How does instagram work with facebook
What Is Instagram and How Does It Work?
Instagram is one of the biggest social networks today, but not everyone is familiar with it. If you don't use social media, you might be wondering what Instagram is and how it works.
Below, we offer an introductory overview of Instagram. We look at what it is, what people use it for, and how to use its features yourself. By the end, you should have a good handle on how Instagram works.
What Is Instagram?
Instagram is a free social networking service built around sharing photos and videos. It launched in October 2010 on iPhone first, and became available on Android in April 2012. Facebook purchased the service in April 2012 and has owned it since.
Like most social media apps, Instagram allows you to follow users that you're interested in. This creates a feed on your homepage, showing recent posts from everyone you follow. You can like posts, comment on them, and share them with other people.
In addition to posting regular photos and videos, which stay on your page permanently, Instagram also supports stories. If you've used Snapchat, or most other social media platforms, you'll be familiar with these. Stories allow you to post many photos and video clips in a series. Anyone can view these for 24 hours, after which they expire.
That's not all the options for video; Instagram offers IGTV and Reels, as well. Reels are a lot like what you'll find on TikTok: short video clips that are easier to share and find than stories. And IGTV is for longer-form video that you want to keep on your profile.
Aside from all this, Instagram also supports direct messaging so you can chat with friends in private. You can also explore profiles to see what else you might have interest in.
We'll show you how all this works below.
How to Get Started With Instagram
The best way to understand more about how Instagram works is to start using it for yourself. To do this, you'll need to sign up for an account on Instagram's website, or by downloading Instagram for Android or Instagram for iPhone.
You can also install Instagram for Windows 10, which is basically a port of the mobile app. While Instagram has a desktop site, it's fairly limited. It's passable for browsing your feed, but Instagram is definitely a smartphone-focused service. Check out your options for posting to Instagram using a computer if needed.
When you sign up, you can do so through Facebook. Alternatively, provide your name, email address, and set a username and password. You can create multiple Instagram accounts, should you ever need to.
How Does Instagram Work?
Let's take a quick tour through each of Instagram's major functions and pages. You'll learn how to access these features and what they do.
Explore and Profiles
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Instagram isn't much fun without people to follow. Hit the magnifying glass icon on the bottom bar and you'll open the Explore page. Here you'll see pictures and users Instagram thinks you might like, along with categories at the top you can use to see more on a specific topic.
As you use Instagram more and interact with posts, the recommendations on this page will improve.
Use the Search bar at the top to look up people you want to follow. Hit the Follow button on an Instagram profile to subscribe to the user's posts. From then on, you'll see what they share on your Home tab. You can unfollow an account at any time using the same process.
Related: New to Instagram? Common Terms You Should Know
On profiles, you may also see options to Message or Email the person, depending on their settings. Profiles can include a location and link, along with archived stories. Tap on the fields about followers to search those accounts and check who follows them that you also know.
You'll see tabs for the profile's Instagram content below:
- The grid icon, on the left, is a feed of all their standard photos and videos.
- The Reels icon, which has a play button, collects all the person's Reels.
- Next is the IGTV button, which is an archive of all longer videos.
- The right icon collects images that the account has been tagged in.
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Notably, you're able to set your Instagram profile to private. This means that only people you approve can see your posts. When someone wants to follow you, they must send a request that you confirm, or else they can't see much on your page. It's just one way to make Instagram more private.
Finally, keep an eye out for the blue checkmark on profiles. This signifies a verified profile, which means Instagram has confirmed it's actually that public figure and not an impostor.
Your Home Feed
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Once you've followed some accounts on Instagram, your Home tab will become a much more lively place. On it, you'll see posts from those you follow. These include pictures and videos people post to their profile, as well as previews of IGTV videos you can tap to view in their entirety.
At the top, Instagram shows the profile pictures of people who have a new story for you to view. Tap one and you'll start watching the stories. You can tap the right side of the screen to jump to the next section of that user's story, or slide from right to left to skip that person entirely. Stories will continue until you reach the end of everyone you follow, with ads interjected at various points.
At the top-right, you'll see the Messages icon. Tap this to start a new direct message with one or more accounts, or view your current messages. You can also use Rooms to video chat.
Other Instagram Tabs
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There are several other tabs and buttons on Instagram's interface you should know about. At the top, tap the heart button to open the Activity page, where you'll see notifications about new followers, mentions, and similar.
On the bottom navigation bar, there's a Reels button in the middle.
Tap this to open a feed of Reels that Instagram thinks you will like. You can swipe through these to view more; tap the icons in the bottom-right corner to comment, share, or see other Reels that have used the current music.
To the right of the Reels tab is a Shop tab, where you can buy various products sold through the platform.
Finally, tap the Profile icon at the bottom-right corner to open your page. Here you can edit your profile and review how your page looks. Tap the three-line menu button in the top-right to access a lot more, including your Saved posts and the Settings menu.
How to Post on Instagram
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To upload a new post to Instagram, just tap the Plus icon at the top-right corner of the screen. This lets you take a new photo or video, or upload an existing picture from your phone's gallery. You can add multiple pictures to one post, as well.
After you take your photo, you can apply one of Instagram's many filters with just a tap. If you want more control, try manually making changes using the Edit tab.
Finally, on the last screen, you can add a caption to your picture, tag people, mark the location if you want, and choose whether to share it to other social networks. Tap Advanced Settings for more tools, like disabling comments or hiding the like count.
Once you hit Share, your picture will appear on your profile and in your followers' feeds.
Story, Reels, and Live Posts
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After tapping the Plus button to create a new post, you can use the tabs at the bottom to change the type to Story, Reels, or Live instead.
On the Story creator, you can chose from a ton of filters at the bottom, plus options to the left.
After taking a picture, you'll have more utilities at the top to add music, stickers, text, and more. At the bottom, you can tap Your Story or Close Friends to choose who sees the story.
Reels will let you create short TikTok-like videos, as mentioned earlier. And Live lets you broadcast in real-time to your followers, using a variety of filters if you like.
Covering these features in-depth is beyond the scope of this introductory guide. Have a look at our introduction to Instagram Reels and how to add more to your Instagram story to pick up more on these features.
What's the Point of Instagram?
You might be wondering what the purpose of using Instagram is when there are so many other social networks around. The main draw of Instagram is that it's based around photos and videos, which are super easy to take with a smartphone.
You don't have to carry around a camera to share the world around you—just snap a photo, apply a filter, and you're good to go.
Video is similarly simple. Anyone can record a quick video of themselves and potentially go viral, or broadcast to friends with no special equipment.
While it's not a concern for the average person, using Instagram as an advertising tool is also quite common. Some Instagram users use the service to amass followers, sharing photos solely designed to build a following. They then promote their blog or try to sell products to make money, using common Instagram captions along the way.
You'll usually see #ad, #sponsored, or similar in these posts to mark that a company has paid for the post to appear.
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Even if you don't care about photography, using Instagram as a "lurker" (where you follow others but don't post) is totally fine. It can be a fun way to keep up with your friends, and many celebrities also give glimpses into their lives through stories.
Try following your favorite band members, sports stars, and similar if you don't want to follow people you know in real life.
Now You Know What Instagram Does
We've taken a high-level look at what Instagram is, some basics on how the service works, and why you might want to give it a try. There's more to mastering Instagram's various features, but now you at least know how to start using it yourself.
If you don't remember anything else, just know that Instagram is a social network built around sharing photos and videos. It's become popular thanks to its simple filters that make your smartphone photos look better with little effort. Some of its featured have been copied by other social platforms, and it's "borrowed" plenty of ideas from similar apps itself.
Everything You Must Know About How to Link Instagram to Facebook
Facebook has simplified cross-app interoperability for businesses since purchasing Instagram.
The two social media platforms have been gradually gaining a stronger relationship and enabling more cross-platform integration.
If you are a social media marketer, a small business owner, or simply enjoy sharing content across both these platforms, the benefits of linking Facebook and Instagram are simply a no-brainer.
You may transfer content across the two and make some good use of the potential of visual elements that both of these platforms employ.
What’s more, you may even log in to Instagram using Facebook to save time.
In this article, you will learn how to link Instagram to Facebook, and the advantages your business would gain by doing so.
Let’s start.
What are the Benefits of Linking Facebook to Your Instagram Account?
Never underestimate the value of delivering a seamless online experience for your customers. By linking both your Instagram and Facebook accounts, your followers will know they’re working with the same company, and you’ll be able to provide a quality experience. Given below are some of the benefits of linking your Facebook and Instagram accounts:
1. Gain More Precise Insights
When both platforms are linked, you may compare and analyze the post-performance for both audiences, as well as other features. Determine where your organic initiatives are succeeding and where it would make the most sense to spend in paid marketing efforts.
2. Respond to Messages Instantly
Once you are done connecting your Instagram and Facebook accounts, you can manage your messaging from a single location. This makes maintaining a rapid response time much simpler, and it provides you accessibility to more inbox features, such as message filters and customer labels.
3. Run Ads Better
To run advertisements in some locations, you must link a Facebook page. Connecting accounts is optional, but it enables you to run advertisements on both of these networking sites and pay for them in one location.
Step-by-Step Process of How To Link Facebook With Instagram
You may have your Instagram business account and a Facebook business page individually ready. Now, it’s just a matter of connecting the two.
Before You Begin
You must first create a Facebook business profile to connect an Instagram account with. If you currently sell on Facebook, using Facebook Business Partners, you can quickly link your Facebook page to Instagram Shopping. You may also start a new Facebook page from scratch and convert it into a business account at the outset.
Given below are the requirements for running a Facebook business page:
- To be able to manage your Facebook business page, you should be a page admin
- Your Facebook page should be public
- Your business should deal with physical products
- You must adhere to the Facebook Merchant’s terms and conditions as well as its Commerce Policies
How to Link Facebook Page to Instagram
- Sign in to your Facebook business page and select Pages from the left-hand menu.
- Go to your Facebook page and click on Settings.
- Scroll to the bottom of the left column and select “Instagram.“
- Enter your Instagram username and password and then click on “Connect Account.“
A window will now open prompting you to connect to your Instagram profile.
Once logged in, proceed with the steps to connect your Instagram profile to your Business/professional profile.
When you’re finished, you’ll get a success message proclaiming that you have successfully transitioned to a business account on Instagram.’
That’s all; your accounts are now linked.
How to Link Your Instagram Profile to Facebook
- Open Instagram and navigate to your profile.
- Select “Edit” Profile.
- Select “Page” under Public Business/Profile Information.
- Select the Facebook page to which you would want to connect.
5. You can click/tap on the “Create a new Facebook page” if you don’t already have one
Lastly, after creating your Facebook page, you can choose the profile and click on ‘Create widget‘ to get started with your Instagram stories widget.
Integrating Facebook and Instagram allows you to utilize additional Facebook features to govern your Instagram profile, such as improved ad targeting and a unified messaging inbox, as already mentioned.
To be able to access these options, it is best to use Facebook using a browser on a computer rather than using the mobile app.
First, ensure that you are logged into the proper Facebook account and visit your Facebook Page. If Facebook asks you to Switch Profile to engage as your business page, you should do so.
What Type of Content Can Be Used for Both Instagram and Facebook?
Your accounts are now connected, and you may enjoy the previously stated perks. But what about the type of content that will work for both these platforms? Not sure where to begin? We have got some pointers to assist you in ensuring that your post’s content is suitable for both Instagram and Facebook. Take a look:
1. Contests and Giveaways
Social media contests are a simple method to gain new followers, engage both new and current audiences, and promote your brand on both Instagram and Facebook. Ensure that all of the regulations for freebies and special promotions are the same.
Fortunately, when you publish to both accounts at the same time, your viewers on both platforms will receive the same information, streamlining all of your giveaways and contests in real-time!
2. Promotions and Sales
Do you have a unique sales offer going on for one of your posts on Instagram? Share it on Facebook as well! Cross-promotion of sales specials across accounts is an excellent method to grow your client base and sales.
Promoting your current specials across platforms will only help you grow sales because you have the opportunity to “catch-all” on both platforms.
One of the few platform-independent marketing techniques is special deals or discounts. The more you spread the word about these, the better. Make use of the connected profiles and plan specific sales posts on Instagram and Facebook.
3. Visual Content
This one is self-evident. All of your Instagram posts feature a picture or video of some kind. Therefore, including a video or photo must feature in your social media marketing strategy for posts to be shared on both Instagram and Facebook.
While text-only posts on Facebook may work, Instagram is primarily a visual medium that demands some sort of creative content to go along with the text (for example- an infographic)
How to Unlink the Accounts?
Now that you know how to link Facebook and Instagram, you can easily market your business and cross-sell on the platforms with lesser efforts than posting on both platforms individually.
But, what should you do if you do not want the two to be linked?
If you wish to deactivate your Facebook account or just separate the two platforms, you can do so without sacrificing any of your posts.
All you have to do is open the Account Center. Tap on your associated account, then select ‘Remove from Accounts Center‘ from the Account & Profiles menu, as shown below.
Your Instagram data will remain on your Facebook page until you manually delete it, and you will need to erase all of your Instagram posts from Facebook.
Wrapping Up
Connecting your Instagram and Facebook company accounts saves a lot of time through its cross-platform posting functionality. Besides, it is simple to implement in merely a few easy steps.
Social media is no longer a nice-to-have extra tool for a small business’s marketing strategy; it is a MUST-HAVE. So, when it comes to local social media marketing, work smarter, not harder, by connecting your Facebook marketing and Instagram marketing efforts into one!
Speaking of marketing via Facebook and Instagram, there are few tools as effective as SocialPilot. Besides providing a host of tools for social media marketing management, such as post scheduling, publishing, and analysis.
It also offers an integrated Social Inbox tool to let you seamlessly interact with your audience and improve conversions. So, why wait? Go for its free trial today!
How do I add Instagram and Facebook accounts to the same Account Center?
Help Center
Instagram features
Posting photos and videos
By adding your Instagram and Facebook account to the same Account Center, you can share Instagram stories and posts to Facebook.
How do I add my Instagram and Facebook accounts to the same Account Center?
Click the or icon on your profile picture in the lower right corner of the screen to go to your profile. nine0003
Click the icon in the upper right corner of the screen and select Settings.
Select Account Center at the bottom of the screen.
Click Add Facebook account or Add Instagram account and follow the on-screen instructions.
When you add accounts to one Account Center, you will be able to share posts on Facebook from the same screen where you add a caption to a photo or video.
How do I remove my Instagram and Facebook accounts from the Account Center? nine0003
Instagram app for Android and iPhone or Instagram Lite app for Android
Tap the or icon on your profile picture in the bottom right corner of the screen to go to your profile.
Tap the icon in the upper right corner of the screen and select Settings.
Select Account Center at the bottom of the screen.
Click Accounts.
Click Delete next to the profile you want to delete.
Select Continue and then Delete account [name]. nine0003
instagram.com in a browser on a mobile device
instagram.com in a browser on a computer
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Court banned Instagram and Facebook. What does this mean for users — RBC
The activities of Instagram and Facebook in Russia are recognized as extremist and banned, but they are still possible to use, albeit with a number of restrictions. Responsibility may arise for advertising or payments to sites
Photo: Jeff Chiu / AP
The Tverskoy Court of Moscow on Monday, March 21, recognized the activities of the social networks Instagram and Facebook, owned by Meta Platforms Inc.
, as extremist and banned them in Russia , RBC was told in the press service of the court. nine0003
Roskomnadzor and the General Prosecutor's Office asked Meta to be recognized as an extremist organization. This was in response to the publication of an internal letter from the company, which reported that it was temporarily lifting the ban on its social networks for residents of a number of countries to post information containing calls for violence against Russian citizens, including military personnel. As a Meta spokesperson later explained, they allowed calls for violence against the military, but intended to limit such attacks against ordinary Russian citizens. nine0003
Facebook has been blocked in Russia since March 4, and Instagram since March 14. What will change after the recognition of their owner as an extremist organization - in the material of RBC.
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adv.rbc.ru
The prosecutor who appeared in court in the case of recognizing Meta as an extremist organization stated that the use of Facebook and Instagram by citizens and companies cannot be recognized as extremism.
Russians will not be held accountable for using these platforms. nine0003
Maintaining your accounts on social networks, including using a VPN (virtual private network - a user's secure encrypted connection to the Network, which allows you to connect to the necessary resources through an intermediate point in another country and protect traffic from analysis within the source country), not will fall under the signs of the activities of organizations banned in Russia, said lawyer, managing partner of AVG Legal Alexei Gavrishev. “Of course, provided that user posts do not contain extremist appeals,” he stressed. nine0003
At the same time, the court statement states that this decision does not apply to the activities of the WhatsApp messenger, also owned by Meta, "due to the lack of functions for the public dissemination of information." Earlier, market participants began to notice disruptions in WhatsApp and associated them with the blocking of Meta products in Russia, but a representative of Roskomnadzor denied such a connection.
Earlier, Andrei Klishas, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, also stated that Russian legislation does not provide for consequences for users who have accounts on Facebook and Instagram. According to him, if the Meta resources are recognized as extremist and subject to blocking, then the responsibility of the state and the relevant executive authorities is to ensure the implementation of this decision throughout Russia. nine0003
So far, there has been no practice of liability for publications on prohibited resources, says Sergey Glandin, Head of Sanctions Law and Compliance Practice at Pen & Paper. “However, it could well be a revealing story if someone writes an anti-government post,” he did not rule out. In addition, Glandin sees risks for Meta employees in Russia, who can now be recognized as extremists, as well as for telecom operators, Internet providers, search engines: they will be required to label prohibited resources accordingly and restrict access.
Otherwise, they face multi-million dollar fines. The Pen & Paper lawyer also pointed out that the use of VPNs in Russia is not prohibited, but the authorities have organized work to block VPN services. As Alexander Khinshtein, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, said earlier, Roskomnadzor has already blocked about 20 VPN services in Russia. nine0003
Currently, Facebook and Instagram have stopped integrating and accepting payments in Russia, making it almost impossible to pay for ads, says Gavrishev. “Of course, business representatives who are users of Meta advertising services will temporarily lose the demand of a potential audience, however, representatives of Russian Internet services will soon pick up and compensate for the need for advertising services for citizens and businesses,” he is sure. According to the expert, if there are still isolated cases of successful payment for advertising services, they will not fall under the signs of financing extremism.
All actions on Meta social networks are under the special control of law enforcement agencies, and only persons whose goals of maintaining accounts are aimed at violating Russian law and all kinds of appeals will be held criminally liable. nine0003
However, according to Glandin, everything related to financing falls under Art. 282.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (financing of extremism), which is punishable by up to eight years in prison. “If a person bought Meta shares in another country and this becomes known to the authorities, the punishment also threatens. The risks remain for people with dual citizenship,” he said.
Previously, lawyers could not unequivocally say whether the acquisition of Meta shares would be considered a violation (until now they were traded on the Moscow and St. Petersburg stock exchanges). As Mikhail Fedotov, one of the authors of the media law, said, Meta shareholders will not be able to be charged with financing extremist activities, since they own shares, but do not control the organization.
However, Yury Fedyukin, managing partner of the law firm Enterprise Legal Solutions, pointed out that, according to the law, financing of extremist activities is the provision of funds, their collection or the provision of financial services aimed at ensuring the operation of an organization from the list, and “the issue of securities by a public joint-stock company is aimed primarily to attract investments, that is, funds that are directed, among other things, to finance the activities of the organization. nine0003
An explanation published by the Russian Association for Electronic Communications (RAEC) states that, based on formal adherence to anti-extremist legislation, liability can be held for performing work or providing services in the interests of Meta; ordering paid services, including advertising, and making any payments in favor of the corporation; public display of its logo.
Timofey Shcherbakov, Director of Legal Affairs at RBC Group of Companies, explained that the situation with the recognition of Meta’s social networks as banned due to extremist activity is “generally unprecedented” and “it is not yet entirely clear how to be a Russian media”.
“Each company now decides for itself what it should do with its own social media accounts and the mention of prohibited resources, but most, including our company, will at least avoid using symbols and links to Facebook and Instagram, since these resources are now officially associated with carrying out extremist activities," he said. Otherwise, according to Shcherbakov, market participants will be guided by the comments of state officials and law enforcement practice. nine0003
RBC's director of legal affairs also says that while the media should not make special notes like "the company has been recognized as extremist on the territory of Russia", but such a need may appear as soon as the court decision is published and the relevant entries are made in the state register of organizations, in respect of whom there is evidence of involvement in extremist activities. In this regard, a number of media outlets have already begun to preventively mark all references to Facebook, Instagram and Meta as prohibited, citing today's court decision, he said.
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According to the press service of Roskomnadzor, in accordance with the explanations of the General Prosecutor's Office, the lawsuit is not aimed at restricting the use of Meta software products by both individuals and legal entities that do not participate in activities prohibited by law.
“However, according to Art. 4 of the Law of the Russian Federation "On the Mass Media", when distributing information, Russian media are obliged to label such an organization and its social networks in their editorial materials. The marking must contain an indication that its activities on the territory of Russia are prohibited. Responsibility for the media for the lack of such marking comes after the Ministry of Justice of Russia includes an extremist organization in the relevant list, ”said the representative of the press service of Roskomnadzor. nine0003
According to him, the demonstration of the Meta Platforms Inc logo by the Russian media is also not allowed. and its social networks Facebook and Instagram.
Roskomnadzor will exclude the organization from the list of foreign entities operating on the Internet in the Russian Federation, and Instagram and Facebook from the register of social networks.
On January 1, the “landing law” came into force in Russia, according to which companies whose daily audience exceeds 500 thousand people must open a branch, representative office or authorized legal entity in Russia; register a personal account on the Roskomnadzor website and post an electronic feedback form on your resource. On February 22, it became known that Meta began to comply with this law by launching the procedure for registering a personal account on the Roskomnadzor website. But under the current conditions, according to Gavrishev, Meta cannot function in Russia in any form. “Today, their activities are simply banned in Russia, and this excludes its presence in the country. Accordingly, all procedures for its landing are not possible now, because its activities in the country as a banned organization will automatically fall under criminal law,” he says.
