Connecting an Instagram account in the Feeds module

To use either an Instagram account source or Instagram Reels source in the Feeds module, you first need to connect the relevant Instagram account on the "Your Social Connections" screen in Feeds. A single connection should satisfy the requirement for either source type with Instagram.

If you have multiple Instagram accounts (school, athletics, alumni) that you want to display as source, then you need to connect each account in Feeds. Steps are provided below. Once you've connected the Instagram account, then you can add your Instagram source to Feeds.

Below is a video walkthrough:

To add a new connection

1. Let's say you want to connect an Instagram account in Feeds. Visit instagram.com and log your browser out of all Instagram accounts. This is an essential step. 

2. Navigate to the left-side Modules menu in Composer and select “Feeds” from the menu. The popup window for the Feeds moderation console should appear.

3. Click the hamburger menu   on the right-hand side of the popup window, then click the “Your Social Connections" link. This was previously called "Connected Social Accounts".

4. On the "Your Social Connections" screen, find the Instagram section. Click the green plus icon to log in with the username and password for the Instagram account. When prompted, authorize the requested access.
   
   

5. The connection will be established and should be listed in the "Your Social Connections" screen via green text saying a valid until date. Note: Connecting the account does not automatically also add it as a source. You'll still need to add each Instagram account as a source in the Feeds module.

If you need to add multiple Instagram sources, you must connect each account one at a time. Please use the steps above to connect the first account. Before returning to the Feeds console to connect the second account, make sure you are logged out of the first account on http://www.instagram.com - if not, then you'll reconnect the first account again by accident.

The connection token for each account will expire after two months and needs to be reconnected using the steps below. If one of your connections has expired, it will be displayed in red text.

To refresh a connection

If you receive an email or in-app notification that your social account connection has expired, you can refresh it from the "Your Social Connections" page by following these steps: 

1. Let's say you want to refresh an expired Instagram connection in Feeds. Visit instagram.com and log your browser out of all Instagram accounts. This is an essential step. 

2. Navigate to the left-side Modules menu in Composer and select “Feeds” from the menu. The popup window for the Feeds moderation console should appear.

3. Click the hamburger menu  on the right-hand side of the popup window, then click “the Your Social Connections” link. This was previously called "Connected Social Accounts".

4. On the "Your Social Connections" screen, click the refresh double 'arrow' icon by Instagram. Feeds will refresh the connection for the Instagram account your browser is logged into. 
   
   
   
5. If the red text does not go away and the connection still shows as expired, visit instagram.com and make sure your browser is logged into the corresponding account. Then try refreshing it again.

Note: Once the Instagram account is connected, your existing Instagram source in the Feeds module will refresh with the next scheduled sync of the feed. The sync occurs every 4 hours for "Starter" Feeds plans, or every 5 minutes for "Standard" and "Premium" plans.

NEXT STEP: If this was a connection for a new Instagram feed to use, then please make sure you return to the dashboard and add your Instagram source to Feeds.

Facebook

Please see our article on connecting and validating ownership of Facebook pages in Feeds.