Posting to Instagram
Connect your Instagram Profile to SocialBee
You can share content to either an Instagram Personal Profile or Business Profile.
Check the table found here to see when AND what kind of content gets posted directly for which profile.
- If you have a Business or a Creator account: switch from a personal profile to Business or Creator following this Instagram Help Article.
- If you have a Facebook Page connected to your Instagram account: switch to a Professional account following this Instagram Help Article.
Click on the interactive screen below to see the steps, or scroll down to the written instructions.
Scroll to the bottom of your SocialBee Dashboard and click on the Instagram Profile or Business button.
This will redirect you to Facebook, where you will be prompted to grant SocialBee the necessary permissions to post on your profiles.
You will be taken back to SocialBee, where you can select the profile you want to connect and click on "Add Profiles".
You should be able to see the connected profile in your SocialBee Dashboard.
Create a Post for your Instagram Profile
Creating an Instagram post varies slightly from creating a post for other social profiles.
Creating and Scheduling Different Post Types
With SocialBee, you can share multiple types of posts, including:
- Feed Posts (Single Images and Videos, Carousels).
- Reels. Read more →
- Stories. Read more →
Choosing Your Post's Destination
Open SocialBee's Post Editor and select your Instagram Profile.
Click on the "Customize for each profile" button.
For the Instagram profile, in the top-right corner, you will be able to choose where you want your posts to be shared from the drop-down menu (Post Destinations: Feed Post, Story, Reel, Feed & Reel).
Save your post.
After creating your post, you should be able to find it in your Content Categories and the Next Post tab, where you'll be able to preview your upcoming posts in a list, calendar, and grid preview.
Create collaborative Instagram posts
⚠️ This feature will show up in the Post Editor after you click on "Customize for each profile," even if you only have 1 profile selected.
An Instagram Collaborative post lets you co-author a post with one or more people, and it shows up on all of your Feeds or Reels. In SocialBee, you can add up to 3 collaborators to your posts.
Open SocialBee's Post Editor and create an Instagram post as you normally would.
If you haven't done this already, click on the "Customize for each profile" button.
Click on the "Tag" icon on your image.
Enter your collaborator's Instagram handle, click "Add collaborator," and then click "Save."
Save and schedule your post.
Once the post is published, your collaborator will receive a notification from Instagram to review the collaboration request and decide whether to accept or decline it.
Other available features for Instagram Posting
| Features | Direct Posting |
| Tag Accounts |
Instagram Business Profiles |
| Add Locations |
Instagram Business Profiles |
| Alt Text |
Not Available |
| First Comment |
Instagram Business Profiles |
| Custom Thumbnail |
Instagram Business Profiles |
| Add Fundraiser |
Not Available |
Posting Directly VS Reminders
Sharing content on Instagram can be done in three ways:
- Via Reminders, with our companion mobile app;
- By posting directly from SocialBee's web app;
- Through Zapier, Pabbly, or Buffer integrations.
Here is how different types of posts will be shared:
| Post Type | Profile Type | Media Conditions | Sharing Type |
Single Image |
Business Creator Personal |
Within ratio limits 3 MB 3 MB |
Direct Direct via Reminders |
Single Video |
Business Creator Personal |
Within ratio limits 512 MB 512 MB |
Direct via Reminders via Reminders |
Multiple Images |
Business Creator Personal |
Within ratio limits up to 10 images up to 10 images |
Direct Direct via Reminders |
Multiple Videos |
Business Creator Personal |
Within ratio limits up to 10 videos up to 10 images |
Direct via Reminders via Reminders |
Story |
Business Creator Personal |
Within ratio limits 3 MB 3 MB |
Direct via Reminders via Reminders |
Reel |
Business Creator Personal |
Within ratio limits 3 MB 3 MB |
Direct via Reminders via Reminders |
For posts to be shared directly, they must meet certain requirements. Check out our articles on Media Files in SocialBee and Image Aspect Ratios for Instagram Posts.
Any post that does not match our requirements for direct posting, regardless of the reason, will automatically be set to publish via Reminders.
→ Learn more about how to use the SocialBee mobile app to publish content via Reminders 📝
Enabling Direct Posting for a Previously Connected Profile
If you have never enabled direct posting for your Instagram profile, you will have to follow a few steps:
From your SocialBee Dashboard, go to the Social Accounts tab.
Click on "Reconnect". This will prompt you to authorize SocialBee within Facebook, giving us the right permissions to post directly to your profile.
Once completed, you will be redirected to SocialBee where you will see that the first tab is selected.
Enable Fallback Actions for Direct Posting
Since certain post types aren't supported at the moment, we have created a workaround using the SocialBee Companion Mobile App.
In the Post Editor, you'll be able to see which posts are set for direct posting and which ones are scheduled to be posted via mobile reminders.
At the bottom of the text box, next to your emojis and hashtag collections, you will notice a red mobile phone.
This signifies that the post cannot be shared directly, and you will receive a notification on your device when it's time to share the content.
Posting to Instagram via Reminders
Like with any other profile that posts via Reminders, once you receive the notification and open it, you'll be able to preview the post details in our mobile app.
You'll see a thumbnail of the video, the caption, and the date and hour at which it was scheduled.
The next step is to tap on "Share Post" and you will see two prompts. First of all, you'll have to check that you are logged onto the right profile in your Instagram app.
Then, you will receive a confirmation that your caption has been copied.
Once you click "OK" the Instagram app will open with the file(s) all loaded up.
In the Instagram App
After you've clicked share post, you'll be prompted to choose between Feed and Story.
According to each choice, you will have full access to all of Instagram's in-app features, so don't be shy to tune up your post with stickers, tags, filters, and more!