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I’ve been at this for days, but I can’t figure out which step is going wrong here.

What I want: Post an image + text to my instagram profile.

What I have set up in Zapier:

  • Instagram for business App Connection (have done a reconnect as well)
  • Add an Instagram for business step in my zap, with “publish photo” selected as “Action event”

 My first indication of a problem is here: “Select value for Instagram Account to Use” does not provide any options.

 

Trying to understand the Facebook architecture around Instagram post permission has been a real pain. This is what I have checked thus far:

  • My Instagram for business connection is my facebook account with access to my facebook business page
  • My facebook account is connected to my instagram business account (I can post through Meta Business Suite to both my FB business page and my Instagram account) 
  • as suggested in another support thread, I checked my page permissions, which are all allowed:

 

So I got stuck there.

 

What I did try as well, without success, is to put a static value (long account id number) in the Zapier “Instagram Account To Use”. After which I can get on to the test step, but the request stalls with the message below, where ID shows the static account id.

“Could not upload media file. Unsupported post request. Object with ID '****' does not exist, cannot be loaded due to missing permissions, or does not support this operation.”

 

Any suggestions on how I can automate posting to instagram from zapier?
(Just to be clear: I have zero interest in facebook, I’m just trying to jump through all the hoops meta has provided to be able to access my own instagram account here).

Hi ​@hanneke,

 

Welcome to the Community. 

 

To troubleshoot issues with posting to Instagram via Zapier, ensure your Instagram Business account is correctly linked to your Facebook Business Page and that both are connected to Zapier. Check permissions under Facebook Business Settings and Business Integrations to confirm Zapier has full access. If needed, reconnect your Instagram account through Zapier's "Connected Accounts" section, as Instagram's API limits automated posting to single image posts from Business accounts.

 

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions or need further clarification, feel free to ask.


Hi ​@JammerS, Thank you for your reply.

 

Any further clarification or definitive documentation would be more than welcome. For me as well as for others finding this thread later through google.

I would still love to have the Instagram Business integration working in a proper way, however I did by now manage to post to Instagram using the static account ID workaround in the “Instagram account to use” field of the zap, in which I had apparently tried a different ID before (may have been be the facebook account ID).

You suggest “ensure your Instagram Business account is correctly linked to your Facebook Business Page”. I have verified this to the best of my ability. In Meta Business Suite it says “Business assets: Facebook Page, Instagram account”. In my original question I have attached a screenshot showing the permissions as found through facebook.

Your next suggestion is to “Check permissions under Facebook Business Settings and Business Integrations to confirm Zapier has full access”. ]Are you referring to Facebook to look up these settings? To be sure, can you clarify exacly where these settings should be checked?
Below screenshot is made at Facebook > account (top right corner) > Settings > Business Integrations

 

Your last suggestion is to reconnect my account. I already did this yesterday, but I’m doing that again just to make sure. When I click “check permissions” during reconnection, I have selected “All Instagram professional accounts (1)“, followed by “All Pages (1)”, followed by all permissions (see screenshots).

Where should I check to get the connection working in the proper way, so the zap can load options under “Instagram account to use”?

 

I will attach some screenshots to show the checked permissions.
The first screenshot is where I found the AccountID that I now succesfully use as a static value.

Seeing all provided permissions above, I don’t know where else I can check/fix any permissions.

 

P.S. I would love to be added to the feature request of posting reels / carousels posts in addition to single image posts


Hi ​@hanneke,

Meta has announced that the Instagram Basic Display API powering Zapier’s Instagram integration will be deprecated today, December 4, 2024. As a result, any Zaps using the Instagram app will stop functioning on this date.

To maintain functionality, please migrate your Zaps to the Instagram for Business integration, which offers the same key features and more. 
 
If you aren't seeing your account in the list, we are seeing this issue come up for a few users but are able to fix it by doing the following. One customer found that they needed to give Zapier (on Facebook) permission to grant 'Access profile and posts from the Instagram account connected to your Page':
 

 
You can access these permissions here: https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=business_tools&ref=settings

 
 
There is also another setting that can be checked:


 

  • Click on View if Instagram isn't connected. If it is connected, disconnect it and then click view:


 

  • Reconnect the Instagram account:


 
After making this change, you'll need to make a new connection to Instagram to see the pages in the Zap editor.
 
Can you try to reconnect the account after checking the above permission? To refresh your app connection, follow these steps:
 

  • Head to the Zap
  • Select the dropdown holding the list of accounts
  • Click on Change then "Connect a new account" and follow the prompts
  • Return to your Zap

 
Let me know once you have had a chance to get to the above, I'll keep an eye out for your reply!


Hi ​@ken.a 

Thanks for all your additional suggestions. Unfortunately, even following all these suggestions, the “Select value for Instagram account to use” still won’t show any values, just like for ​@Big J in 

 

After checking the page permissions like you suggested, I also tried disconnecting the linked instagram account from the facebook page and re-connecting it again.

After that, I reconnected my account in zapier like you suggested (see the additional connection option #3 below)

 

Unfortunately, this does not provide any improvement; the account options stays empty:

 

On a positive note, the hardcoding the account value does still work. But ideally this would work as designed using the UI.


Hi ​@hanneke,

I have a suggestion for a workaround that may help: You can use the Instagram account ID as a custom value. You should be able to see the ID on Facebook. Like so:
 
fe2c72cd5497fd10d6eac25e99d8a38e.png
(view larger
 
After locating the ID. You can input the ID as a custom value. Like so:
 
8134e1396e49c77b1da114b80aa570e6.png
(view larger)

Kindly give it a try and let me know how it goes? I'll keep an eye out for your response!


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