Set up a Business Account on Instagram

In this article

After you turn your Instagram personal profile into a Business profile, you’ll have access to direct publishing via Gain. In this article, we'll explain step-by-step how to convert your personal Instagram accounts to Business accounts. 

Important: Instagram's API does not allow third parties to publish automatically to Personal accounts yet. 

Before you get started

Keep in mind that in order for direct publishing to work properly, you must:

  1. Have a Facebook page correctly associated with your Instagram Business Accounts. Both in your Business Settings on your Business Suite (formerly Business Manager), your Page's Settings, and the page must be synced on the Instagram app.

    2. See below:

      • This is what a properly connected Instagram account looks like in Business Suite: 

      • This is what a properly connected Instagram account looks like in your Page's Settings: 
      • This is how a synced page looks like in the Instagram app:  

    For more information, refer to this article on Instagram's Help Center. 


    2. Your Instagram account has to be a business account and not a creator account.  Note: Instagram's API is not yet opened for publishing to Creator accounts. 

    3.  Make sure that your profile is an admin of the Facebook page associated with the Instagram Business account. You can check the pages you manage here. From this section, select the page associated with the Instagram account, click Settings > Page Roles, and confirm you've got the proper permissions. 

    Important: If your page is in the New Pages Experience, click here to view your page access. You must be logged in as the Page. 

    Associating your Instagram Account to a Facebook page

    When you switch to a business account on Instagram, you'll be asked if you'd like to connect to a Facebook Page. Refer to this article on Instagram for more details. 

    1. Click here to access the list of pages you manage. Click on the page that you'll associate with your Instagram account, or create a new page if you don't have one yet. 

    2. Next, click on Settings at the bottom of the left-hand sidebar. 

    3. Select Instagram and then click on the Connect Account button. 

    4. After you click on Connect Account, you'll be redirected to Instagram.com to log in to the account or, if you're already signed into Instagram you'll just need to click Continue as...

    Note: If you're connected to the wrong account, click on Switch accounts, to log in to the right account. 

    5. Finally, follow the on-screen instructions, or if you don't see any instructions be sure Facebook confirms the account is connected. See below:

    Switch to a Professional Account on Instagram

    Log in to the personal account you'd like to switch to Business from the Instagram app and follow the steps below: 

    1. Click on the hamburger icon in the upper right corner of your profile. 

    2. Then, click on Settings.

    3. Click on Account, then Switch to Professional Account.

    4. On the next screen, select Business. Note: Facebook requires that your Instagram account is a business account in order for direct publishing to work.

    5. Confirm that your Facebook Page is connected to Instagram or if you haven't already connected one, follow the steps to sync your Instagram Account to your Facebook Page. 

    Note: If you don't have a Facebook Page associated with your Instagram Business Account, you will not be able to set up direct publishing on Gain. 

    That's it, it's super easy! 

    Are you still having issues converting your Instagram Accounts to Business or publishing? Contact us or check out this troubleshooting article. 

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