DocumentationCommerceMerchandising and Promotions

Social media and RSS feeds

Last update: Mon Jul 24 2023 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

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Many merchants use social media and other digital tools to build brand and product awareness. You can integrate your store with your social networks by installing a Marketplace extension or adding a plugin to your content pages. Use RSS feeds to publish your product information to shopping aggregation sites, and even include them in your newsletters. Customers can subscribe to your RSS feeds to learn about new products and promotions.

Social networks

Your store can be connected to social networks by installing a Marketplace extension. In addition, you can easily add social plugins such as the Like button to CMS blocks that can be incorporated into pages throughout your store.

Social networking sites have a numerous plugins that can easily be added to your store. In addition, there are many extensions on the Commerce Marketplace that can be used to integrate your store with social media. The following example shows how to add a Facebook Like button to your store.

NOTE
Adobe Commerce has removed the native Magento Social Facebook integration and no longer supports the extension. Go to the Commerce Marketplace to locate alternative extensions for Facebook integration.

Step 1. Get the button code

  1. On the Meta developers website, go to the button setup page.

  2. For URL to Like, enter the URL of the page in your store that you want people to Like.

    For example, you might enter the URL of your store’s home page.

  3. Choose the Layout for the button.

  4. Enter the Width in pixels that is available on your site for the button and any associated text message.

  5. Set Action Type to one of the following:

    • Like
    • Recommend

  6. Click Get Code to copy the generated code to the clipboard.

Step 2. Create a content block

  1. Return to your store Admin.

  2. On the Admin sidebar, go to Content > Elements > Blocks.

  3. In the upper-right corner, click Add New Block.

  4. Enter a descriptive Block Title for internal reference.

    For example: Facebook Like Button.

  5. Assign a unique Identifier to the block, using all lowercase characters, and underscores instead of spaces.

    For example: facebook_like_button.

  6. If your Commerce instance has multiple store views, choose each Store View where the block is to be available.

  7. Add the code snippet to the block content, depending on your content tool:

    • When using Page Builder, add an HTML Code block to the stage and paste the snippet of code that you copied from the Facebook site. Otherwise, paste the snippet of code into the Content box.

    • With the editor, paste the snippet of code that you copied from the Facebook site into the Content box.

  8. If the block is not ready to go live, set Enable Block to No.

  9. When complete, click Save Block.

Step 3. Place the block

  1. Add the block, depending on your content tool:

    • When using Page Builder, follow the instructions to add the block to the stage.

    • On the Admin sidebar, go to Content > Elements > Widgets.

  2. In the upper-right corner, click Add Widget and do the following:

    • B2B for Adobe Commerce (Available with B2B for Adobe Commerce only) In the Settings section, set Type to CMS Static Block and click Continue.

    • Verify that Design Theme is set to the current theme.

    • Click Continue.

  3. In the Storefront Properties section, do the following:

    • For Widget Title, enter a title for internal reference.

    • Set Assign to Store Views to All Store Views, or to the view where you want the app to be available. To select multiple views, hold down the Ctrl key (PC) or the Command key (Mac) and click each option.

    • Enter a number in the Sort Order field to determine the order of the block if it assigned to appear in the same location on the page as other content elements. The top position is zero.

  4. In the Layout Updates section, click Add Layout Update and set Display On to the category, product, or page where you want the block to appear.

    For example, if you choose All Pages and position the block in either the header or footer, the block appears in the same place on every page of the store.

    To place the block on a specific page, do the following:

    • Set Display On to Specified Page and select the Page where you want the block to appear.

    • Choose the Block Reference to identify the place on the page where the block is to be placed.

    • Accept the default setting for Template, which is set to CMS Static Block Default Template.

    • Click Save and Continue Edit.

  5. In the panel on the left, choose Widget Options.

  6. Click Select Block… and choose the block that you want to place.

  7. When complete, click Save.

  8. When prompted, follow the instructions at the top of the workspace to update the index and page cache.

    The widget now appears in the Widgets list.

Step 4. Verify the location in the store

Return to your storefront to verify that the block is in the correct location. To move the block, you can reopen the widget try a different page or block reference.

RSS feeds

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is an XML-based data format that is used to distribute information online. Your customers can subscribe to your RSS feeds to learn about new products and promotions. RSS feeds can also be used to publish your product information to shopping aggregation sites, and can be included in newsletters.

When RSS feeds are enabled, any additions to products, specials, categories, and coupons are automatically sent to the subscribers of each feed. A link to all RSS feeds that you publish is in the footer of your store.

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RSS feed icon

The software that is required to read an RSS feed is called a feed reader, and allows people to subscribe to headlines, blogs, podcasts, and much more. Google Reader is one of the many feed readers that are available online for free.

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Example storefront - RSS feed

Benefits of setting up an RSS feed

  • Download the latest update from your store or blog
  • Light ads
  • Ordinary shares
  • Boost SEO
  • Increase sales

Types of RSS feeds

RSS Feed
Description
Wish List
When enabled, an RSS feed link appears at the top of customer wish list pages. Also, the wish list sharing page includes a checkbox that lets you include a link to the feed from shared wish lists.
New Products
Publishes notification of new products added to the catalog.
Special Products
Publishes notification of any products with special pricing.
Coupons / Discounts
Publishes notification of any special coupons or discounts that are available in the store.
Top Level Category
Publishes notification of any change to the top-level category structure of your catalog, which is reflected in the main menu.
Customer Order Status
Gives customers the ability to track their order status by RSS feed. When enabled, an RSS feed link appears on the order.

Set up RSS feeds for your store

  1. On the Admin sidebar, go to Stores > Settings > Configuration.

  2. In the upper-right corner, set Store View to the views where the feeds are to be available.

    If you are prompted to confirm, click OK.

  3. In the left panel, expand Catalog and choose RSS Feeds.

  4. Expand Expansion selector the Rss Config section and set Enable RSS to Enable.

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    Catalog configuration - RSS feeds

    If necessary, clear the Use Default checkbox to change the default value.

  5. Expand Expansion selector the Wish List section and set Enable RSS to Enable.

  6. Expand Expansion selector the Catalog section and set other feeds to Enable as needed.

    • New Products
    • Special Products
    • Coupons/Discounts
    • Top Level Category
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    Catalog - RSS feeds settings

  7. Expand Expansion selector the Order section and set Customer Order Status Notification to Enable.

  8. When complete, click Save Config.

  9. See result on the storefront with /rss at the end of the page URL.

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