📹 How To Switch Your Personal Instagram Profile To A Business Profile

The launch of Instagram's new Graph API back in June 2020 has made switching to a Business Instagram Profile vital in order to take full advantage of SmarterQueue's most useful features. 

While Personal Instagram Profiles still work with SmarterQueue, many great functionalities have been limited in Facebook's continued effort to improve privacy. But don't worry, you'll still be able to access direct publishing, advanced content curation, and in-depth analytics and engagement reports. ✨

Simply convert your Personal Instagram Profile to a Business Profile by connecting it to a Facebook Page, either from Facebook natively, or from the Instagram mobile app. Check out the steps below! 💪 

In This Article

Why Do I Need To Switch To A Business Instagram Profile?

Using a Business Instagram Profile with SmarterQueue will give you access to a great suite of features that you're not going to want to miss out on. 

Direct Publishing

A Business Profile will allow you to use  direct publishing for single-image, carousel (up to 10 images), and video posts/reels. ✨

You will continue to use the mobile notification workflow for Stories and will have the option to use it for all other posts instead of direct publishing, should you want to. 

With a Personal Instagram Profile, all posts will need to go through the mobile notification workflow.

In-Depth Analytics

Your Business Profile will give you access to in-depth analytics, including the following: 

Content Curation

By converting your Instagram Profile to a Business one, you will be able to see the number of likes and comments for posts inside of Find Content and Engage.

Profile Picture Display

Business Profiles will display your profile picture within SmarterQueue, to help with easy identification. 

Profile pictures are not available and display the default Instagram logo for Personal profiles. You will need to hover your mouse over the logo to display the profile handle in order to identify it. 

Video Walkthrough

How To Switch Your Personal Instagram Profile To A Business Profile From Your Facebook Page

To switch your Instagram Personal profile to a Business one, you will need to connect it to a Facebook Page that you manage, by following these easy steps! 💪

1. Open Facebook.Com in your browser, log in and navigate to a Facebook Page you manage that you'd like to connect to your Instagram Profile 

2. Click 'Settings' from the left-hand menu on your screen

3. Then select 'Instagram'

4. From here, you'll be given the option to add an Instagram account by clicking 'Connect Account' 💪 

Note: If you've already added an Instagram account, then you'll see it here. 

5. In the pop-up that appears, enter your login details for your Instagram account 

6. You'll now be prompted to convert your Personal Profile to a Creator or Business Profile. Please ensure you select Business, as the Instagram API only allows you to auto-publish content to Business Profiles.

7. Click Next through the next prompt as well

8. Congratulations 🎉 you've switched to a business account on Instagram! Click ' Done' once more on the confirmation pop up: 

9. Once you are done, you should be able to see your Instagram account connected to your Facebook page:

How To Switch Your Personal Instagram Profile To A Business Profile From Your Instagram Mobile App

You can easily convert your Personal Profile to a Business Profile from the Instagram Mobile App as well. Please ensure you're logged into the Facebook account on the  Facebook mobile app. The account should have admin rights of the page you wish to connect with your Instagram Profile.

To convert your account to a Business one, simply follow the steps below:

1. Open the Instagram app on your phone and head to your Profile. Once there, click on the Hamburger Menu in the top right of your screen: 

2. Click on Settings: 

3. From the settings menu, select Account: 

4. Now scroll down to the end and you will see Switch To Professional account - click on that: 

5. Click Continue through the next dialogue box asking you to Get a free professional account. 

6. Select a category that fits you and your Instagram Profile best: 

7. Once you've selected a category you'll be asked whether you are a Creator or a Business. Please ensure you select Business as you will not be able to auto-publish with a Creator account. 

8. After selecting Business, you'll be asked to update your contact details.

9. The last step is to connect a Facebook Page with your Instagram account. Simply select the Facebook page you want to link with the Instagram App from the list.  

NOTE: Connecting a Facebook Page to your Instagram Business Profile is a must to access direct publishing, advanced content curation, and in-depth analytics and engagement reports. 

Congratulations! You've now converted your Personal Profile to a Business Profile! 🎉

Connecting Your Business Instagram Profile To SmarterQueue

After connecting your Instagram Profile to a Facebook Page, connect it to SmarterQueue by following these easy steps! 

1. Open SmarterQueue in your browser

2. Navigate to the Profiles page and click "Connect" for Instagram or click on Re-connect Profile if it was already added.

Note: You'll need to re-connect the Instagram profile even if it's not showing up as disconnected. To do so, simply click on the vertical three-dot button for the profile and then select "Re-Connect Profile". 

3. You will see a quick pop-up explaining that you'll need to grant SmarterQueue permissions for both your Instagram Business accounts, as well as the Facebook Pages to which they're connected. Please "Select all" for both to avoid any issues (like failed messages due to lack of permissions).

4. You will be asked to continue with your Facebook Profile (Admin of the Facebook Page linked to your Instagram Profile).

Note: This pop-up is to confirm that you're logged in as the right user! Rest assured, this does not give SmarterQueue permission to manage your Personal Facebook Profile in any way. 

5. In the next dialogue boxes, you’ll be asked to allow the necessary permissions for SmarterQueue to connect with your Instagram Business Accounts and Facebook Pages.

We strongly recommend you "Select all" permissions in the 2 dialogue boxes shown below, rather than granting granular permissions. This will ensure you avoid running into publishing errors that can come up due to one of the many permissions bugs in Facebook's API. It will also make it easier to add any of your other Pages, and Instagram Profiles to your SmarterQueue account in the future.

6. After granting permissions to all of your Social Profiles, you will be asked what access SmarterQueue should have. Once again, ensure you checkmark everything, otherwise, you will not be able to create and publish posts via SmarterQueue to your Social Profiles.

Click "Done" to continue.

7. Click OK and that's it. You're ready to go! ✨ 

Once that's done, you will be able to access more engagement and analytics metrics inside of SmarterQueue for your Instagram Profile! Check out these helpful articles for more information: 

How To Check Your Instagram Account Type

If you're finding it difficult to enable auto-publishing even after connecting your Instagram Account to a Facebook Page, then you might have ended up with a Creator account rather than a Business account.

Note: Direct publishing can only be done via a Business Instagram account, due to a limitation in Facebook's API that applies to all third-party schedulers.

If you're unsure about which Instagram account you currently have, simply follow the steps below to confirm:

1. Open the Instagram app on your phone and head into your Profile. Once there, click on the  Hamburger Menu in the top right of your screen: 

2. Click on  Settings: 

3. From the settings menu, select Account: 

Depending on your current account type, you’ll see one of the following in the Instagram mobile app:

  • Personal Account: At the bottom, you should see the option to "Switch to Professional account". This confirms you have a Personal Instagram Account. 

  • Creator Account: At the bottom, if you click on "Switch account type" you should see the options to "Switch to Personal Account" and "Switch to Business Account". This Confirms you have a Creator Instagram Account.

  • Business Account: At the bottom, if you click on "Switch account type" you should see the options to "Switch to Personal Account" and "Switch to Creator Account". This confirms you have a Business Instagram Account and can auto-publish via SmarterQueue. 💪🏻

Why Can't I Connect My Business Instagram Profile To SmarterQueue?

If you don't see your Business Instagram Profile when trying to connect it to SmarterQueue, here are a few reasons why this may be and the solutions: 💪 

1. Your Instagram Profile is a Personal Profile

If you haven't converted your Instagram Profile from Personal to Business, then you won't see it appear when re-connecting to SmarterQueue as shown above. 

If you'd like to access more analytics for your Instagram Profile inside of SmarterQueue, then please follow the steps closely in this article to connect your Instagram Profile to a Facebook Page - rest assured, you'll be able to convert your Profile from Personal to Business along the way 😊 

2. You haven't connected your Business Instagram Profile to a Facebook Page

If you haven't properly connected your Business Instagram Profile to a Facebook Page you manage, then you won't see it appear when re-connecting to SmarterQueue as shown above. 

Please follow the steps closely in this article from the top to connect your Instagram Profile to a Facebook Page 😊 

3. You haven't selected your Business Instagram Profile when authorizing permissions through Facebook

After connecting your Instagram Profile to a Facebook Page, you'll then need to re-connect your Instagram Profile to SmarterQueue. When doing so, you'll be redirected to Facebook to accept permissions, as shown above, if you edit permissions don't select the Business Instagram Profile you'd like to add to SmarterQueue, then you won't see it appear in later steps. 

Please follow the steps in this article and ensure there is a checkmark next to your Instagram Profile in order to set up your connection properly. 

4. You haven't selected the matching Facebook Page that you've linked to your Business Instagram Profile when accepting permissions inside of Facebook

After connecting your Instagram Profile to a Facebook Page, you'll then need to re-connect your Instagram Profile to SmarterQueue. When doing so, you'll be redirected to Facebook to accept permissions as shown above. If you edit permissions and don't select the Facebook Page that you've linked to your Instagram account, then you won't see your Instagram Profile appear in later steps. 

Please follow the steps in this article and ensure there is a checkmark next to the Facebook Page you've connected to your Instagram Profile in this step in order to set up your connection properly.

5. Your Business Instagram Profile is connected to Facebook, but you're getting an error message that your Off-Facebook activity is currently turned off

This error message is related to a Facebook permission setting (for Off-Facebook Activity) that needs to be enabled. You can find information on this here: What is Off-Facebook activity?

Once you enable your Off-Facebook Activity, you will be able to connect your Social Profiles to the SmarterQueue account. 

Also, if the Facebook Page has multiple Admins, all of them need to enable Off-Facebook Activity for it to work. 

6. There might be a bug with Facebook's API

If you've followed all of the steps but are still not seeing your Instagram account show up as connected to your Facebook Page, then this might be related to a Facebook Bug. 

Facebook has been aware of the bug since February whereby Instagram business accounts are, in some instances, not showing up as connected to a Facebook page correctly. They are working on a long-term fix for this but they do not give a timeline.

They have recommended the following solution in the interim:

  1. Using the Instagram app on a mobile device, convert your Instagram business account to a personal account. 
  2. After it has been converted, log in to Facebook on a computer and convert your personal account to a business account again (Page Settings → Instagram → Switch to a Business Profile)

I would also recommend that you check the following help center article from Instagram. 

7. You don't have Business Admin access to the Business Facebook account that owns the Facebook Page you've connected to the Instagram profile you're trying to add

If you've already connected your Instagram Business profile to a Facebook Page, but cannot enable direct publishing, you might need to "Review connection" between the two by heading into the Facebook Page settings.

In order to head into your Facebook Page settings, follow the steps here. Facebook is always changing its UI, so you might see a different interface on your account based on what sort of account you have. 

Simply click on "Review connection" and then click "Continue" through the next dialogue boxes as well. Towards the end, you'll be asked to "Confirm" the connection. Once done, proceed to enable direct publishing inside your SmarterQueue account. 💪🏻

If you're seeing a greyed-out button with the tooltip "You must be an admin of the Page to confirm the Instagram account." and are unable to confirm the connection, this suggests that your Facebook Page is connected to a Business Facebook Account, but you don't have Business Admin access.

💡 To fix this issue, you'll need to get the business owner to grant you Business Admin access (rather than Employee access). Once granted, repeat the same steps that are mentioned above to confirm the connection.

As an alternative, you can create a dummy Facebook Page using your Personal Facebook Profile and connect the Instagram Business profile to it. You need to ensure this Facebook Page is not associated with the Business Facebook account, otherwise, you'll run into the same permissions error.  

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