How to push website News posts to a Facebook page

You can set up a simple integration to push News items directly to your church, school or ministry's Facebook page once they are published on your website. Here's how:

In This Article:

How to set up the Facebook Page integration

The initial set up for this integration must be accomplished by a website Admin. Once the integration is set up, the same website Admin will automatically receive permission to post news items to Facebook. To learn how to grant other website users publishing permissions, see Allow other website users to push News Items to Facebook.

This integration will be turned on within your site's Admin Settings. Here's how to activate this feature:

  1. Click on Admin in the white Admin Toolbar at the top of your site's interface.
  2. Click on Settings > Integrations & Social.
  3. Locate the Post News to Facebook setting, and toggle it ON (pictured below).
  4. Click Log into Facebook Page button.
  5. In the resulting pop-up window, click Log into Facebook.

After you click Login to Facebook, you will see the following window:

  1. Enter the email address or phone number in the appropriate fields for your Facebook account which is connected to the church, school, or ministry Facebook page you would like to publish news items to. Then click Log In.
  2. Select the Facebook Page(s) you want to publish news items to, and click Continue.
    • Selecting Opt in to all current and future Pages will allow you to connect any of your current Facebook Pages, as well as other Facebook Pages you may add in the future.
    • Selecting Opt in to current Pages only will allow you to choose a single Page, without automatically allowing this integration for new pages you add later.

  1. Read the window that asks you to "Review what the eCatholic CMS is requesting permission to do" and then click Save.
    1. Note: All the listed items are all standard permissions that are safe for you to agree to.
  2. When you receive the message that the Facebook Page(s) and website have connected, click Got it and leave the window.
  3. Under "Allow eCatholic to post to your Facebook page," select the Facebook Page that you'd like to connect from the drop-down menu and click Connect Page.
    • If you do not see the page you want to connect, you may not have checked the box for it in step #7. You can click 'Cancel' to start the process over.

  1. Navigate back to your website's settings by clicking Admin > Settings > Integrations & Social.
  2. Locate the Facebook Page setting. To the right, you'll see Enabled and the name of the Facebook Page you previously selected (pictured below).
  3. Click Save/Publish.

To change the Facebook Page your website is connected with, click the trash can icon. After deleting, you can link a different Facebook Page - if desired - by repeating the steps listed above.


Preparing and posting News to Facebook

  1. Open the News module on your website and create a news item or blog post.
  2. In the Basic tab, the Push to Facebook box will be automatically checked. You can uncheck the box if you do not want this particular news item pushed to Facebook.
  3. Add to the Facebook Custom Message field the text you want in the body of your Facebook post (pictured below).

  1. In the Advanced tab, you can add a picture for the news item and social media post by clicking the + Add Picture button (pictured below).

Note on images: If an image is not provided in either the Advanced tab or the Social tab (of the News item post), or the Default Social Media Share Image (in Admin settings), Facebook may not include an image, or may use another image from your site. It's unpredictable, so for the best result, be sure to include an image in one of those three spots!

  1. Once you're finished editing your news item, click Save! Here's how your post details will translate to your Facebook page once you publish:

PRO TIP: How to turn on the Social tab in your News item Settings

To activate the Social tab for the settings of individual News item, you will need to be a website Admin. Here's how:

  1. Navigate to Admin > Settings > Integrations & Social.
  2. Find Customize posts shared to Social Media and toggle to ON.

When this feature is on, a Social tab will become available in the settings for a news item or blog post (pictured below). Users can fill in the fields in the Social tab to specify a title, summary, or image to be used in the social media post, different from what is displayed on the website.


When will Facebook publish News posts?

You can publish a News item immediately or schedule a post for a future date and time.

To publish a post immediately:

  1. The publish date of your News item must be the current date or a past date.
  2. As soon as you Publish the News item on your website it will also be published on your Facebook page.
    1. Note: Usually the publication to Facebook is quick, however, you may need to wait a few minutes to see the post appear on Facebook.

PRO TIP: News items can be pushed to Facebook multiple times, if desired. To push a news item to Facebook again, click the gear icon next to the news item within the News module. Check the Push to Facebook page box, then Save and Publish again.

To publish a post for a future date and time:

  1. You can utilize the Scheduled Publish feature on your website page where your news item is listed. When your News item is published to your website, it will be published to your Facebook page as well.
  2. Or, in the Advanced tab of your News item settings, you can select a future News Date to for your News item to be published. (By default, this option will post at 8 a.m. on the selected date. You can edit the schedule in Meta Business Suite.)

Important Note: After a news item has been posted to Facebook, any edits you with to make to the Facebook post must be done through your Facebook Page. Editing the information in the Basic, Advanced, or Social tabs in the individual News item on your website will not change the contents of an already-published Facebook post.


Allow other website users to push News Items to Facebook


This integration must be set up by a website Admin who will automatically receive permission to post news items to Facebook. However, once the integration is set up, publishing permissions can also be extended to other Admins, Publishers, and Authors by visiting your Admin Settings. Visit Admin > Admin Users, select your user, and toggle ON the Can Post News to Facebook feature (pictured below). Don't forget to click Save!

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