WP Automatic can create WordPress posts from a Facebook page, group, or profile, but “import the full post” is not one switch with a guaranteed result. The outcome depends on the campaign type, the content token used in the post template, Facebook access, the type of source post, and whether the source actually exposes the full message and media.
A reliable configuration starts with one test campaign that saves drafts. Confirm the exact text and media returned by the plugin before enabling a schedule. This also prevents an incorrect template from producing dozens of empty, truncated, or duplicate posts.
First Decide Whether You Should Import the Content
Import only material you own or have permission to republish. A public Facebook post is visible to the public, but that does not automatically grant permission to reproduce its complete text, photographs, or video on another website.
There is also a platform-access issue. The current Meta Terms of Service prohibit automated collection without prior permission. Meta’s separate Automated Data Collection Terms say that accepting those terms alone is not permission; express written authorization is required unless the access is otherwise explicitly authorized.
WP Automatic’s vendor documentation describes a Facebook configuration based on logged-in browser cookie values. Those values represent account access and must be treated as credentials. Before using that method, verify that the intended access and reuse are permitted by Meta, the content owner, and applicable privacy and copyright rules. For a business’s own Page, an approved API-based workflow or a source feed controlled by the business is preferable to scraping with a personal session.
Build a Draft-Only Facebook Campaign
Create a dedicated campaign for one source rather than mixing several pages or groups. During setup:
- Select the Facebook campaign type.
- Add only a source you control and can test consistently.
- Limit the first run to one or two posts.
- Set the generated WordPress status to Draft or Pending Review.
- Disable automatic translation, spinning, AI expansion, and title rewriting for the first test.
- Enable the plugin’s duplicate protection.
- Run the campaign manually and inspect its log.
The current WP Automatic product page lists imports from Facebook pages and personal profiles, filters by post type and date, and the ability to skip contentless posts. Those capabilities do not mean every Facebook post format will produce identical output. Shared links, background posts, galleries, native videos, and reshares can expose different fields.
Keep the first test deliberately plain. If the source field is wrong, a decorative template can hide the failure by publishing headings and boilerplate around an empty body.
Use the Content Token Exposed by That Campaign
WP Automatic inserts source data through bracketed template tokens. ValvePress tutorials use [matched_content] as the token that returns the matched or generated body in campaign types where that token is available. The plugin’s available-token list is context-sensitive, so confirm that [matched_content] appears beside the Facebook campaign’s post-template field in the installed version before relying on it.
For the first test, the post template should contain only the verified body token:
[matched_content]
Do not add [original_title], a source link, image tags, or other fields until this one-token test produces the expected message text. If [matched_content] is not offered for the Facebook campaign, use the Facebook message or content token shown by the plugin interface instead of borrowing a token from another campaign type.
After running once, compare four things:
- the complete message displayed on Facebook;
- the raw content shown in the WP Automatic campaign log or preview;
- the WordPress editor’s code view;
- the rendered draft on the front end.
This comparison identifies where truncation occurs. If the log already contains shortened text, changing the WordPress template cannot recover what the source stage did not return. If the log has the complete text but the draft does not, inspect the template, search-and-replace rules, excerpt settings, and content filters.
Add Attribution Without Creating a Thin Duplicate
Once the body import works, add only fields that are useful and verified for that campaign. A practical post can include:
- the source message;
- locally cached media that you are entitled to republish;
- the original publication date;
- a clear link to the original Facebook post;
- an editorial introduction or context written for the WordPress audience.
Do not claim that an imported post is original reporting. If the WordPress page is a complete copy and the Facebook version is the primary source, consider whether it should be indexed at all. A short curated post with commentary can be more useful than a verbatim mirror.
For material owned by the same organization, decide which location should be canonical. Facebook does not give you normal cross-domain canonical control, so the safer SEO decision may be to publish the substantive version on WordPress first and use Facebook as a distribution channel with a summary and link. For historical Facebook-only content, edit and enrich the WordPress version rather than importing hundreds of unchanged posts.
Handle Images and Video Deliberately
Facebook media URLs can expire or change. The vendor’s changelog records changes made specifically to download Facebook images locally when links began expiring. If the campaign offers local media caching, test it with content you are licensed to store and confirm that WordPress creates a real Media Library attachment rather than hotlinking a temporary URL.
Check each test draft for:
- a valid featured image rather than the Facebook profile image or a link-preview logo;
- descriptive ALT text added in WordPress;
- no duplicated copy of the same image in the body and featured-image position;
- playable video or a stable link to the source;
- correct aspect ratio and file size;
- no private names, faces, comments, or location data that should not be republished.
Comments and reactions are separate user-generated data. Do not import them merely because the plugin can retrieve them. They create additional consent, privacy, moderation, and deletion obligations.
Protect the Facebook Session
ValvePress’s Facebook setup guide describes using the c_user and xs browser-cookie values and warns that they should be treated like an account password. If that method is used under an authorized workflow:
- create a dedicated, least-privileged account rather than using a personal administrator account;
- protect the WordPress administrator panel with multi-factor authentication;
- restrict who can edit plugin settings or export the database;
- keep backups and support bundles from exposing session values;
- revoke the Facebook session immediately if WordPress or the plugin is compromised;
- never paste the cookie values into tickets, chat transcripts, screenshots, or article content.
The plugin should be kept on a supported version because Facebook’s markup and access controls change frequently. A campaign that stops importing full text may reflect a platform change, not a WordPress editor problem.
Validate Before Enabling the Schedule
A test campaign is ready for scheduling only when all of these checks pass:
- The draft contains the complete intended message with no template tokens left visible.
- The original link points to the correct post.
- Duplicate protection prevents the same source post from being imported twice.
- The title remains useful when the Facebook message has no clear first line.
- Images are licensed, stable, and stored according to the chosen policy.
- The post contains no private comments, tokens, cookies, tracking parameters, or personal data that was not intended for republication.
- The campaign log records the source identifier and a successful WordPress post ID.
- The WordPress status is still Draft or Pending Review during the observation period.
Then enable a conservative interval and review the first scheduled results. Keep a kill switch: disabling one campaign should stop imports without taking down WordPress cron or unrelated scheduled jobs.
A Better Default Than Blind Full-Text Copying
For a Page you control, the strongest publishing flow is usually WordPress first, followed by a shorter Facebook post that links back to the canonical article. When older Facebook content genuinely belongs on the website, import it into drafts, verify the source token, add context, and publish selectively.
WP Automatic can move data between the two systems, but it cannot decide whether the content is complete, licensed, useful, private, or worth indexing. Those remain editorial decisions, and the draft-first test is what keeps a convenient automation from becoming a large cleanup project.
