Connect Instagram to SiteOps
Instagram is where short vertical video finds an audience beyond your existing followers. Reels get pushed to people who have never heard of you, which makes it one of the cheapest ways to grow a brand.
Publishing to Instagram from an outside tool runs through Meta, Instagram's parent company. Meta only allows this for professional accounts that are linked to a Facebook Page — a personal account cannot be connected, no matter what permissions you grant. Most connection failures trace back to this pairing.
Once connected, SiteOps publishes the videos you approve as Reels and reads back how many views each one gets. You stop copying files to your phone and uploading by hand, and the results land next to your other channels.
One honest timing note: Reels publishing and insights run through SiteOps's own Meta app, which Meta reviews once for the whole platform. That review is a one-time SiteOps step, not something you do — but on a freshly reviewed app, publishing may take a short while to become available while Meta finishes granting it.
Set it up, step by step
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- Settings
- Account type and tools
- Account type and tools
- Switch to professional account
- Settings
- Sharing to other apps
- Page settings
- Linked accounts
- Settings
- Connect
What an Instagram post carries — media required, caption up to 2,200 Instagram has rules for Reels: vertical video, up to a few minutes long. SiteOps videos are made to fit, but if you ever publish your own file and it fails, dimensions and length are the first things to check.
If something does not work
- My Instagram account does not show up when I connect
- Almost always the Page pairing. Check that the account is a professional account (Business or Creator) and that it is linked to a Facebook Page — visible from both the Instagram settings and the Page settings. Then disconnect in SiteOps and connect again so Meta re-reads the list.
- The connection is green but nothing publishes
- A permission was declined during the Meta consent screen — usually the one about publishing content. Disconnect Instagram in SiteOps settings, press Connect again, and leave every permission switched on this time.
- The connection shows Needs attention after working fine
- The Page link is usually what came undone — someone unlinked the accounts, changed the Facebook password, or removed the Page from the Business Manager. Re-link the Instagram account to the Facebook Page, then reconnect in SiteOps.
- Which login do I use — Instagram or Facebook?
- Facebook. Meta routes all outside-tool access through the Facebook account that manages the linked Page. Your Instagram password is never entered in SiteOps.
- I see view counts on Instagram but the Social card is empty
- Fresh numbers can lag a few hours on Meta's side, so give a new Reel until the next day. If the card stays empty after that, the reading permission was likely declined — reconnect and grant everything.