When connecting an Instagram or Facebook account, you or your clients may encounter the occasional issue. While Facebook & Instagram's APIs are notoriously finicky, there are a few steps you can take to troubleshoot these issues:
- 1. Add your user in Facebook Business Manager
- 2. Check your Facebook page roles
- 3. Connect your Instagram and Facebook accounts
- 4. Review your Instagram connection on Facebook
- 5. Update your permissions
- 6. Switch to a personal account (and back again)
1. Add your user in Facebook Business Manager
The most common cause of Facebook and Instagram posting issues are caused by user permissions. The first step to fixing this is to ensure your user has the correct permissions in Facebook Business Manager.
If you do not use Facebook Business Manager, you can skip this step.
- Ask a different admin for your page to open business.facebook.com/settings
- Select the page you're having issues with
- Under Users > People, click Add
- Have the admin enter your email address. This will need to be the same email you use to access Facebook.
- Switch Admin access to the on position
- Follow Facebook's instructions to complete the process
Once done, log out of Instagram on your device and log in again. Continue to the next step.
2. Check your Facebook page roles
In order to post, you'll need to ensure you have Admin access to the Facebook Page that is linked to your Instagram account.
- On Facebook, go to the Facebook Page that is connected to your Instagram account
- Click Settings
- Click Page Roles
- Scroll down to the Existing Page Roles section and look for your username. If you cannot find it, or if you are unable to access this page, you'll need to reach out to have another admin grant you an admin role.
If you are not listed, another admin can do the following:
- Access the Page Roles page
- Under Assign a New Page Role, enter the name or email address of the user that is to be made an admin
- Select their user from the suggestions provided by Facebook
- The user must have a Facebook account to appear
- Select Admin from the dropdown
- Click Add
3. Connect your Instagram and Facebook accounts
It's important to ensure that your Instagram Business Profile is fully linked to a Facebook Page. Please note that this step will need to be completed on your mobile device.
- On your mobile device, open the Instagram app.
- Tap
or your profile picture in the bottom right - Tap
, then tap Settings - Tap Account
- Tap Sharing to Other Apps
- Tap Facebook, then log in with your Facebook credentials
- Tap Continue, then tap Yes, Finish Setup
4. Review your Instagram connection on Facebook
When Instagram is first connected to a Facebook page, Facebook may require you to review the connection before other third-party applications can be used.
- From the business page on Facebook, click Settings
- Click Instagram
- Look for the Review Account Connection notice
- If it appears, click Review Connection
- If it doesn't, proceed to Update your permissions
- Follow Facebook's instructions
5. Update your permissions
If none of the above options work, there's a good chance that Social Marketing does not have the appropriate permissions to post.
This may happen if not all permissions were initially granted, or if either Facebook or Instagram update their security policies.
- Go to Facebook > ▼ > Settings & Privacy > Settings
- Click Business Integrations
- Click Social Reputation
- Ensure all sections are turned on
- Within each section, ensure the Instagram account and Facebook page have been given access
- If you see an unchecked box next to the account or page in any section, check that box
- If all pages or accounts in a section have permission, you will not see a list of accounts or pages, nor will you see checkboxes
- Click Save
6. Switch to a personal account (and back again)
Sometimes, switching to a personal account from a business account on Instagram will fix the issue. This will turn off in-app insights for Instagram, and any existing insights on your posts or promotions will be lost.
Switch to a personal account
- Open the Instagram app on your mobile device
- Tap or your profile picture in the bottom right
- Go to > Settings > Account
- Tap Switch Account Type
- Under Account, tap Switch to Personal Account.
- Tap Switch to Personal Account to confirm
Afterward, repeat section 4, then proceed to the next step.
Switch back to a professional account
Provided you have just followed the previous steps, you should be on the Settings page on Instagram on your mobile device. If you aren't, follow steps 1-3 from the previous section again.
- Tap Account
- Tap Switch to Professional Account
- Follow Instagram's instructions
Hopefully, these troubleshooting steps were able to resolve any issues you ran into when trying to connect or post to Instagram. If you are still having trouble, please reach out to our Support team at support@vendasta.com.