INTRODUCTION
Meta Business Suite is a useful management tool for brands and business owners who use various Meta products like Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Shops and ads. Occasionally, however, there are some quirks that can cause some frustration.
One example involves connecting an Instagram account to your Facebook page in Meta Business Suite. What should be a pretty straightforward process can be derailed by a message stating “The Instagram account is already connected [to a different Facebook page].”
Following are some scenarios and things to try if you are experiencing issues connecting your Instagram account to Meta Business Suite.
HOW TO SWITCH YOUR INSTAGRAM CONNECTION TO A NEW PAGE
The most common cause for the “already connected” message occurs when you, or another admin, linked your Instagram account to a different Facebook page in the past. You can connect it to your new page in a few different ways.
First, you can switch the connection in the “posts & stories” section in Meta Business Suite. Click “create post” and then “Connect Instagram” in the placements section. From here, log into your brand’s Instagram account. The “already connected” message will pop up and you will see the page it’s already connected to. Click “next” followed by “switch connection” to change it over.
If you have access to the old Facebook page, you also can disconnect Instagram from the “Instagram” tab in the page settings and then reconnect it to your new page. Finally, you can switch the connection in the Instagram app. Go to “Edit Profile” and click “Page” in the public business information section. Then select “Change or create Page” to connect it to the new page.
No matter the method, you must be an Admin of the active Facebook page to connect it to Instagram.
HOW TO DISCONNECT YOUR INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT FROM A PHANTOM FACEBOOK PAGE
A more confusing scenario occurs when your Instagram account is connected to a non-existent, or “phantom,” Facebook page. When this happens, the “already connected” message will show that your Instagram account is connected to a page that resembles your brand’s active Facebook page. Oftentimes it will have the same name and profile image as your actual social media accounts.
This situation occurs because Instagram sometimes generates a Facebook page when you create an account without selecting an associated Facebook page. This is more common for new brands that set up their Instagram account before their Facebook page.
If this situation sounds familiar, you can save yourself some headaches by checking the business assets in your Meta Business Suite settings.
Go to “All assets” to view a complete list of all the Meta products that are connected to your account. You should see your active Instagram and Facebook pages, for instance. If you have a “phantom” page, you also will see a second Facebook page that you didn’t create. The page ID for that page will be different from the one assigned to your real page. It also will route to your Instagram account when you try to view it.
While identifying the issue is the hardest part, it is relatively easy to fix. Click “Connect Instagram” within the “Posts & Stories” section associated with your real page. Then click “next” to switch the connection. Once you log into your Instagram account, you can disconnect it from the “phantom” page and connect it to your real Facebook page. This also should remove the “phantom” page from your business account entirely.
You must be an admin of the Facebook page to make the switch–it is not enough to have admin access to the Business Suite account. Once properly connected, you will be able to use Meta Business Suite to post to Instagram or crosspost to both Facebook and Instagram.