When you connect your Instagram account to {{brand.name}}, incoming DMs gather in one inbox, your automations start running, and everyone who writes is added to your contact list. This guide walks you through the connection step by step, covering both paths and every item on the permission screen.
⚠️ Prerequisites: Your Instagram account must be a business or creator account, you must be an owner or admin in the portfolio, and the portfolio's account allowance must have a free slot. If you choose the Facebook path, you also need to manage the Facebook Page the account is linked to.
In this article you will find:
Which path to choose
Connecting with Instagram
Connecting with Facebook
What the permission screen asks for
What to do once the connection is live
Messages you may see on return
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Which path to choose
Both paths fill the same inbox:
Connect with Instagram — no Facebook Page, one account per sign-in, and the access token renews itself. For most businesses this is the right choice.
Connect with Facebook — connects the account through its Facebook Page, lets you pick several accounts in one sign-in, but you have to renew the permission by hand.
To decide in detail, see Choosing a connection path. If you're unsure, start with the Instagram path; you can change it later.
Connecting with Instagram
Open the Instagram app on your phone and confirm your account is a professional account (business or creator).
In {{brand.name}}, use the account switcher at the top left to select the portfolio you want to add the account to.
Click Connect account.
Click the button on the Connect with Instagram card.
On the Instagram screen that opens, sign in with the account you want to connect. If another Instagram account is signed in on this browser, sign out first, otherwise the wrong account gets connected.
Read the permission list and approve it without switching anything off.
Wait to be returned to the panel. This can take a few seconds; don't close the page.
When the account opens, the panel switches straight to its inbox. Your account is now connected.
💡 A connection session is valid for 15 minutes. If you linger on the permission screen and it expires, the panel says "The connection session is invalid or expired"; press the button again and start over.
Connecting with Facebook
Confirm that the Instagram account is linked to a Facebook Page and that you manage that Page.
In {{brand.name}}, select the portfolio and click Connect account.
Click the button on the Connect with Facebook card.
On Facebook's business login screen, pick the Meta business portfolio your Instagram account belongs to.
Tick the Pages you want to connect. If you are connecting several accounts, tick every one of their Pages.
Tick the Instagram accounts to connect.
Approve the permission list without switching anything off.
Back in the panel, the Choose accounts to connect screen opens. There you decide which accounts join this portfolio; details in Choosing several Instagram accounts.
Click Connect selected. If you picked one account, the panel switches to it; if you picked several, it goes to Portfolio settings › Accounts and states how many were connected.
⚠️ Note: The selection screen is valid for 15 minutes. If it expires it says "The selection expired or is invalid" and you start over with the Connect again link; no account is ever half connected.
Messaging permissions — to receive and answer DMs and to see quick replies and button taps.
Comment permissions — to see comments, reply to them and send private replies.
Insights permission — to read account and post insights.
Publishing permission — to publish and schedule posts from the panel.
Basic profile permission — to read the account's name, username and profile picture.
Page permissions (Facebook path only) — to list the Page and subscribe to its message notifications.
⚠️ If you switch a permission off, that feature doesn't work and doesn't show up as an error in the panel; it simply stays empty. Grant every permission.
What to do once the connection is live
Three things are worth doing right after connecting:
Check the connection status. On Account settings › Connection, the card should read Active.
Send a test message. Write a DM to your account from another phone and watch it land in the inbox.
Build your first automation. The simplest is a keyword trigger: send the price list to anyone who writes "price".
If the test message doesn't arrive, don't panic; the most common cause is Meta's approval status. Work through the checks in When a connection breaks in order.
Messages you may see on return
Message
What it means and how to fix it
Permission was not granted
You cancelled on the permission screen. Press the button again and grant the permissions.
The connection session is invalid or expired
The 15 minutes ran out. Start over.
No Instagram business account was found on the selected Pages
The Page has no Instagram account linked, or the account isn't professional.
This account is connected somewhere else
The same Instagram account is connected in another portfolio.
This portfolio has reached the plan's account limit
No room for a new account. Upgrade the plan or delete an account.
You signed in with a different account
While reconnecting an existing account you signed in with a different Instagram account.
The account could not be connected
Meta returned something unexpected. Try again.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Trying with a personal account. Personal Instagram accounts have no messaging interface. Switch to a professional account in the Instagram app and try again.
Another Instagram session open in the browser. The permission screen suggests that account and the wrong one gets connected. Sign out first or use a private window.
Not ticking the Page on the Facebook path. Without the Page, no candidate appears on return and you get the "no Instagram business account was found" message.
Switching one permission off. You'll come back later with "insights are empty" or "the post wasn't published". Reconnect the account and grant everything.
Closing the screen the instant the connection succeeds. The profile picture and name sync in the background; refresh the page after a few minutes and they settle.
Trying to connect the same account to two portfolios. An Instagram account is connected in one place only.