Social

Set up Instagram in Tanvik

4 min readUpdated October 2026Pro · Custom

Connect your Instagram account once and your DMs and comments land in your Inbox (the Social tab), where your whole team can reply. You can also post and schedule to Instagram from Social posts. It takes about two minutes.

What you need

An Instagram Business or Creator account. Personal accounts can't be connected. A Facebook Page is not needed.
The login for that Instagram account, so you can sign in and approve access.
Message access switched on in the Instagram app (step 2 below). Without it, DMs won't reach Tanvik.
The Pro plan. If the Instagram card on the Channels page shows Pro and an Upgrade button, talk to us on WhatsApp.

An Instagram account is connected to one Tanvik workspace at a time. If it's already connected somewhere else, disconnect it there first. Tanvik also asks you to confirm if you connect from a different workspace than the one you clicked Connect from.

Set it up

Make sure your account is Business or Creator

In the Instagram app, open your profile, tap the menu (☰), then Settings and activity › Account type and tools. If you see Switch to professional account, tap it and choose Business or Creator. If you see Switch to personal account, you're already set.

Allow access to messages

Still in Settings and activity, go to Messages and story replies › Message controls. Under Connected tools, turn on Allow access to messages. This lets Tanvik receive and send your DMs.

Open Channels in Tanvik

In the sidebar, go to Settings › Channels & WhatsApp. In the More channels list, click Connect on the Instagram row. The Connect Instagram page opens.

Click Connect with Instagram

An Instagram login page opens. Log in with the Business or Creator account for this workspace and approve access. You'll come straight back to Tanvik.

Check it's working

The success screen says Instagram connected! and shows your account. Back on Channels, the Instagram row shows Connected with your @handle and Replies on. From a different Instagram account, send your business a DM. It should appear in Inbox, on the Social tab, within a few seconds.

If you change your Instagram password or remove Tanvik from your Instagram settings, click Reconnect on the Instagram row (or Reconnect with Instagram on the Connect Instagram page). If the row says Replies off, click Enable replies and connect with Instagram once.

What you can do once connected

Feature	Where
Reply to Instagram DMs as a team	Inbox, Social tab. Replies can be sent within 24 hours of the customer's last message; the chat shows how much time is left.
Reply to comments on your posts	Inbox, Social tab.
Answer common questions automatically	Automate → AI Agent → Instagram & Facebook tab
Turn comments into WhatsApp chats	Same tab. See Turn Instagram comments into WhatsApp chats.
Post and schedule photos, carousels, Stories and Reels	Social posts (Grow → Social). Photos are posted as JPG (PNG and WEBP are converted for you). Videos are MP4 or MOV, up to 50 MB, and are posted as Reels. See Publish and schedule social posts.
See followers, reach and your best posts	Social posts → Analytics
Turn DMs and comments into leads	Everyone who sends you an Instagram DM, and people who ask about price or details in a comment, appear in Leads.

Facebook posting is under development. Instagram posting works today. Facebook Messenger chats and Facebook lead ads already work once you connect your Page in Channels.

Connected before 16 October 2026? Reconnect Instagram once to switch on comments and detailed insights.

Common problems

Instagram says the account can't be connected.
It's a personal account. Switch it to Business or Creator (step 1) and try again.

Connected, but no DMs are coming in.
Turn on Allow access to messages in the Instagram app (step 2). New messages will start arriving straight away.

I can see DMs but can't reply.
The Instagram row says Replies off. Click Enable replies and connect with Instagram.

The wrong Instagram account got connected.
Instagram used the account you were already logged into. Log out of Instagram in your browser, then click Reconnect and log in with the right one.

"Already connected to a different Tanvik workspace".
That Instagram account is linked to another workspace. Disconnect it there, or ask us on WhatsApp to move it.

"Reply window expired" in the Social tab.
Instagram only allows replies within 24 hours of the customer's last message. You can reply again as soon as they send a new message.

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