When you create a widget in EmbedSocial, your content is pulled from different sources, depending on where your original content is published.
A source in EmbedSocial is the social media account or review platform we pull the posts, reviews, or mentions from. Every post, review, and mention in your account arrives through a source, and your plan is priced by how many you connect.
These sources let you automatically sync and display content on your website, keeping your widgets fresh and up to date without manual work.
Sources live under 'Sources' in the left menu. Connect one there, and EmbedSocial starts pulling its content into your account automatically.
How sources are counted
Each connected account, location, or hashtag counts as one source:
- 1 Google location = 1 source
- 1 Facebook page = 1 source
- 1 Instagram account = 1 source
- 1 Instagram hashtag = 1 source
- 1 LinkedIn page = 1 source
One source can watch more than one thing where the platform allows it. A single Instagram hashtag source accepts several comma-separated hashtags, so a campaign running under three tags still counts as one source.
You may still see the word feed in older material. A feed and a widget are the same thing: the content you shape from your sources and embed on your website. The app calls it a widget, and so do these docs.
What happens when you connect a source
When you connect a source, EmbedSocial begins pulling content from that specific platform. Depending on the widget type (for example Feed, Reviews, Stories), you'll see posts, reviews, or stories appear in your EmbedSocial dashboard and widgets.
From then on the source keeps syncing on its own. You never re-embed the widget on your website: new content flows into the same embed code. See Auto-sync for how often that happens.
Sources you can connect
Here's the list of the sources you can add inside EmbedSocial to collect and display content automatically on your website:
- Threads
- TikTok
- Twitter (X)
- YouTube
- RSS
- Vimeo
- Yelp
- Trustpilot
- Custom forms
- Custom sources
'Custom' covers content that does not come from a social platform, and 'Request source' asks our team for a platform we do not integrate with yet.
What each source pulls, and the plan it needs
The pricing page is the source of truth for every plan limit and availability on this page.
| Source | What it pulls | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews on your Google Business Profile | Free and up | |
| GMB posts you publish to the profile | Pro and up | |
| Page posts | Free and up | |
| Stories, and posts added via URL | Pro and up | |
| Hashtags, mentions | Pro Plus and up | |
| Threads | Posts from a specific account | Free and up |
| Threads | Mentions, keyword-based posts | Pro Plus and up |
| TikTok | Accounts, and specific videos added by URL | Free and up |
| Reviews, page posts, mentions, visitor posts | Pro and up | |
| YouTube | A channel or a playlist | Pro and up |
| YouTube | Videos with a specific hashtag | Pro Plus and up |
| RSS | Any blog, news site, or platform with an RSS link | Pro and up |
| Content from a Pinterest account | Pro and up | |
| Vimeo | A Vimeo user or a channel | Pro and up |
| Yelp | 3 random reviews from a business page | Pro and up |
| Page posts | Pro Plus and up | |
| Twitter (X) | Accounts, hashtags, mentions, keywords | Premium and up |
| Trustpilot | Reviews from your Trustpilot profile | Premium and up |
On the Free plan you can pull up to 500 Google reviews per month and display widgets with up to 500 monthly widget views. On Pro, Pro Plus, Premium, and Enterprise you can pull all of your existing and new reviews in that specific source.
Some sources also publish, not just pull. You can schedule and publish posts to a connected Instagram Business account, a LinkedIn Page, a Threads account, and a Google Business Profile from inside EmbedSocial. See Composer and content calendar.
For the full detail on each platform, see Source types.
Custom forms and custom sources
Two sources do not come from a social platform at all.
Custom forms collect user-generated content such as reviews, testimonials, feedback, or any type of form submission directly from your customers. With our form builder you choose which fields to include (text, ratings, images), then embed the form on your website or share it as a URL. Responses are collected automatically and can be reviewed, moderated, and shown in a widget. Custom sources give you full flexibility to manage and display content that doesn't come from a native social media platform. With custom sources you can:- Create posts manually to showcase announcements, testimonials, or curated content
- Create reviews manually when collecting feedback directly from customers
- Upload reviews via CSV, to import large sets of existing reviews or testimonials in bulk
This is useful when you want full control over the content you display, or when pulling from a platform we don't have an integration with.
Platform limits to know before you connect
Each platform's API decides what we can reach. These limits come from the platforms, not from your plan:
| Source | Limit |
|---|---|
| Only reviews from verified Google Business Profiles can be pulled. Google Posts can only be pulled or published from verified profiles that you manage | |
| Only public Facebook Pages that you manage. Personal profiles and Facebook Groups are not supported | |
| Only Instagram Business accounts. Personal profiles are not supported | |
| Threads | Only public Threads accounts. Private or restricted accounts cannot be connected |
| TikTok | Only public videos and accounts. Private content cannot be displayed |
| Twitter (X) | Only public posts from the last 7 days. Hashtag sources need the Basic Twitter API |
| YouTube | Only public and unlisted videos. Private videos are not supported |
| Only LinkedIn Pages. Personal profiles cannot be connected | |
| Vimeo | Only public videos, not private or unlisted ones |
| Yelp | 3 random reviews per business page. Yelp does not allow access to the full set |
| Trustpilot | Needs access to the official Trustpilot API, which our integration now works through |
Sources per plan
| Plan | Sources | Media per source | Views per month | AI credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 1 | 500 | 500 | 10 |
| Pro | 3 | 1,500 | 5,000 | 100 |
| Pro Plus | 6 | 5,000 | 20,000 | 100 |
| Premium | 15 | 30,000 | 100,000 | 100 |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | 500 |
Widgets are unlimited on every plan, so the source count is what you scale, not the number of widgets you build from them. Media per source is how many items one source can import each month, and views per month is how often your widgets can be loaded on your website across the whole account. Both reset on the first of the month. See Usage and view limits.
Need more sources?
How often each source refreshes
Most sources follow your plan's auto-sync interval. A few set their own pace because of platform limits: Google reviews every 15 minutes, Facebook reviews every 24 hours, YouTube every 24 hours, and Twitter (X) twice per week on Tuesday and Friday.
See Auto-sync for the interval on each plan and what to check when new content has not arrived.
FAQ
What counts as one source?
One connected account, location, or hashtag. 1 Google location = 1 source, 1 Facebook page = 1 source, 1 Instagram account = 1 source, 1 Instagram hashtag = 1 source, 1 LinkedIn page = 1 source.
Does a hashtag count as a source?
Yes. One hashtag source counts the same as one connected account, even when it tracks several hashtags at once.
Which sources can I connect on the Free plan?
Google reviews, an Instagram account, a Threads account, and TikTok. Free gives you 1 source with 500 media, up to 500 monthly widget views, and up to 500 Google reviews per month. Every other source starts on Pro or higher.
How many widgets can I build from one source?
As many as you want. Widgets are unlimited on every plan, and the same source can feed any number of them.
Can I connect a personal Facebook profile or a personal Instagram account?
No. Facebook only exposes public Pages that you manage, and Instagram only allows Business accounts. Personal profiles and Facebook Groups cannot be connected.
What if my platform is not on the list?
Use 'Request source' in the source picker to ask our team for a platform we do not integrate with yet. In the meantime, add the content as a custom source, either manually or by uploading reviews via CSV.
What happens if I disconnect a source?
The slot frees up and you can connect a different account in its place. Content already collected from that source stays in your account.
Is there a limit on how much content one source brings in?
Yes, the media-per-source limit in the table above: 500 items a month on Free, up to 30,000 on Premium. It resets on the first of each month, and content already imported stays in your account. See Usage and view limits.
What's next
See Source types for what each platform can pull in detail, Auto-sync for how often that content refreshes, and Widget types for what you build from a connected source. The pricing page carries the full plan comparison.
If you have any questions, click the bottom right chat icon to talk with our customer success team or send us an email at support@embedsocial.com We're here for you 🙏