Not Posting: Verify that all API credentials are accurate and that the specific permissions (e.g., page_events) were granted during setup.
• Token Expiry: If Facebook posts stop appearing, you likely need to refresh your token using the Access Token Debugger to extend it back to two months or permanent status.

FAQ