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How to configure the Involv Social Feed?

Set up the Involv Social Feed using Microsoft 365 Groups, configure communities, and publish the Social Feed web part on your intranet.

1. Overview

The Involv Social Feed is built on Microsoft 365 Groups (previously called Unified Groups). Each community in the Social Feed is linked to a Microsoft 365 Group and its connected SharePoint site. Group privacy (public vs private) determines who can discover and join communities.

This article explains how to create the required group-backed SharePoint site, configure community visibility through the Social Feed Manager, and set up the Social Feed web part for end users.

2. What you’ll learn

  • How Microsoft 365 Groups power Social Feed communities

  • How to create the required Team site (group container)

  • How to configure communities in the Social Feed Manager

  • How to configure the Social Feed web part settings

  • What users can do in the Social Feed (posts, comments, moderation)

3. Watch interactive tutorial

4. Prerequisites and concepts

Email addresses are required

The Social Feed uses Microsoft 365 user accounts, which require email addresses.

Microsoft 365 Group features

You can view Microsoft 365 Groups in Outlook under Groups. Each group includes:

  • Email

  • Files

  • Events

  • Members

SharePoint site and privacy

Creating a Microsoft 365 Group also creates a SharePoint site. Groups can be:

  • Public: everyone can join

  • Private: users must request access / be approved

This is baseline Microsoft 365 functionality and directly impacts Social Feed visibility.

5. Step 1 – Create the community container site in SharePoint

  1. Go to SharePoint

  2. Select Create site

  1. Choose Team site

Fill in:

  • Site name

  • Description

  • Privacy settings: Public or Private

  • Decide whether users can join freely or must request permission

  • Language (example: English)

  • Optionally Add members

Important:

  • This site is mainly used as a container for the community

  • The group must be provisioned (this may take a few minutes)

6. Step 2 – Add the required Involv apps

On your intranet, add:

  • Involv Social Feed Manager

  • Involv Social Feed

Start with Involv Social Feed Manager.

7. Step 3 – Configure communities in Social Feed Manager

The Social Feed Manager is empty by default.

Manage Community Sites

Use this section to manage overarching communication contexts.

  1. Add a custom title for the community

  2. Select the Group ID by selecting the previously created Team site / group

  3. Add the URL of the site (mainly used as a redirect; not functionally critical)

Result:

  • The community appears in the community overview

  • Users can see the community title and whether they are a member

  • Users can join or go to community depending on permissions

Tip

For a first-time setup of social feed communities and permissions, it is recommended to involve an Involv consultant.

Result: example of a private & a public site you created

 

Extra side note – membership requests and ownership

When a Microsoft 365 Group is configured as Private, users must request access to join the community.

How membership requests work

  • Membership requests are automatically sent by email

  • The email is sent to the owner(s) of the Microsoft 365 Group / SharePoint site

  • Owners can approve or reject requests directly from this notification

8. Step 4 – Add and configure the Involv Social Feed web part

  1. Add a new web part: Involv Social Feed

  1. Open the web part configuration

  2. Add the items in Manage community Sites 

Infinite scroll

  • Enabled: continuous scrolling inside the feed area

  • Disabled: shows a More button

  • Recommended: enable infinite scroll with a fixed height (example: 400px) to keep pages structured

Tag behavior

  • Filter: clicking a tag filters the feed to that community

  • Link: clicking a tag navigates to the community site
    Filter is most commonly used.

Max file size

Set the maximum size for uploads.

Polling interval (milliseconds)

  • Default: 60000

  • Determines how frequently the feed refreshes

Community visibility

Select which community sites should be shown in this feed (must be added here to appear).

Default community

The root community where posts are created by default.

9. What users can do in the Social Feed

Users can:

  • Post a general message or ask a question

  • Upload photos

  • Like and comment on posts

  • Edit or delete their own posts

If users do not have rights on a post (e.g., someone else’s post), they cannot modify it, but they can flag it.

10. Key takeaways

  • Social Feed communities are based on Microsoft 365 Groups

  • Group privacy (public/private) determines discovery and access

  • The Team site is mainly a container for the community

  • Configure communities first in Social Feed Manager, then configure the Social Feed web part

  • Visibility requires adding communities to the web part configuration

Extra side note – securing the container site

When a Microsoft 365 Group and its connected SharePoint site are created, everyone has access to the container site by default, depending on the group’s privacy settings. Even though this site is not meant to be actively used by end users, members of the community can still see and interact with its controls.

To prevent this, it is a best practice to add the app InvolvSocialFeedControls to the container site.

Why use InvolvSocialFeedControls on the container site

  • Removes the visibility of standard SharePoint controls on the site

  • Prevents community members from changing or adding items

  • Ensures the site remains a technical container only

  • Reduces the risk of unintended configuration changes

This approach keeps the community experience fully focused on the Involv Social Feed while protecting the underlying SharePoint site from user modifications.

If you want to learn how to use the social feed ( post, comment, like) Visit the article for Involv users

Involv version

Involv version 5.2