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Troubleshooting Facebook and Instagram connection errors

Troubleshooting Facebook and Instagram connection errors

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 to Facebook Business Manager

The most common cause of Facebook and Instagram posting issues is 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.

  1. Ask a different admin for your page to open business.facebook.com on a computer.
  2. The Facebook pages linked to their account will be shown. Click on the problematic Facebook page.
  3. Click on Settings.image.png
  4. Click on More Business Settings present at the top.
  5. Under Users, click on People. Then, click on the Add button next to People.
  6. Turn on the toggle next to Admin access
  7. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process. Then, open the email added in step 4 to accept the invitation.

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.

  1. On Facebook, go to the Facebook Page that is connected to your Instagram account
  2. Click Settings
  3. Under Users, click on People. Confirm if the admin is listed here. 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 follow the steps listed under Step 1: Add your user in Facebook Business Manager to add you as an admin.

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.

  1. On your mobile device, open the Instagram app.
  2. Tap instagramconnect_icon.png or your profile picture in the bottom right
  3. Tap, then tap Settings
  4. Tap Account
  5. Tap Sharing to Other Apps
  6. Tap Facebook, then log in with your Facebook credentials
  7. Tap Continue, then tap Yes, Finish Setup

4. Review your Facebook Connection

  1. Select + tobe taken to the Facebook Login screen. Enter your Facebook admin login credentials.

    You need to make sure that the name next to “Continue” is the right Facebook account that you’re logging in with, i.e, the Facebook account that has Admin permission on the page.Do NOT click Continue. Click “Edit Settings” firstscreenshot-docs.google.com-2021.11.03-22_34_06__1_.jpg
  2. It will take you to a page similar to the one below.Note: Make sure to select ‘All Pages’ as indicated in the screenshot below, and not just the page you want to connect to.If the page is not here, make sure the account you logged in with is the one you have the page permissions on.screenshot-vendasta-support.zendesk.com-2022.02.01-14_03_14.png Click Next
  3. Make sure all toggles are turned to “Yes”. Then click Done

You’ll get directed back to our platform where you can re-attempt to connect your Facebook account.

5. 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.

  1. From the business page on Facebook, click Settings

     
  2. Click Instagram

    instagram.png
  3. Look for the Review Account Connection notice
    • If it appears, click Review Connection
    • If it doesn’t, proceed to Update your permissions

      review_connection.png
  4. Follow Facebook’s instructions

6. 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.

  1. Go to Facebook > ▼ > Settings & Privacy >  Settings > Security and Login
    user_settings.png

    settings-2.pngimage__1_.png
  2. Click Business Integration > 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

      permissions.png
  3. Click Save

7. 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

  1. Open the Instagram app on your mobile device
  2. Tap  instagramconnect_icon.png  or your profile picture in the bottom right
  3. Go to  > Settings > Account
  4. Tap Switch Account Type
  5. Under Account, tap Switch to Personal Account.
  6. 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.

  1. Tap Account
  2. Tap Switch to Professional Account
  3. 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 info@webmvmt.com