In this blog post, I want to show you how to link your Facebook business Page to your Instagram Business account using a PC.
This is something I have recently done myself. Although I have had an Instagram account for some time, I haven’t really made a great deal of use of it. However, I have recently been making much more effort with my Facebook Page, so it seemed sensible to connect the two accounts together.
My thinking is fairly straightforward. If I’m already creating content for Facebook, and I can also make use of some of that content on Instagram, potentially I can get more value from the same work rather than treating every social media platform as a completely separate job.
I hadn’t connected my Facebook Page and Instagram account before making the video that accompanies this post, so I went through the process from start to finish. Fortunately, I found the actual connection process very straightforward.
If you are fairly new to Facebook Pages, you may also find my Complete Guide To Facebook Pages useful, as it explains some of the differences between a personal Facebook profile and a Facebook business Page.
Why Connect Facebook And Instagram?
One of the main reasons I wanted to connect my accounts was simply to make managing social media easier.
There are only so many hours in the day, and it is very easy to end up spending far too much time jumping between Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and every other platform available.
I don’t believe we necessarily need to be everywhere, but if two platforms can work together and make the process easier, it seems sensible to at least test the idea.
By connecting a Facebook Page and Instagram account, Meta can place both profiles within the same business portfolio. This also makes it possible to manage various aspects of Facebook and Instagram through tools such as Meta Business Suite.
My intention is to experiment with this and see how much time it can potentially save me. I will come back with another post and video once I have had a proper opportunity to test it.
Make Sure You Are Using The Correct Facebook Page
Before doing anything, make sure you have switched into the Facebook Page that you actually want to connect.
This is particularly important if, like me, you manage more than one Facebook Page or have both a personal Facebook profile and business Pages.
In my case, I wanted to connect my Roy Bretton Online Facebook Page with my Roy Bretton Online Instagram account. Fortunately, both use the same branding, which makes things easier to recognise, but you should still check carefully before connecting anything.
If you are working on growing a Facebook Page rather than simply setting one up, you may also want to read How To Grow Your Facebook Page From Scratch.
Do You Need An Instagram Business Account?
This was one of the things I wanted to establish before connecting the accounts.
My Instagram account had originally been a personal account. Before making the connection, I changed it to a Professional account and then selected Business as the account type.
The process was very straightforward.
On Instagram, using my PC, I went into the settings and found the option relating to professional accounts. Instagram then allowed me to change the account type.
I selected Digital Creator as the category because that describes the type of work I am doing reasonably well. I then changed the actual Instagram account type to Business.
There is an important distinction here.
- Digital Creator is the category that can be displayed on the Instagram profile.
- Business is the type of professional Instagram account I selected.
Interestingly, when I later went through the Facebook connection process, Facebook explained that if a personal Instagram profile is connected, it can be switched to a professional profile as part of the process.
So it appears that you may not necessarily need to change the Instagram account manually first. However, I preferred to make the change myself so I knew exactly what type of account I was connecting.
How To Link Your Facebook Page To Instagram On A PC
Once your accounts are ready, the actual connection process is quite simple.
I carried this out on a PC rather than using a mobile phone. I generally prefer working from a desktop computer where possible, particularly when I am managing websites, social media accounts and online business tools.
Here is the process I followed.
- Log into Facebook on your PC.
- Switch into the Facebook Page that you want to connect to Instagram.
- Click your profile area on the right-hand side of Facebook.
- Select Settings & Privacy.
- Select Settings.
- Look through the settings for Linked Accounts.
- Select Instagram.
- Click the option to connect the Instagram account.
- Continue through the Meta connection process.
- Log into the correct Instagram account if requested.
- Confirm that you want to add the accounts to your business portfolio.
- Complete the connection.
In my case, Facebook then confirmed that Instagram had been connected successfully.
Facebook Does Move Its Settings Around
One thing worth mentioning is that Facebook has a habit of moving settings around.
That means the exact position of a particular option may change in the future. At the time I carried this out, the Linked Accounts option was roughly halfway down my Facebook Page settings.
If you are watching my video or reading this post at a later date and the screen looks slightly different, don’t automatically assume you are doing something wrong. Look for wording such as Linked Accounts, Instagram, Business Portfolio or Meta Business Suite.
The basic principle should remain the same even if Meta changes where individual settings appear.
What Happens When You Connect The Accounts?
As I went through the process, Facebook explained that connecting the Facebook Page and Instagram profile would add both profiles to my business portfolio.
This is useful because Meta Business Suite is designed to give you a central place for managing various Facebook and Instagram activities.
Meta also explained that people who have the appropriate access to the Facebook Page or Instagram profile may be able to help manage areas such as:
- Content
- Advertising
- Insights
- Messages
- Comments
- Settings
- Permissions
If you are the only person managing your accounts, as many small business owners and individual content creators are, this may not make much difference initially. However, it becomes more important if you eventually allow someone else to help manage your social media.
Check Who Has Access
Whenever you are dealing with Facebook Pages and business accounts, I think it is worth paying attention to who has access and what permissions they have.
Don’t simply click through every screen without reading it.
If several people help manage a Page, connecting Instagram may potentially give authorised users additional ways to work with the connected assets, depending on the permissions they have been given.
For a small business, this can be extremely useful, but it is still important to know who has access to what.
What If You Connect The Wrong Instagram Account?
From what I could see during the process, Meta also gives you the option to disconnect the Instagram account again.
That is useful if you accidentally connect the wrong account, change your business setup later, or simply decide that you don’t want the two accounts linked.
However, it is much easier to check everything carefully before making the connection in the first place.
If you regularly switch between Facebook profiles and Pages, you may also find my post Facebook Page Can’t Comment On A Friend’s Post? Here’s The Fix useful, as it explains another area where the distinction between a Facebook profile and Facebook Page can cause confusion.
Can You Post To Facebook And Instagram At The Same Time?
This is one of the main things I now want to experiment with.
My reason for connecting Instagram in the first place is that I would like to make better use of content I am already creating for Facebook.
If I can create suitable content and efficiently use it across both platforms, that potentially means doing two jobs from one piece of work.
However, I don’t want to assume that everything which works well on Facebook will automatically work equally well on Instagram.
The two platforms have different audiences and different types of content, so I intend to experiment rather than simply post everything everywhere without thinking about it.
Don’t Try To Be Everywhere At Once
One of the dangers with internet marketing is trying to do too much.
You can have a website, Facebook Page, Instagram account, YouTube channel, LinkedIn account, email list and several other platforms. Before long, you can spend your whole day trying to keep everything updated without actually moving your business forward.
This is why I like the idea of connecting platforms where it genuinely makes the workflow easier.
It also fits with something I have written about before in How To Simplify The Process Of Internet Marketing. Internet marketing can become unnecessarily complicated very quickly, and sometimes the best thing we can do is simplify the process.
Facebook And Instagram Are Only Part Of The Picture
I still believe it is important to remember that social media platforms are tools rather than the whole business.
Facebook and Instagram can be useful for reaching people, building an audience and sharing content, but I also like having my own website where I can create more detailed content like this.
The advantage of a blog post is that I can explain the process in much more detail, and people can return to the instructions whenever they need them.
A video is excellent for showing exactly where to click, while a written blog post provides a useful reference. I therefore like using the two together where possible.
My First Impressions Of Linking Facebook And Instagram
The actual connection process was easier than I expected.
I started by checking my Instagram account type, changed it to a professional Business account, selected Digital Creator as my category, and then returned to Facebook to make the connection.
Once I found Settings > Linked Accounts > Instagram, the rest of the process was largely self-explanatory.
Facebook confirmed that the accounts had been connected, and both were added to my business portfolio.
The next stage is the more interesting part: finding out how useful the connection actually is in everyday use.
What I Am Going To Test Next
Now that the Roy Bretton Online Facebook Page and Instagram account are connected, I want to experiment with the following:
- How easily I can manage both accounts through Meta Business Suite.
- Whether I can conveniently create content for both platforms at the same time.
- Which types of Facebook content also work well on Instagram.
- Whether connecting the accounts genuinely saves time.
- Whether using Instagram more consistently brings additional engagement and followers.
I don’t have a large Instagram following at the moment because it hasn’t been a platform I have concentrated on. That actually makes this quite an interesting experiment because I can see what happens as I start using it more deliberately.
Final Thoughts
If you already have a Facebook business Page and an Instagram account, connecting them is certainly worth investigating.
I found the actual process straightforward, particularly once I had changed my Instagram account to a Business account.
The main steps are simply to make sure you are using the correct Facebook Page and Instagram profile, go into the Facebook Page settings, find Linked Accounts, select Instagram and follow the connection process.
Once connected, Facebook and Instagram can sit together within your Meta business portfolio, giving you access to more of Meta’s tools for managing the two platforms.
For me, the real test will be whether this makes my day-to-day content creation and social media management quicker and more effective.
I will continue experimenting with the connection and report back once I have had enough time to see how well it works in practice.
If you manage a Facebook Page and are trying to build your presence, you may also find The Complete Guide To Facebook Pages and How To Grow Your Facebook Page From Scratch helpful.
If you have already connected your Facebook Page and Instagram account, feel free to leave a comment below and let me know how you are finding it. Has it made managing your social media easier, or do you still prefer to manage the two platforms separately?
Thanks for reading.