Refreshing Your Instagram connection through Facebook

Some enhanced features on Buffer require Instagram to be refreshed through your Facebook account, rather than through your Instagram login credentials.
To do this, you'll need to take a few additional steps, including linking your Instagram to a Facebook Page and authorizing Facebook within the Buffer dashboard. This article will walk you through the requirements and the process to get you set up.

Requirements

Here are the core requirements that need to be in place for you to convert your Professional Instagram account to access more features in Buffer:

✅ Instagram needs to already be connected to Buffer. If it's not, follow these steps instead.

✅ Instagram needs to be a Business or Creator Instagram account.

✅ Instagram needs to be linked to its own Facebook Page (not profile).

✅ An Admin with “full control” needs to connect the Instagram account to Buffer.

✅ All permissions for all Pages and Instagram accounts need to be selected (even for those you are not connecting to your Buffer account).

Steps

1. Make sure your Instagram account is already connected to Buffer. If it's not, you don't need this guide. Instead, you can connect through Facebook with these steps.

2. On your computer web browser, log in to Facebook.com.

3. Open your Facebook Page. If you don't have one, you can create one easily with these steps.

   • Click your avatar in the top right-hand corner then click “See all profiles” to choose your Page.

     

   • If you don’t see your Page, please see this guide to see if you have a Page or profile: Differences between Facebook Pages and profiles.

4. While on your Page, click here to view your linked accounts and click the Connect Account button.

   • If your Instagram account is a Personal account, you’ll need to follow the prompts to convert it to a Business account. Otherwise, you are all set.

5. Now come back to Buffer and head to the Channels page.

6. Click the three dots on the right of the Instagram channel and select Link Account to Facebook to complete the process.

   

:::info Note: If you choose to convert an Instagram Personal account to a Professional account, we will retain your scheduled and sent posts within Buffer. However, you will not see any data associated with your sent posts that were published while you were on a Personal account. :::

Troubleshooting

If you run into any issues, you can solve most problems by checking these areas:

1. Checking the link between Facebook and Instagram

Instagram needs to be linked to its own Facebook Page (not a personal account). Please check on Facebook to make sure your Instagram account is properly linked to a Facebook Page using these steps. Note: This is not the same as linking it in your Meta Account Center.

1. On your computer web browser, log in to Facebook.com.

2. Click your avatar in the top right-hand corner then click “See all profiles” to choose your Page.

   

3. Click on the Page you want to work with. If you don’t see your Page, please see this guide: Differences between Facebook Pages and profiles.

4. Now go to this screen to see if Instagram is linked to the Page. Here’s an example of how it should look if it is successfully connected:

   

   • If you see any errors about admin access, please see the next section: “Checking your admin settings”
   • If you see any other alert, such as “Review Connection”, please read and follow the prompts.

5. If your Instagram is not linked click Connect account to link your Instagram to your Facebook Page (this will convert it to a Professional account if it is a Personal account).

   

2. Checking your admin settings

You need to be set up as an Admin of the Facebook Page your Instagram account is linked to and you need Full Control. Please head to this section of our Facebook Admin guide to walk through those steps.

3. Reauthorizing the connection between Facebook and Buffer

Sometimes the authorization access token between Buffer and Facebook needs to be renewed if you have not chosen the right permissions during the connection process or you have connected a Facebook or Instagram account in the past. If everything else looks to be in place, reauthorize Buffer with the steps in this section of the Facebook guide.

:::info Still having trouble? Reach out to us at hello@buffer.com and let us know the error you see and we’ll be happy to troubleshoot with you! :::