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Your guide to Facebook automation

Get more from your Facebook apps when you automate them with Zapier.

By Will Harris · June 2, 2023
A hero image of the Zapier logo connected to the Facebook app logo on a light blue background.

Facebook is equal parts business platform and social platform nowadays. Companies around the world depend on both their social media presence and Facebook advertising campaigns to grow their businesses.

While Facebook provides a variety of powerful tools that are widely used across the globe, their utility can be pushed further through automation, making them more efficient and versatile.

Zapier allows you to connect Facebook's popular apps to each other and to thousands of other tools, creating automated workflows that make your social networking and advertising life easier and more effective.

Ready to connect your Facebook apps to your other business-critical apps? Check out our App Directory to see how you can integrate Facebook's suite of apps with your business tools. 

Table of contents

  • What is Facebook automation?

  • Automate Facebook Lead Ads

  • Automate Facebook Pages

  • Automate Facebook Conversion API

  • Automate Facebook Custom Audiences

  • Automate Facebook Messenger

  • How to automate Facebook with Zapier

Zapier is the leader in workflow automation—integrating with thousands of apps from partners like Google, Salesforce, and Microsoft. Use interfaces, data tables, and logic to build secure, automated systems for your business-critical workflows across your organization's technology stack. Learn more.

What is Facebook automation?

Simply put, automation is setting something up to run automatically. When you automate one of your Facebook apps with an automation tool or app, you streamline, manage, and optimize tasks that you'd normally do manually. 

Facebook automation can encompass a range of tasks—from scheduling posts to managing lead generation and conversions. These automated actions can significantly enhance marketing campaigns, audience engagement, lead capture, and customer service efforts, saving time and resources in the process. It's a way to leverage technology to make the most of Facebook's powerful and diverse platforms without manual intervention for every action.

With Zapier, you can take Facebook automation to the next level. Zapier integrates with Facebook's suite of apps, including Facebook Lead Ads, Facebook Pages, Facebook Conversions API, and Facebook Messenger. 

For example, you can automate the collection and organization of leads from Facebook Lead Ads, post updates on your Facebook Pages without manual input, or set up offline conversion tracking for your ads. With Facebook Messenger, you can even automate customer service responses or lead nurturing conversations. 

Facebook automation with Zapier provides a robust, efficient, and seamless way to manage your Facebook presence and marketing efforts.

Here's how to use Zapier's automation platform to get more out of your Facebook apps.

To get started with a Zap template—what we call our pre-made workflows—just click on the button. It only takes a few minutes to set up. You can read more about setting up Zaps here.

Automatically manage your Facebook Lead Ad leads

Capturing leads via Facebook Lead ads is great, but that's only the first step. If you don't have an airtight lead funnel to put them through, most of those leads will fall through the cracks. 

By pairing Facebook Lead Ads with Zapier, you can make sure all your leads instantly make it to your CRM.

Add or update ActiveCampaign contacts with new Facebook Lead Ads leads

Add or update ActiveCampaign contacts with new Facebook Lead Ads leads
  • Facebook Lead Ads logo
  • ActiveCampaign logo
Facebook Lead Ads + ActiveCampaign

Create or update Keap Max Classic contacts from new Facebook Lead Ads leads

Create or update Keap Max Classic contacts from new Facebook Lead Ads leads
  • Keap Max Classic logo
Keap Max Classic

Add new Facebook Lead Ads leads as leads in Salesforce

Add new Facebook Lead Ads leads as leads in Salesforce
  • Facebook Lead Ads logo
  • Salesforce logo
Facebook Lead Ads + Salesforce

Add or update LeadConnector contacts for new leads in Facebook Lead Ads

Add or update LeadConnector contacts for new leads in Facebook Lead Ads
  • Facebook Lead Ads logo
  • LeadConnector logo
Facebook Lead Ads + LeadConnector

Once a lead is in your system, it's important to reach out as soon as possible. You can do that automatically by adding new leads to a drip campaign.

Subscribe new Facebook Lead Ad leads to a Mailchimp list

Subscribe new Facebook Lead Ad leads to a Mailchimp list
  • Facebook Lead Ads logo
  • Mailchimp logo
Facebook Lead Ads + Mailchimp

Add new Facebook Lead Ads leads to AWeber as subscribers

Add new Facebook Lead Ads leads to AWeber as subscribers
  • Facebook Lead Ads logo
  • AWeber logo
Facebook Lead Ads + AWeber

Add Klaviyo subscribers for new Facebook Lead Ads leads

Add Klaviyo subscribers for new Facebook Lead Ads leads
  • Facebook Lead Ads logo
  • Klaviyo logo
Facebook Lead Ads + Klaviyo

Or if your lead funnel involves a more personal form of outreach, you can notify your team automatically whenever a new lead comes in from Facebook, enabling them to reach out quickly.

Send emails in Gmail for new leads in Facebook Lead Ads

Send emails in Gmail for new leads in Facebook Lead Ads
  • Facebook Lead Ads logo
  • Gmail logo
Facebook Lead Ads + Gmail

Get Slack messages with new Facebook Lead Ads leads

Get Slack messages with new Facebook Lead Ads leads
  • Facebook Lead Ads logo
  • Slack logo
Facebook Lead Ads + Slack

Discover more ways to automate Facebook Lead Ads.

Post content to Facebook automatically

When I managed company social media profiles in the past, I couldn't stand the process of posting content across different social channels. Even if I was just copying and pasting the exact copy and images, doing it 3-4 times took forever, and I was always concerned I'd accidentally format something wrong.

With the Zaps below, you can skip that process and post to Facebook automatically. Whether you want to share a new article on your blog, a new video published to your YouTube channel, or simply cross-post to Facebook from another channel, you can do it all with a Zap.

Post new RSS items to Facebook Pages

Post new RSS items to Facebook Pages
  • RSS by Zapier logo
  • Facebook Pages logo
RSS by Zapier + Facebook Pages

Post Instagram posts to your Facebook Page

Post Instagram posts to your Facebook Page
  • Instagram logo
  • Facebook Pages logo
Instagram + Facebook Pages

Post new YouTube videos to Facebook

Post new YouTube videos to Facebook
  • YouTube logo
  • Facebook Pages logo
YouTube + Facebook Pages

Don't forget to keep your coworkers in the loop when new Facebook posts go up so that they can engage with them as well.

Share new Facebook Page posts in Slack

Share new Facebook Page posts in Slack
  • Facebook Pages logo
  • Slack logo
Facebook Pages + Slack

Send new Facebook Pages posts by you in Discord

Send new Facebook Pages posts by you in Discord
  • Facebook Pages logo
  • Discord logo
Facebook Pages + Discord

Dive deeper into popular ways to automate your Facebook posts.

Automatically send customer activity to Facebook Conversion API

If you're using Facebook's Conversion API to provide your customer data to your Facebook Business account, there's a lot you can automate there as well. Whether you want to send customer purchases, email engagement, or other lead activity, you can do it automatically with the Zaps below.

Share new updates in HubSpot as Facebook Conversions funnel events

Share new updates in HubSpot as Facebook Conversions funnel events
  • HubSpot logo
  • Facebook Conversions logo
HubSpot + Facebook Conversions

Send lead events in Facebook Conversions with new ClickFunnels contact activity

Send lead events in Facebook Conversions with new ClickFunnels contact activity
  • ClickFunnels Classic logo
  • Facebook Conversions logo
ClickFunnels Classic + Facebook Conversions

Send new paid orders in Shopify to Facebook conversions as purchase events

Send new paid orders in Shopify to Facebook conversions as purchase events
  • Shopify logo
  • Facebook Conversions logo
Shopify + Facebook Conversions

Send new email events in Hubspot to Facebook Conversions

Send new email events in Hubspot to Facebook Conversions
  • HubSpot logo
  • Facebook Conversions logo
HubSpot + Facebook Conversions

Discover more ways to automate Facebook's Conversion API.

Add subscriber information to Facebook Custom Audiences

Aptly named, Facebook Custom Audiences exists to help you wade through the almost three billion Facebook users worldwide and create targeted audiences to market your products and services toward.

To give yourself the best chance at conversion, you'll want to target the people most likely to purchase from you. That means those who are already familiar with your business. By adding your subscriber info to create Custom Audiences, you can run more targeted campaigns and get a better return on your ad spend.

Add email addresses to Facebook Custom Audiences with new received webhooks

Add email addresses to Facebook Custom Audiences with new received webhooks
  • Webhooks by Zapier logo
  • Facebook Custom Audiences logo
Webhooks by Zapier + Facebook Custom Audiences

Add new Mailchimp subscribers to Facebook Custom Audiences

Add new Mailchimp subscribers to Facebook Custom Audiences
  • Mailchimp logo
  • Facebook Custom Audiences logo
Mailchimp + Facebook Custom Audiences

Add email addresses to Facebook Custom Audiences when new ActiveCampaign contacts are added to lists

Add email addresses to Facebook Custom Audiences when new ActiveCampaign contacts are added to lists
  • ActiveCampaign logo
  • Facebook Custom Audiences logo
ActiveCampaign + Facebook Custom Audiences

Add emails from new Facebook Lead Ads leads to Facebook Custom Audiences

Add emails from new Facebook Lead Ads leads to Facebook Custom Audiences
  • Facebook Lead Ads logo
  • Facebook Custom Audiences logo
Facebook Lead Ads + Facebook Custom Audiences

Copy emails from new Google Sheets spreadsheet rows to Facebook Custom Audiences

Copy emails from new Google Sheets spreadsheet rows to Facebook Custom Audiences
  • Google Sheets logo
  • Facebook Custom Audiences logo
Google Sheets + Facebook Custom Audiences

Learn more ways to automate Facebook Custom Audiences.

Respond to Facebook Messenger messages faster

Responding to a Facebook message late never looks good. If someone messages your business about a missing shipment or a defective product, odds are they're already upset, and a slow reply could tip them over the edge.

Keeping an eye on that inbox is tricky, though. Unless you have someone who will keep that tab open every hour of every day, you might not see that message until hours (or days) later.

With these Zaps, you can send alerts to your team whenever a new message arrives in Facebook Messenger.

Send Slack channel messages from new Facebook messages

Send Slack channel messages from new Facebook messages
  • Facebook Messenger logo
  • Slack logo
Facebook Messenger + Slack

Send new Facebook Page messages via Gmail

Send new Facebook Page messages via Gmail
  • Facebook Messenger logo
  • Gmail logo
Facebook Messenger + Gmail

You can also add new messages to your project management tool, creating a queue and ensuring your messages get responded to.

Create Google Sheets rows from new Facebook Page messages

Create Google Sheets rows from new Facebook Page messages
  • Facebook Messenger logo
  • Google Sheets logo
Facebook Messenger + Google Sheets

Create Airtable records for new Facebook Page messages

Create Airtable records for new Facebook Page messages
  • Facebook Messenger logo
  • Airtable logo
Facebook Messenger + Airtable

Create Trello cards from new Facebook Page messages

Create Trello cards from new Facebook Page messages
  • Facebook Messenger logo
  • Trello logo
Facebook Messenger + Trello

If you need help responding to a message, turn to AI for help! With this Zap, you can send the message to OpenAI and have it create a reply for you.

Promptly reply to Facebook messages with custom responses using OpenAI

Promptly reply to Facebook messages with custom responses using OpenAI
  • Facebook Messenger logo
  • OpenAI (GPT-4, DALL-E, Whisper) logo
  • Facebook Messenger logo
Facebook Messenger + OpenAI (GPT-4, DALL-E, Whisper)

Learn more about automating Facebook Messenger, including how to respond to messages automatically with ChatGPT and Zapier.

How to automate your Facebook apps with Zapier

There are plenty of ways to automate Facebook. To show you how to set up a Zap, we'll walk through one of the workflows we just mentioned above—getting notifications in Slack for new messages in Facebook Messenger.

Before you begin

Before you create a Zap that integrates Slack with Facebook Messenger, you'll need to create a Zapier account. To create your free account, head right here.

After you sign in, you can create a Zap by using the Create Zap button or by going to zap.new. You can also click on any of the Zap templates above to use them.

Step 1: Set up your trigger step

Every Zap consists of two parts:

  1. A trigger: the event that starts your Zap

  2. An action: the event that your Zap performs once it's triggered.

Every Zap has one trigger, but it's possible for a Zap to have more than one action.

To start, search for your trigger app. In our example, that will be Facebook Messenger.

A trigger step in the Zap editor with Facebook Messenger entered in the app search box.

Next, select your trigger event. Depending on the trigger app, you might have a few options to choose from. For Facebook Messenger, though, there's just one.

New Message sent to Page is shown selected in a trigger step in the Zap editor.

Select New Message sent to Page and click Continue.

Next, connect your Facebook app account. If you haven't connected it before, you'll need to give Zapier permission to access your account.

Now, set up your trigger step by filling in the trigger step fields. Depending on your trigger app and event, you'll have different fields to customize. In this example, the only thing we'll need to specify is which Facebook page to look for messages in.

A Facebook Messenger trigger step in the Zap editor.

When you finish customizing your trigger step, click Continue.

Next, click Test trigger. Zapier will then create a test event to make sure the trigger is working properly. 

A successful test message from a trigger step in the Zap editor.

Once the test runs successfully, click Continue.

Step 2: Set up your action step

It's time to set up your action step—the event your Zap performs when triggered. Begin by searching for your action app. In this example that'll be Slack.

An action step in the Zap editor with Slack entered in the app search box.

Next, choose your action event. If your action app is Slack, your Zap can do things like add a reminder, send a channel message, update a status, and more.

Send Channel Message has been selected in the Event field in a Slack action step in the Zap editor.

Select your action event and click Continue. For our example, we're going to select Send Channel Message.

Now, connect your action app to Zapier.

Next, set up your action by filling in the action step fields. Depending on your action app and event, you'll have different fields to customize. In our example, we'll add which Slack channel to send the message to. 

You can pull in data from your trigger step—like the name of the sender of a Facebook message—by clicking in a Message Text Field and selecting the data you'd like to use from the dropdown.

A Slack action step in the Zap editor.

When you're done customizing your action step, click Continue.

Now it's time to test your action. When you click Test Action, Zapier will send test data to your action app. In our example, Zapier will send a Slack notification to our chosen Slack channel according to how we set the notification up. 

It's always a good idea to test your Zap, but if you don't want to, just click Skip Test in the bottom-left corner.

A successful test of a Zap in the Zap editor.

Once everything looks good, your Zap is ready to go! 

Automate your entire Facebook experience

There's so much that automation can do with Facebook. From social marketing to campaign management to customer support, you can make each of those processes run more efficiently and effectively with automation.

Ready to connect your Facebook apps to your other business-critical apps? Check out our App Directory to see how you can integrate Facebook's suite of apps with your business tools. 

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A Zap with the trigger 'When I get a new lead from Facebook,' and the action 'Notify my team in Slack'