How to fix Hootsuite not posting to Instagram error

Features like scheduling posts in advance, managing multiple accounts from one control center, and tracking performance in detail make Hootsuite a social media manager’s dream. However, this dream may quickly crumble once the platform is unable to post to Instagram.

Luckily, you’ll discover that an error occurred directly from Hootsuite and not because of a missing photo, video, or carousel in your feed. Once you do, you will be able to troubleshoot and find a solution with the tips and tricks presented in this article.

Why Hootsuite can’t post to Instagram

Hootsuite users who want to post to Instagram directly will need to use a feature called Composer. This is where a publishing error will be displayed if your post is not published.

For those who schedule posts, Hootsuite Planner is the place to be. If your Instagram content is not published once the publishing time arrives, you will receive an email notification. Visit the Planner and you’ll see why your post couldn’t be published (look for the title in red).

From there, you can see the publishing error and Hootsuite’s recommendations on how to proceed. To ensure you don’t have to go through this hassle often, check out the list of the most common publishing mistakes and consider optimizing your future content to avoid them.

Your Instagram account is offline

Like most social media platforms, Instagram is constantly updated. Sometimes these updates can disrupt platform integrations, causing you to be disconnected from Hootsuite. And if your Instagram account is offline, your posts have nowhere to go.

Fortunately, there is an easy solution: reconnect your Instagram account to Hootsuite.

1. Visit the “My Profile” tab in the upper right corner.
   
2. Navigate to the “Reconnect Social Accounts” option.
   
3. Locate your Instagram account.
4. Select the “Reconnect” option.
   
5. Enter your Instagram username and password.

Your Instagram account is inactive or restricted

Just because your Instagram account is properly connected to Hootsuite doesn’t mean you’ll be able to post to it without issues. Especially if your Instagram account has been restricted by the social media platform. Such a restriction may result from a long period of inactivity or a violation of Instagram policies. Terms of useamong many things.

Whatever the case, there’s no point in guessing when you’ll be able to identify the problem with a few clicks. Review received emails and look for an email from Instagram. There, you should be able to see what is preventing you from publishing on the platform. Resolve the issue and you’ll be back to publishing through Hootsuite in no time.

Instagram is temporarily limiting your access

Turns out, there can be too many good things after all. Well, at least according to Instagram. Post too much or take too many actions in a relatively short period of time and a limit may be placed on your Instagram account. Since the platform is not particularly forthcoming about these limits, the safest thing to do is to give it some time (at least 24 hours) and check if the limit has been removed.

Page setup is incomplete for publishing

If you see this error in your Composer or Planner, it means that Hootsuite does not have the necessary permissions to post to Instagram on your behalf. This can occur when your account settings change after you add it to Hootsuite.

Here’s how to fix this problem:

1. Go to the “My Profile” tab in the bottom left corner of your screen.
2. Navigate to the “Manage accounts and teams” option.
3. Locate the problematic Instagram account under “Private social accounts.”
4. Go to “Profile Settings”.
5. Select the “Reconnect with Instagram” option.
6. Enter your Instagram username and password.
7. Approve the following permission requests to complete the action.

Other requirements for publishing directly to Hootsuite include the following:

• You have a business profile on Instagram.
• The Instagram profile is connected to a Facebook page.
• You are an administrator or editor on the connected Facebook Page.

All of these criteria must be met for Hootsuite to post to Instagram directly. Otherwise, reconnecting your Instagram account won’t solve your posting problem much.

Your Instagram profile does not have access to direct publication

There are three types of Instagram profiles:

• Staff
• Business
• Creator

For the purposes of this article, we will focus on the last two.

With a business profile, Hootsuite will give you full access to all of your Instagram features. Publish your posts directly or schedule them for later; up to you.

However, a Creator profile doesn’t give you as much freedom. That is, users with this type of profile on Instagram cannot use the direct publishing function in Hootsuite. If they try, they will encounter an error.

The only way to solve this problem is to convert your Instagram account to a business profile (and connect it to a Facebook page).

1. Launch the Instagram app.
   
2. Tap your profile in the bottom right corner.
   
3. Press the hamburger icon in the upper right corner to open the menu.
   
4. Visit “Settings”.
   
5. Locate the “Change account type” option under “Account.”
   
6. Select the “Switch to Business Account” option.
7. Tap “Change.”

The image you want to publish has an unsupported aspect ratio

The problem with Hootsuite and Instagram doesn’t necessarily lie in their connection. It may also have to do with the content you are trying to publish.

To post images to Instagram (in general, not just through Hootsuite), you must follow specific rules. One of these rules includes following the default aspect ratio. Your image can be square or between the ratios 1.91:1 (landscape) and 4:5 (portrait).

You may feel like these limitations are stifling your creativity, but if you want the world to see your image, you need to resize it.

1. Hover over the image thumbnail.
2. Select the “Edit image” option.
3. Choose one of the crop rations allowed on Instagram.

To avoid this problem, make the necessary adjustments before uploading the image to Instagram. Alternatively, just let Hootsuite do it for you.

If you switch to “Post via Mobile Notification” as your posting method in Hootsuite, the platform will adjust your Instagram post for you.

Your Instagram post is a duplicate

This is another content problem that has an easy solution: make each Instagram post unique (or at least space out the duplicates). If you try to post identical or nearly identical Instagram content repeatedly, the platform will flag you for violating its Terms of use.

A temporary error occurred

Sometimes the reason your content isn’t posted on Instagram isn’t deep-rooted. It could simply be a temporary lack of connection. If you see the message that a temporary error occurred, wait a few minutes and try publishing again.

If the issue persists, Hootsuite may be experiencing publishing issues as a whole. Check the platform status page to see if an accident is occurring. If so, the only solution is to wait.

A quick solution

Don’t let a posting error discourage you from discovering all the wonders of using Hootsuite for social media management. Whatever the problem, you can find a solution on our list. You may have to wait a little or tweak your settings here and there, but you’ll be back to posting on Instagram in no time.