Connecting an Instagram or Facebook account

HawCast uses a bring-your-own-app model: you create a Meta app and generate a token, so you stay in control of your access. This takes about ten minutes once.

1. Prerequisites

• A Facebook Page for the brand you want to post as.
• An Instagram Business or Creator account linked to that Page (for Instagram posting).
• A Meta (Facebook) developer account.

2. Create a Meta app

1. Go to developers.facebook.com → My Apps → Create App.
2. Choose the "Business" type and give it a name.
3. Note your App ID and App Secret (Settings → Basic).

3. Add permissions and generate a token

1. Open the Graph API Explorer and select your app.
2. Request these scopes: instagram_basic, instagram_content_publish, pages_show_list, pages_read_engagement, pages_manage_posts, business_management.
3. Generate a User access token and approve the dialog.
4. Use the fresh User token when connecting. HawCast exchanges it once, obtains the Page token, and stores it only after Meta reports no scheduled expiry.

4. Find your Page ID

On your Facebook Page → About → Page transparency, or via the Graph API Explorer GET /me/accounts.

5. Connect in HawCast

1. Dashboard → Connected accounts → choose Instagram + Facebook Page.
2. Paste App ID, App Secret, Page ID, and a fresh User token. A verified non-expiring Page token also works.
3. Click Validate & connect. We verify the Page token against Meta, then save it encrypted. Publishing uses the saved token without exchanging it on every post.

A Page token with no scheduled expiry can still stop working if Meta revokes access, permissions change, or Page access is lost. Reconnect in that case. An already expired User token cannot be exchanged.

LinkedIn

For LinkedIn, generate an access token with w_member_social (and profile scopes) from your LinkedIn developer app, then paste it under the LinkedIn option.

Get your API key API reference