Remember when we social media marketers freaked out over the “Facebook apocalypse?” That seems sooooo Early 2018 now. Our newest freakout du jour comes in the aftermath of Facebook and Instagram restricting third-party tool use of their APIs.
In the past, some third-party tools took advantage of the data they had access to though these APIs. Other tools let users be incredibly spammy. Because of these few bad apples, these Facebook and Instagram API changes are saying this to ALL third-party tools.
This is regardless of any Partner Status or how well a tool has followed the developers’ terms of service.
But we will get through this.
Let me explain what Facebook and Instagram API restrictions are now in play and their implications for marketers who use social media management tools like Agorapulse.
Facebook API Changes
1. Tools’ access to the Facebook Groups API is temporarily suspended.
What this means for users: You cannot use a third party tool to manage your Facebook Groups.
Will this ever be reversed? Although third party tools can’t currently access the Facebook Groups API, Facebook will conduct a thorough review process with tools wishing to regain access.
Freakout factor: Medium-Low. Many find value in terms of reach and conversations in Facebook Groups. Yet others still don’t know what to do in a Group versus on a Page. Given that Facebook has plans to revisit tools on a case-by-case basis, the former group should find relief in the near future. For the latter group, this API restriction is a non-issue.
Some admins of active Facebook Groups will have to “go native” temporarily.
2. Tools’ access to Facebook Page private messages has been temporarily suspended.
What this means for users: If you began using a third party tool for the first time after April 4, 2018, you will not be able to manage the private messages (PMs) you receive on your Facebook Pages. (You can see all PMs natively — just not on a new-to-you third party tool.)
Will this ever be reversed? In many cases, yes. Facebook will go through a thorough review process with each tool wishing to regain access.
Freakout factor: Medium-High for new users. Low for longtime users. Our tool Agorapulse has great private messaging functionalities that are currently off limits to post-April 4 users. Many of these users chose Agorapulse prior to that date thinking they’d have access to these PM features. New users of other tools are likely to be equally disappointed.
We’re hoping this is a very temporary hiccup in the use of our Inbox.
Did you just sign up with a third party tool? Then you most likely won’t be able to access your Facebook Direct Messages through it. At least for now.
3. Tools’ access to the Facebook Search API is deprecated (ie. shut down).
What this means for users: With the Search API shut down, you can no longer search for users. That means when you use a tool to post or comment, you can’t tag/mention other pages.
Will this ever be reversed? There is no word when this might be reinstated for social media management tools.
Freakout factor: Low. Go through your last 20 posts on Facebook. How many of them tagged other pages? I’m guessing not more than 20% — and even in those instances, the tags didn’t produce much ROI in terms of reach or engagement. This change should not impact your bottom line.
Instagram API Changes
1. Tools’ access to the Instagram Search API is deprecated (ie. shut down).
What this means for users: Starting April 30, 2018, your third party tool will no longer allow you to:
- reply to or like public content
- see the full profile info on public content
- see the list of followers for a user
- follow or unfollow users
- see if a particular user follows you
As of December 11, 2018, you will no longer be able to conduct hashtag or location searches using a third party tool.
Happy Holidays.
Will this ever be reversed? No word on this yet.
Freakout factor: High. Many UGC and influencer marketing campaigns rely on easy monitoring features that third party tools provide. However, the missteps of some tools that searched for Instagram hashtags and locations and automatically liked posts based on that criteria have brought on these restrictions for ALL tools.
We know that our users of Agorapulse have relied on the accessibility and customization of our monitoring searches (although we never did anything spammy). We will be hard at work to come up with a listening solution that follows Instagram guidelines. (After all, we are an Instagram Partner.)
There is a bit more in the official announcement about the Facebook and Instagram API changes with a bit more geekspeak if you’re interested.
How will your social media marketing change in light of these Facebook and Instagram API changes? Let us know in the comments!
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