Facebook / Meta integration
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Overview
The Meta integration links your Facebook and Instagram presence to Mallard Bay so activity from Meta—especially leads from ads—can flow into your Leads inbox and related follow-up. You manage the connection from Integrations → Meta (/integrations/meta).
What this page is for:
- First-time setup: Start Connect to Meta, sign in on Meta, and approve access so Mallard Bay can use your Pages.
- Ongoing care: See each connected Page, whether access is healthy or expiring, when the connection expires, and who connected it. Reconnect when Meta access is about to lapse or has lapsed.
- Disconnect: Turn off the integration when you no longer want Mallard Bay to use Meta for your outfitter.
The same Meta authorization also supports paid social tools elsewhere in the dashboard (for example Create Ads and Ad Reporting). Those screens may show ad account setup or import messages while data is prepared. The Integrations → Meta page is focused on Pages and access, not on creating campaigns or reading performance charts.
Prerequisites
- Access to the Meta integration — The Meta setup is limited to outfitters that have this capability on their subscription. If you see an upgrade or paywall message instead of the full page, your plan may not include Meta; contact Mallard Bay if that seems wrong.
- An outfitter selected — Like other integration pages, Meta expects you to be working in the context of an outfitter. If the app asks you to select an outfitter first, do that before continuing.
- Credentials and permissions on Meta — You need to be able to complete Meta’s login and permission screens in the browser. The exact prompts and permissions are controlled by Meta and Mallard Bay’s backend, not by the dashboard code alone.
Step-by-step: Connect and manage Meta
1. Open Meta from Integrations
- In the admin dashboard, go to Integrations.
- Open the Meta card (title Meta; short description explains connecting Facebook and Instagram pages to Mallard Bay).
- You land on Meta with breadcrumbs back to Integrations (URL path
/integrations/meta).
2. Connect for the first time
- If Meta is not yet connected for this outfitter, you see Connect Your Business to Meta and short text explaining that connecting Facebook and Instagram pages lets Mallard Bay sync leads so you do not miss potential clients.
- Click Connect to Meta.
- Mallard Bay starts the connection and sends your browser to Meta to sign in and approve the link.
- After Meta is connected for the outfitter, the page shows the management experience (connection details) instead of the initial connect panel.
3. Read Meta Connection Details
After connection, a section titled Meta Connection Details lists each linked entry in a table:
| Column | What it means |
|---|---|
| Page Name | The Facebook Page name; it links out to the Page URL Meta reports for that connection. |
| Status | Active, Expiring soon, or Expired, based on how close the connection is to its expiration (see below). |
| Connection Expiration Date | The date when this connection’s data access expires. |
| Connecting User Name | The name of the Mallard Bay user recorded for who ran the connection (or a placeholder when no name is stored). |
If nothing is listed yet, the table shows No connections found.
A help banner may appear: Having trouble syncing leads from Facebook and Instagram? — it points to knowledge-base guidance on the syncing process.
4. Reconnect when access expires or is expiring soon
Meta data access does not last indefinitely. In the table, Expiring soon means the expiration is within about the next seven days; Expired means the expiration date is already in the past.
If any connection is expired or expiring soon, an alert appears: Reconnect Your Meta Account, with text that one or more connections has expired or is about to expire and that you should reconnect to continue syncing leads. Use Reconnect to go through the Meta authorization flow again (same idea as the first Connect to Meta).
5. Disconnect Meta
- When at least one connection exists, a Disconnect control is shown on the card.
- Confirm in the modal Disconnect Meta. The message states that leads will no longer be synced from your Facebook and Instagram ads if you proceed.
Related workflows
- Leads — Meta is positioned in the product as the path for Facebook and Instagram ad leads to appear in Mallard Bay’s Lead workflow. Day-to-day handling (status, assignment, conversion to clients, quotes, or bookings) stays in your usual Leads and sales tools after the lead exists.
- Create Ads (
/paid-facebook-ads) and Ad Reporting (/paid-ads-reporting) — These use the same underlying Meta connection. While ad accounts are still being configured or imported, those areas can show status such as Meta ad account configuration in progress (copy directs you to contact support for an update) or Import in progress (copy suggests refreshing the page after a few minutes). Those messages are not shown on Integrations → Meta, so you can still open Meta integration settings and reconnect Pages even when ad tooling is catching up; timing depends on background jobs on Mallard Bay’s side. - Other integrations — Calendar sync, QuickBooks, SMS, custom email, and the website widget are separate cards under Integrations; they do not replace the Meta connection for social leads or Meta ads.
Common pitfalls
- Seeing an upgrade screen instead of setup — Your subscription may not include the Meta integration; that is a plan gating behavior in the app, not necessarily a mistake in your Meta password.
- Status shows Expiring soon or Expired — Renew the connection with Reconnect before or after expiration so lead sync tied to Meta access can continue.
- Expecting leads after disconnect — Disconnect explicitly says ad leads from Facebook and Instagram stop syncing; you must stay connected for that pipeline.
- Mixing up CSV import and Meta — Import leads from a file is a different path than leads arriving through a connected Meta integration.
- Integrations looks fine but Create Ads is still blocked — Pages connected and ad accounts ready for ads/reporting are related but not identical; follow on-screen messages on the ads pages, including support contact when the product asks for it.
What the dashboard does not spell out here
Exact Meta permission scopes, how each Meta form field maps into a Lead record, how fast each lead appears, and every rule for in-house managed Meta setups are enforced by Meta and Mallard Bay’s API, not detailed in this frontend repository. Use Mallard Bay support when the product directs you there or when behavior does not match your expectations after a successful reconnect.