📹 How To Switch Your Instagram Profile To Creator/Business

With recent updates to Instagram's policies, Personal Instagram Profiles can no longer be connected directly to third-party applications like SmarterQueue. Instead, you can add them as Universal Profiles and publish your posts manually using SmarterQueue’s notification workflow.

To take full advantage of SmarterQueue’s powerful features - like direct publishing, advanced content curation, and detailed analytics - we recommend using a Creator or Business Instagram Profile, which can be connected directly to SmarterQueue, enabling seamless scheduling and publishing.

If you’re still using a Personal Instagram Profile, consider switching to a Creator or Business Profile to unlock these benefits. Check out the steps below to get started! 💪

In This Article

Video Walkthrough

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

Using a Creator/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 Connection & Publishing

A Creator/Business Profile can be connected directly to SmarterQueue and will allow you to use direct publishing for single-image, carousel (up to 10 images), and video feed/reel posts, while a Business profile will be able to even directly publish Stories. ✨

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

Personal Instagram Profiles need to be added as Universal Profiles, and all posts will need to go through the mobile notification workflow.

In-Depth Analytics

If you also link your Creator/Business Profile to a Facebook page and connect it to SmarterQueue via Facebook, you will have access to in-depth analytics, including the following: 

Content Curation

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

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

You can easily convert your Personal Profile to a Creator/Business Profile from the Instagram Mobile App. 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 and Privacy: 

3. From the settings menu, select Account Type and Tools: 

4. Now you will see Switch To Professional account - click on that: 

5. Click Continue through the next dialogue box asking you to Get professional tools. 

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. Select either Creator or Business based on your needs. For more functionalities (like direct publishing your Story Posts as well), we would recommend choosing the Business option.


8. After selecting Business, you'll be asked if you want to sign up for resources.

9. Once you've clicked on Next, you'll be asked to review your contact info.

10. The last step is to connect a Facebook Page with your Instagram account. 


This step is no longer required to enable direct publishing for third-party applications, like SmarterQueue. That said, connecting a Facebook Page to your Instagram Creator/Business Profile is still necessary to get in-depth analytics and engagement reports. 

If you decide to connect your Instagram Profile to Facebook Page, follow these steps:

  • ensure you're logged into the correct Facebook account on the Facebook mobile app. The account should have admin rights to the page you wish to connect with your Instagram Profile.
  • return to the Instagram app, click on "Log In To Facebook", and then select the page you want to link with the Instagram Profile from the list.  

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

How To Switch Your Personal Profile To A Creator/Business One From Your Facebook Page

To switch your Instagram Personal Profile to a Creator/Business one and connect it to a Facebook Page, you will need to perform a series of steps. Here's how! 💪

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 "Linked Accounts":

4. Next click on "Instagram":

5. 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 and you will see a confirmation:

7. After logging in you'll be asked to Click on Connect again:

7. And select your Instagram message settings (for your Meta inbox):

8. You'll now be prompted to convert your Personal Profile to a Creator or Business Profile. Select either Creator or Business based on your needs. For more functionality (like direct publishing your Story Posts as well), we would recommend choosing the Business option.

7. Click Next through the next prompt as well:

8. After clicking Next, you'll be asked to Select a Category.

9. And Review your contact info:

10. Congratulations 🎉 For this example, you've switched to a business account on Instagram! Click "Done" once more on the confirmation pop-up: 

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

Connecting Your Creator/Business Instagram Profile To SmarterQueue

You can easily add your Creator or Business Instagram Profiles to SmarterQueue by following the steps in How To Add Or Remove A Social Profile.

If you’ve scheduled content for a Personal Instagram Profile as a Universal Profile and have since switched it to a Creator or Business Profile, you can reconnect it to ensure all your scheduled content is published directly.

1. Make sure you're logged into the Instagram Profile in a tab in your browser.

2. Open SmarterQueue in another tab and navigate to the Profiles page.

3. Find the Universal Profile associated to this Instagram profile and click on "Enable Direct Publishing" next to it:

4. You will see a quick pop-up that allows you to click "Re-connect profile":

4. You'll notice a couple of options available at this stage.

If You Connect Via Facebook:

  • Click "Continue as..." to confirm you're logged into the correct Facebook page;
  • Select the Instagram profile(s) that you'd like to connect to SmarterQueue and click "Add".

If You Connect Via Instagram:

  • Click "Allow" to grant permissions.

Note: If you haven't converted your Personal Profiles to a Business or Creator one yet, clicking "Re-connect via Instagram" will start the steps to convert it at this time.

Note: Linking your Instagram Business or Creator Profile to a Facebook Page is no longer required for direct publishing. Still, we recommend that you connect your Instagram profile via a Facebook Page so that you can take advantage of additional analytics. 

Note: We'll automatically upgrade your Instagram connection to use Facebook for stats where possible (if you've already granted Facebook permissions to SmarterQueue for the page connected to your Instagram profile).

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

Direct publishing can only be done via a Creator/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 and Privacy:

3. From the Settings menu, you will see different options depending on your account type:

  • Account Type and Tools (for a Personal Profile): 

  • Creator Tools and Controls (for a Creator Profile):

  • Business Tools and Controls (for a Business Profile):

4. Once you select the applicable option, depending on your current account type, you’ll see one of the following in the Instagram mobile app:

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

  • Creator Account: If you click on "Switch account type" you should see the options to "Switch to Business Account" and "Switch to Personal Account". This confirms you have a Creator Instagram Account and can directly publish via SmarterQueue 💪

  • Business Account: 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 directly publish via SmarterQueue 💪


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

If you don't see your Creator/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/Creator, then you won't be able to connect it to SmarterQueue. The only way to use a Personal Instagram Profile with SmarterQueue is to add it as a Universal Profile.

2. You haven't selected your Business/Creator Instagram Profile when authorizing permissions through Facebook.

If you're connecting your Instagram Profile via a Facebook Page, you'll need to ensure you've granted all necessary permissions during the steps.

Try re-connecting your Instagram Profile to SmarterQueue. When doing so, you'll be redirected to Facebook to accept permissions. If you edit permissions and 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 the Facebook Page you've connected to your Instagram Profile in this step in order to set up your connection properly.

3. You haven't selected the matching Facebook Page that you've linked to your Business/Creator 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.

4. Your Business/Creator 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?

If you're connecting your Instagram Profile via a Facebook Page, you'll need to enable your Off-Facebook Activity to connect your Social Profiles to the SmarterQueue account this way 

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

5. 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 (Settings and Privacy → Settings → Linked Accounts → Instagram → Connect Account and follow the rest of the prompts).

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

6. 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/Creator 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/Creator 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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