Before you connect your accounts
Each social network has different access requirements. The person completing the connection must have the appropriate permissions for the accounts and features your team uses.
Before starting, confirm that:
The right person is connecting: They have the required access to the Page, profile, channel, or ad account.
Two-factor authentication is available: They can complete any security checks during authorization.
The correct account is signed in: Browsers may automatically select an existing login.
BrandBastion access is enabled: You can access My Account > Assets and see Add Assets or Reconnect when applicable.
Important: Social network access, BrandBastion authorization, and user permissions within BrandBastion are separate. Connecting an account does not automatically grant team members permission to reply, moderate, or publish.
Access requirements by social network
Use the requirements below to identify who should authorize each connection and what permissions are needed.
Recommended Setup:
Have an administrator with Full Control of your company's Meta Business Account grant BrandBastion access to the required assets.
Asset | Required access |
Facebook Pages | Partial access with Content, Messages, Community activity, Ads, and Insights |
Ad accounts | Manage campaigns and View performance |
Paid comment coverage | Access to both the ad account and the Facebook Page associated with its ads |
Alternative: Direct authorization
Connect through BrandBastion using a Facebook profile with permission to moderate Page messages and comments. Older Facebook Page setups may refer to this as the Moderator role.
For broader coverage, including comments, messages, publishing, and reporting, we recommend the following Page task permissions: Content, Community activity, Messages, Ads, and Insights.
Verify your access: In Meta Business Suite, ask an administrator to open Settings > People and review your assigned Pages and ad accounts.
Being added to a Meta Business Account does not automatically grant access to all its assets.
Instagram connections depend on the account's relationship with Facebook.
Requirements:
An Instagram Business account linked to the correct Facebook Page.
Access to both the Instagram account and its linked Facebook Page.
The same connection method for both accounts: Meta partner access or direct authorization.
Access to the relevant ad account when covering Instagram ads.
Approval of the requested comment and messaging permissions.
Publishing - Additional authorization is required when using BrandBastion to publish content.
🚨 Verify your access: Open the Facebook Page's settings and check Linked accounts. Have your Meta administrator confirm that the connecting person has access to both assets.
Verify your access: Open the Facebook Page's settings and check Linked accounts. Have your Meta administrator confirm that the connecting person has access to both assets.
YouTube
Ask the channel owner to connect using the Google account associated with the company's YouTube channel.
Connection type | Recommended access |
YouTube channel | Channel owner or owner-level access for a Brand Account |
Google Ads coverage | Standard access to the linked Google Ads account |
During authorization, select the intended company channel, particularly when the Google login manages multiple channels.
🚨 Important: YouTube Studio channel permissions and API authorization are different. An Editor invitation in YouTube Studio alone should not be relied on to authorize the connection.
X (formerly Twitter)
Organic account: Use someone who can sign into the brand's X account and complete two-factor authentication.
Paid coverage: The connecting person needs Campaign analyst access to the X ad account.
Delegated account access alone should not be assumed sufficient to authorize the connection.
TikTok
TikTok organic, paid, and Shop coverage have separate connection requirements.
Account type | Required setup |
Organic profile | Recommended: TikTok Business account, authorized by someone who can sign into the profile |
TikTok ad account | Operator access, with requested ad-management, reporting, and comment permissions |
TikTok Shop | Separate TikTok Shop integration, activated through your CSM |
For TikTok Shop, contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM) to activate the integration before selecting TikTok Shop under Add Assets.
🚨 Important: Connecting a TikTok ad account does not automatically connect the organic profile or TikTok Shop.
Threads
Threads requires its own connection, even when Instagram is already connected.
Sign into the intended Threads profile using its associated Instagram credentials.
Confirm that the correct profile appears during authorization.
Approve the requested permissions.
Have a LinkedIn company Page administrator authorize the connection through their LinkedIn profile.
During authorization:
Select the correct company Page.
Approve the requested organization permissions.
Personal LinkedIn profile access alone is not sufficient to connect a company Page.
Understand the permissions you're approving
Social networks request different permission types based on the features BrandBastion needs to access.
Permission category | What it enables |
Account and profile information | Identifies the login and accessible company accounts |
Comments and engagement | Retrieves conversations and enables supported moderation and reply actions |
Messaging | Supports private-message coverage |
Publishing | Enables publishing through BrandBastion |
Ads and insights | Supports paid-content coverage and reporting |
Approve the permissions required for your intended setup.
🚨 Important: Removing a requested permission can prevent features from working, even when the account appears connected. Confirm the impact before changing an active connection.
If your organization cannot approve a permission, contact BrandBastion Support to confirm the impact before completing setup.
Connect your accounts in BrandBastion
Alternatively, you can add your assets directly through Brandbastion.
Log into your Brandbastion account.
Go to My Account > Assets and select Add Assets.
Choose the social network and account type.
Sign into the correct account and complete any two-factor authentication.
Approve the requested permissions and select the accounts you want covered.
Return to Assets and confirm the accounts appear.
Using Meta partner access? Follow the separate Meta partner setup instructions. After access is granted, contact BrandBastion Support to activate coverage.
Troubleshoot missing accounts during connection
If an account is not available during authorization, use the checks below to isolate the issue.
Issue | What to check |
Wrong account appears | Verify the signed-in profile. Retry in a private browser window if necessary. |
Page or ad account is missing | Ask the network administrator to verify access to that specific asset. |
Instagram account is missing | Confirm it is a Business account linked to the correct Facebook Page, with access to both. |
Account was omitted during approval | Review the account selections and include the intended assets without removing existing access. |
YouTube channel is missing | Check the selected Google login and company channel. Studio delegated access alone may not be sufficient. |
Agency and creator-managed accounts
When agencies manage advertising and brand teams control the organic profiles, both parties may need to grant access.
For Meta partnership ads, the creator account may also need to be connected. Ad-account access alone does not guarantee coverage.
Reconnect expired or disconnected accounts
Connections can expire or stop working after changes to account permissions, security settings, or authorization.
In My Account > Assets, connection warnings indicate:
Red = The account connection has expired and requires reconnection.
Yellow = The connection is approaching expiration and should be renewed.
Restore the connection of expired or disconnected accounts
Open My Account > Assets.
Find the affected account and select Reconnect.
Sign in using an account with the required network permissions.
Complete the authorization prompts.
Return to Assets and verify that the warning has cleared.
Confirm monitoring is active.
For Meta partner access, have your Meta administrator confirm that BrandBastion still has access to the relevant Page, Instagram account, and ad account.
If the original connecting person has left your organization, ask a current account administrator to help restore access. Contact Support to confirm whether that administrator can renew the existing connection or whether a different recovery process is required.
Verify monitoring is active
A connected account is not necessarily an actively monitored account. Monitoring must be enabled for the services included in your BrandBastion coverage.
To verify:
Open My Account > Assets.
Find the relevant account.
Open the three-dot menu and select Edit.
Confirm monitoring is enabled for the agreed coverage.
Save any changes.
If monitoring is enabled but conversations are missing, review the network permissions and supported conversation types.
What happens when an account disconnects?
When an account loses authorization:
Previously collected data remains available in BrandBastion.
Monitoring and moderation stop for the affected account until access is restored.
Missed conversations may not be fully recoverable, depending on the network and conversation type.
Restore disconnected accounts promptly to minimize coverage gaps.
Recommended operational practices
Use these practices to maintain account coverage across teams:
Assign clear ownership: Know who manages network permissions and who can authorize connections.
Coordinate across teams: Involve brand, paid media, agency, and creator teams when they control different assets.
Review account access during personnel changes: Confirm that the current account administrators can support reconnections.
Act on expiration warnings: Renew expiring authorizations before they disrupt coverage.
Verify monitoring after every change: Confirm that the intended services remain active.
The goal is to maintain continuous coverage, not simply keep accounts listed as connected.