Integrate with Meta/Facebook

You can integrate your Retention.com account directly with Facebook.

An integration between Retention.com and Facebook:

1. Automatically sends contacts acquired in your Retention.com account twice a day to Facebook into a Custom Audience we create named 'Retention Audience' when the integration is set up.

Note: Automatic suppression isn't available for this integration.

What you’ll need

1. Your Ad Account ID from your Facebook Business Account. To find your Ad Account ID, go to Ad Account Settings. Your Ad Account ID number is shown above the search/filter bar and in the account dropdown menu.

You can also copy the Ad Account ID from the URL.

Remember: The Facebook Business Account must be able to create and access Custom Audiences for the Ad Account ID to work with the integration. You can view this by going to Audiences > Create a Custom Audience. The Facebook account being used for the integration must also belong to someone located in the United States.

To get started

1. Click on Integrations from the left navigation panel in Retention.com. Then, click Available Integrations at the top and choose the Facebook icon.

2. Enter your Ad Account ID and then click Connect.

3. Click Continue as, or sign in to the Facebook account linked to your Business Account.

4. Choose Yes, and click Done.

5. Click OK.

6. Enable the integration in Retention.com. You will see the integration date, API details, and contact sync. You can also Remove the integration from this page at the top.

7. Click Yes to sync your collected contacts. These contacts will be sent twice a day (7 a.m. and 7 p.m. EST) to a Custom Audience we create when the integration is set up named 'Retention Audience.' 

8. When you’re finished, click Save.

Upload a Suppression List

If you've set up another integration with Retention.com, enable contact suppression with that one so contacts from your ESP are automatically suppressed.

If you do not have another integration set up, you will need to manually load a CSV file of email addresses so that we don't collect them, as well—since the Facebook integration doesn't offer automatic suppression.

Suppression lists loaded as a CSV file are converted into encoded MD5s for security reasons. We do not use, share, or resell this data for any purpose other than to prevent users from collecting and paying for contacts they already have.

To upload a Suppression List, click on Suppression Lists in the left-hand navigation.

Here are the file requirements for upload:

• Your file should only contain ONE column, labeled “email”.
• You’ll also need to save it as an Excel .CSV file.
• Maximum file size is 100MB. If your file is larger than this, split it up into several smaller files.

Once the file has uploaded, you will see a green box in the top right corner that says your file has been uploaded and is in the queue to be processed. Once that’s complete, you’ll see the stored file listed under the corresponding date:

Remove the integration

1. To remove the integration, click Integrations > Dots > Remove.

Sync summary

You can view your daily sync history under Sync Summary on your integration page. It will show you the date, number of completions, if there are any failures, and the number that are in the queue.

To access all of your sync history, click View Full History under Sync Summary. If there’s a failure, it will show the email address, what type of failure has occurred under ESP Feedback, and the date and time of the failure.

Troubleshooting integration errors

If your Meta/Facebook integration disables in Retention.com, you will receive an email from us sharing the error message that caused the issue. Your integration will not sync until the error is resolved and the integration is enabled again.

Here are the most common errors and how to resolve them.

1. Error
Error validating access token: Session has expired

Solution
Facebook's tokens expire after a set amount of time (typically about 60 days). Go to your Facebook Integration Settings in Retention. Click the edit icon next to API Details, and then click Update Credentials. That will take you to your Facebook account to give the app access again. Once you complete those steps, it will be updated in Retention.

2. Error
Error validating access token: User {user-id} has not authorized application {your-app-id}.

Solution
When someone revokes authorization or has never authorized your app, you will see this error response. You must be receive the proper authorization within Facebook.

3. Error
Message: You cannot access the app till you log in to www.facebook.com and follow the instructions given.

Solution
Go to your Facebook Integration Settings in Retention. Click the edit icon next to API Details, and then click Update Credentials. That will take you to your Facebook account to give the app access again. Once you complete those steps, it will be updated in Retention.

4. Error
Message: The current user can not update audience

Solution
The Facebook Business Account must be able to create and access Custom Audiences for the Ad Account ID to work with the integration. You can view this by going to Audiences > Create a Custom Audience.

If the personal Facebook account that's linked to the Business Account has been hacked, you will receive this error message.

Note: The Facebook account being used for the integration must also belong to someone located in the United States.

Enable the integration

Once you've resolved the error in Facebook, go to Integrations > Integration Settings in Retention.com to Enable the Facebook integration and Contact Sync.

If you try to enable the integration and the issue still remains, it will disable again and show a red error message in top right corner.

Have questions? Message us from your account, or email support[at]retention.com!