With well-nigh 2.9 billion global monthly active users, Facebook is the biggest social network worldwide.

Not only does that mean the platform has a built-in user base you could attempt to reach, but it likewise contains lots of data and functionality that might exist useful to your app. For instance, you could simplify the login process for your app past assuasive users to log in using their Facebook credentials. Or you could enable your app to gather and send more refined information to the Facebook algorithm and so you lot could better measure and optimize your Facebook ads.

These are just a few ways you can utilize a Facebook API to ameliorate serve your business and audience. Before nosotros swoop into all the ways you can use the API to accelerate your business organisation goals and please your customers, let's ascertain what the Facebook API is and how to get started with it.

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What is the Facebook API?

The Facebook Graph API is an HTTP-based API that allows developers to extract data and functionality from the Facebook platform. Applications can use this API to programmatically query data, mail in pages and groups, and manage ads, among other tasks.

The other Facebook APIs are extensions of the Graph API. Let'south briefly describe them beneath.

Conversions API

The Conversions API allows apps to rails web conversions, postal service-conversion events, and page visits likewise as data required for ad targeting, advertizing reporting, audience insights, and dynamic ads. This data can assist improve the performance and measurement of your Facebook ad campaigns.

Live Video API

The Live Video API enables apps to stream live video straight to Facebook user profiles, pages, and groups. With this API, your app tin can broadcast a live video stream, schedule broadcasts, interact with audiences during broadcasts, and create polls on broadcasts.

Instagram APIs

Instagram APIs let your app users to publish media, moderate comments, discover @mentions, share their content as Instagram stories, get and manage published photos, videos, and stories, and more than.

For more examples of how to use Instagram APIs, check out 11 Means to Use Instagram'southward API for Your Business concern [Examples] .

Marketing API

The Marketing API enables businesses to better advertise on Facebook past automating ad management and creation, offering custom dashboards for insights and performance, and more.

Pages API

The Pages API allows apps to create and manage a Page's settings and content. Using this API, an app can create and become Posts, become Comments on Page-endemic content, get Page insights, update actions that Users are able to perform on a Page, and more.

Video API

The Video API allows apps to publish videos on Facebook Pages and Groups, cross mail (ie. publish a video on multiple Pages without uploading the video to each Page), and get insights on those videos.

WhatsApp Business API

The WhatsApp Business API is designed to enable medium and large businesses to communicate with their customers at calibration. Businesses can use this API to connect thousands of agents and bots to customers via WhatsApp programmatically and manually.

At present that we understand the multifariousness of APIs that Facebook offers and what they do, let's go over how to employ them. The process of getting started with a Facebook API will depend on which API you're using. Below we'll outline the process for the Facebook Graph API.

How to Get Started with the Facebook API

To get started with the Facebook Graph API, you will demand:

  • A Facebook Developer account
  • A Facebook App (with some basic information about your app provided in the App Dashboard)

If yous already have these, it's time to make your start request.

Pace 1: Open up the Graph Explorer tool in a new window.

First, open the Graph Explorer tool in a split up browser window.

In this new window, you'll notice the explorer loads automatically with some information. From left to right, there's a default query with the GET method, the latest version of the Graph API, and the /me node followed by the id and name fields. This information is circled in the screenshot beneath.

how to use Facebook API: open Graph Explorer Tool

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Step 2. Generate an access token.

Next, click the Generate Access Token button on the right hand side of the screen. A window will pop upwardly prompting yous to log in to Facebook. By logging in, yous volition be granting your app permission to become your name and profile motion picture from Facebook.

how to use facebook api: generate access token and log in with Facebook

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Click Keep as [username].

A User Access Token is created. This token contains information such equally the app making the asking, the person using the app to make a request, if the access token is all the same valid (it expires in virtually an hour), the expiration time, and the scope of data the app tin can request. In this request, the telescopic is public_profile which includes your name and contour picture.

To view this information, click the data circle icon next to the access token.

how to use facebook api: view access token

Step three. Submit the request.

Click the Submit button in the upper right corner. Yous will see a JSON response with your Facebook User ID and proper noun in the Response Window.

how to use facebook api: submit HTTP request

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You can brand subsequent requests more complicated by adding fields (similar the email field) and any required permissions (like the e-mail user data permission). By doing so, you volition change the scope of the access token and need to create a new one.

To generate a new admission token, follow the aforementioned steps above: click Generate Admission Token, give your app permission to access your email by logging in to Facebook, and click Submit.

How to Use Facebook API

  1. Become page insights.
  2. Get audience insights
  3. Manage ads.
  4. Provide client support.
  5. Post live videos.
  6. Embed Facebook and Instagram feeds.
  7. Access and post content in Facebook Groups.
  8. Access content on Instagram.
  9. Get together competitive benchmark analysis.

Now that you know how to admission the Facebook Graph API, in that location'due south a lot you lot can exercise with it. Below are several means to use the Graph API and its extensions.

1. Go page insights.

The Facebook Graph API is all about getting data into and out of Facebook. With this API, yous tin query data and create powerful dashboards to understand your content and audition better. For case, yous tin excerpt information from your own Page that shows who wrote each mail service and how many people liked it. And then, you can figure out what writers get the most likes.

2. Get audition insights.

You tin also utilize the Facebook API to sympathize your audience amend. For example, you can collect basic demographics on your visitors, which will ultimately assist you provide a better product. That's why Spotify and Amazon use the API.

3. Manage ads.

Yous can use the Facebook API to manage ads besides. For example, you can retrieve the creative content or ads of an advertizing account in a single request. You tin besides read and pull ads reports for ad accounts you own or accept been granted access to past the account possessor.

four. Provide customer support.

Y'all want to respond to a customer'south bulletin even if your business is airtight for the weekend or you haven't had time to resolve their issue yet. The Facebook API allows your app to have a homo amanuensis answer to user messages in cases where their event cannot be resolved in the standard messaging window.

5. Mail service live videos.

The Facebook API allows users to post live videos to Pages, Groups, and User timelines from your app.

vi. Embed Facebook and Instagram feeds.

You can use the Facebook API to embed public Facebook and Instagram pages, posts, and videos into your application. For example, you might display your Instagram feed on your blog, or embed a positive Facebook review from a customer on your ecommerce site.

7. Access and mail content in Facebook Groups.

The Facebook API allows your app — and your app users — to access and manage content in their Facebook Group. With this API, you can let people publish content from your app to their Group. Yous tin also assist them become information nigh content posted to their Group, equally well every bit go aggregated insights most activity happening in their Group.

8. Admission content on Instagram.

The Facebook API allows your app to access Instagram Graph API'southward Hashtag Search endpoints. This, in turn, enables your app to discover photos and videos using your hashtags, empathise public sentiment effectually your make, and identify contest, competition, and sweepstakes entrants.

9. Assemble competitive benchmark assay.

With the Facebook API, you tin access and read public data for Facebook Pages that you are not the admin of. This data, including business organisation metadata, public comments, and posts, tin can be used for competitive assay and benchmarking.

Ready to Use the Facebook API?

The Facebook Graph API provides y'all access to the social media platform that everyday users tin't go. As a business owner or marketer, there are many means to use this API to enhance the functionality of your website or product, reach a wider audience, and grow your business. This guide can help you maximize your efforts and grow your brand at scale.

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Originally published Aug 27, 2021 7:00:00 AM, updated August 27 2021