What you need#
- An Instagram Business or Creator account. Personal Instagram accounts can't be connected. Switching to a professional account is free in the Instagram app.
- The Instagram account linked to a Facebook Page, and a Facebook profile with full control of that Page. Instagram connects through Facebook: there's no separate Instagram sign-in.
- Facebook's sign-in must be able to load. Switch off ad blockers and tracking protection for app.heropost.io, and allow pop-ups.
- The owner or Admin role in your Heropost workspace.
You don't have to add the Facebook Page itself to Heropost to post to Instagram. You do need it in the same workspace to read and answer Instagram messages in the Social Inbox.
Connect your Instagram accounts#
- Click your workspace name at the top of Heropost, then Accounts.
- Press Add Profile and choose Instagram.
- Facebook opens in a small window. Log in if Facebook asks; if you're already logged in on facebook.com, it uses that profile. Continue as the profile that manages the Page linked to your Instagram account.
- When Facebook asks what Heropost may use, tick that Page and its Instagram account. Leave all the permissions switched on.
- Back in Heropost, Add Social Account lists your Instagram accounts under Profiles. Tick the ones you want and press Done.
- Heropost shows Account successfully added.
The list is empty#
Instagram accounts appear only when all three are true:
- The account is a Business or Creator account.
- It's linked to a Facebook Page.
- You ticked that Page (and the Instagram account) when Facebook asked, signed in as a profile that manages the Page.
Fix whichever is missing, then add Instagram again. If Facebook doesn't ask you which Pages and accounts to share, it's reusing an old choice: remove Heropost in Facebook's Business integrations and connect again, as described in A Page is missing from the list.
Use a different Facebook profile#
Facebook's window uses whichever profile is signed in to facebook.com in your browser. To connect with another profile, log out of facebook.com first, or use a private window, then add Instagram again.
What you can post#
| Post | Supported | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Photo | Yes | One JPG or PNG, up to 8 MB. |
| Carousel | Yes | 2 to 10 photos in one post. |
| Video | Yes | One MP4 or MOV, 3 seconds to 15 minutes, up to 1 GB. Every video is published as a Reel. |
| Story | Yes | Post Type Story: one photo (up to 8 MB) or one video (3 to 60 seconds, up to 100 MB). |
| Text only | No | Instagram needs at least one photo or video. |
| Link post | No | |
| Tagging people, collaborators, music, polls, alt text, product tags | No | Add these in the Instagram app if you need them. |
| Text | Limit |
|---|---|
| Caption | 2,200 characters, up to 30 hashtags |
| First comment | 2,200 characters, up to 30 hashtags |
| Stories | No caption: the caption box is grayed out, and the location isn't sent |
Photo shape. Feed photos should be between 4:5 (portrait) and 1.91:1 (landscape). If a photo is much taller or wider, Heropost opens Incorrect Image when you upload it, with the reason. Press Go to Editor to crop it to a shape Instagram accepts, or Cancel.
Stories. Heropost adds blank space around a wide Story photo to make it 9:16, so Instagram doesn't crop it. For video Stories, 9:16 avoids cropping too.
Processing. Instagram processes every photo and video before it goes live. Heropost waits up to an hour for it to finish. If Instagram rejects a video's format, Heropost re-encodes it once and tries again.
Options in the Instagram tab#
- Post Type: Media (photo, carousel or Reel) or Story.
- Location: search for a place and pick it from the list. Not available on Stories.
- First Comment: posted from your Instagram account right after the post goes out. Not available on Stories. See Add a first comment.
- Add Thumbnail: a cover image for a video (JPG or PNG, up to 8 MB). With several files, it's in the file's ⋮ menu. Not available on Stories.
- Grid: see how posts will look on your profile with the Instagram grid planner.
Limits and holds#
- Bursts. Instagram limits accounts that post many times at once. It answers "We restrict certain activity to protect our community". Space your posts a few minutes apart. For automations, set Check for New Posts to Every Hour in the automation's settings.
- When Instagram limits an account, Heropost stops publishing to it for a while, to protect it. Posts due in that time fail with "Instagram is temporarily limiting how often this account can post. Heropost paused publishing to it until {date} UTC to protect the account. This post was not published to it — schedule it again later." Wait until that time, then send the held posts again with Duplicate Failed. See When a network limits an account.
- Facebook problems affect Instagram. Instagram connects through your Facebook profile, so a Facebook password change or security check stops your Instagram posts too.
Analytics and the Social Inbox#
- Analytics: reach, views, likes, comments and shares for each post; reach, views and shares for Stories. Follower growth is tracked every day, and posts you publish directly on Instagram are included. See Analytics.
- Social Inbox: comments, mentions and messages. You can reply. Messages need the Instagram account's linked Facebook Page connected in the same workspace. See The Social Inbox.
Errors and fixes#
When you connect or reconnect#
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Authentication cancelled" | Facebook's window was closed or blocked, or you didn't allow access. | Allow pop-ups for app.heropost.io and try again. |
| "Facebook's sign-in could not open because Facebook's script did not load in this browser. If you use an ad blocker or tracking protection, switch it off for Heropost, then reload the page and try again." | An ad blocker or tracking protection blocked Facebook's sign-in. | Switch it off for app.heropost.io and reload. |
| Add Social Account is empty | No Business or Creator account linked to a Page you ticked. | See The list is empty. |
| "Selected account not found" | When reconnecting, the profile you signed in with can't access the Page linked to this Instagram account, or it wasn't ticked. | Sign in as a profile that manages the Page, and tick the Page and the Instagram account. |
In the post editor#
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Media is required" | Instagram posts need a photo or video. | Add one. |
| "You can upload up to 10 files" | A carousel takes up to 10 files. | Remove some. |
| "You can upload only 1 file" | A Story takes one photo or video. | Keep one file. |
| "Wrong file format. Please upload JPG, PNG, MP4 or MOV" | Instagram takes JPG and PNG photos, MP4 and MOV videos. | Convert the file. |
| "Image size limit: 8MB maximum" / "Video size limit: 1024MB maximum" / "Video size limit: 100MB maximum" | The file is too big (the last one is for Stories). | Compress it. |
| "Duration of the video must be between 3 seconds and 15 minutes" | The video is too short or too long for a post. | Trim it. |
| "Duration of the video must be between 3 and 60 seconds" | The video is too short or too long for a Story. | Trim it. |
| Incorrect Image — "Oops, your image does not correspond to Instagram requirements: Aspect ratio must be within a 9:16.15 to 1.91:1 range." | The photo is too tall or too wide for the feed. | Press Go to Editor and crop it. |
| "You can have up to 2200 characters in caption" / "You can have up to 2200 characters in first comment" | The text is too long. | Shorten it. |
| "You can have up to 30 hashtags in caption" | Too many hashtags. | Use 30 or fewer. |
| "Codec is not supported. For more information please check requirements" | Your browser can't read the video. | Export it again as an H.264 MP4. |
| "Wrong file format. Please upload PNG or JPG" / "Size limit: 8MB maximum" | The video cover isn't a PNG or JPG, or is over 8 MB. | Use a smaller PNG or JPG. |
| Hovering Schedule All shows "Please select accounts for Instagram" | Instagram is on, but no Instagram account is ticked. | Tick one, or switch Instagram off for the post. |
When you schedule, the same rules are checked again: "Unable to post because Instagram requires media." or "Unable to post because Instagram Story requires 1 media." Open the Instagram tab and add the photo or video.
When a post fails#
Failed posts are listed under Content → Posting Errors. Instagram's own messages are shown as Instagram wrote them.
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Instagram is temporarily limiting how often this account can post. …" | Instagram limited the account, so Heropost paused publishing to it. | Wait until the time shown, then send the post again with Duplicate Failed. |
| "We restrict certain activity to protect our community" | Too many posts reached the account at the same moment. | Space posts a few minutes apart. |
| "Your post couldn't be published because Instagram is taking too long to process it. Please try again later." | Instagram didn't finish processing within an hour. | Try again later, ideally with a smaller file. |
| "The media container-{id} was not published within 24 hours and has expired." | Instagram's upload expired before it could be published. | Send the post again with Duplicate Failed. |
| "The media was not published due to error. Error: Media upload has failed with error code 2207053." | Instagram rejected the file (format, encoding, length or size). | Export the video again as an MP4 within the limits above (see Media Requirements in the upload box), then send the post again with Duplicate Failed. |
| "The Instagram Professional account is inactive, checkpointed, or restricted. Please sign in to the Instagram app and complete any actions the app requires to re-enable the account." | Instagram restricted the account or wants you to confirm something. | Open the Instagram app and complete what it asks. Then send the post again with Duplicate Failed. |
| "The submitted caption was {N} characters long. The maximum number of characters permitted for a caption is 2,200" | The caption is over Instagram's limit, usually from an automation or an AI tool. | Shorten the caption on the Instagram tab. |
| "Error validating access token: The session has been invalidated because the user changed their password or Facebook has changed the session for security reasons" | Your Facebook password changed, or Facebook reset your sessions. | Reconnect the Facebook Pages, then each Instagram account. |
| "Failed to create a comment to Instagram post" | The post went out, but the first comment didn't. | Add the comment in Instagram. |
For other Facebook messages (security checks, unconfirmed profile, permissions), see the Facebook errors: the same fixes apply.
Failed posts aren't sent again by themselves. After fixing the cause, open the post from Content → Posting Errors and choose ⋮ → Duplicate Failed: you get a draft with only the accounts that failed, ready to schedule. See The Posting Errors page.
Questions#
Can I connect a personal Instagram account?
No. Instagram only lets apps publish to Business and Creator accounts. Switch your account to a professional account in the Instagram app, link it to a Facebook Page, then connect it.
Do my videos go out as Reels?
Yes. A video with Post Type Media is published as a Reel. Choose Story to post a Story instead.
Can I tag people, add collaborators or add music?
No. Heropost doesn't add user tags, collaborators, music, polls or alt text. Add them in the Instagram app after the post is published, where Instagram allows it.
Why don't my Story captions show?
Instagram Stories published by apps don't carry a caption, so the caption box is grayed out on the Story post type. Put any text on the image or video itself.
My Instagram posts stopped when my Facebook posts did. Why?
Instagram connects through your Facebook profile. When Facebook ends that connection (for example after a password change), reconnect each Page and then each Instagram account.
Can I post to Instagram without connecting the Facebook Page?
Yes. The Instagram account must be linked to a Page you manage, but you don't have to add the Page to Heropost. To read and answer Instagram messages in the Social Inbox, connect the Page in the same workspace.