How to Post on Instagram from your Computer
By linking your Facebook Business account with your Instagram Business account, you can start posting, replying to direct messages and comments, and even checking your post analytics from your computer.
In this article, we’ll show you how to connect your Facebook and Instagram accounts using Facebook’s Creator Studio. Plus, we’ll show you how to share a post on Instagram directly from your computer.
If you're looking for information about upload videos to Instagram from your mobile device, head over here.
How to Link Facebook to Instagram on Your Computer
The first step to posting on Instagram from your PC or Mac is to set up your Instagram account in Facebook’s Creator Studio. You’ll need a Business Profile or Creator Account on Instagram. If you haven’t set that up, here's how to make an Instagram Business account. Once you’re all set up, here’s how to get started.
- Head to Facebook and open Creator Studio
- Click the Instagram icon at the top of the page
- Give permission to share Instagram Access with Facebook Page Members
- Log into your Instagram account
How to Post on Instagram from PC or Mac
Once you’re set up with Creator Studio, one of the first things you’ll notice is the “Create Post” button in the upper left hand corner of the window. Click that button to post to either the Instagram feed or to IGTV.
For feed posts, you’ll be able to add a caption, location, and, of course, upload your video or image. Unlike posting through your phone, you can also upload your own video thumbnail, which will come in handy for maintaining a consistent visual presence on your profile.
You’ll see similar options for IGTV posts, including the ability to share a preview of your IGTV post to the Instagram feed, an essential tool for attracting a wider audience to your video. For more on IGTV, check out our guide.
Bonus: Additional Creator Studio Features
Posting to Instagram from your computer is far from the only feature available in Creator Studio. Keep reading for a rundown of a few of our favorites.
How to Check Instagram Messages on Computer
One of the most useful features of Facebook’s Creator Studio is the ability to respond to direct messages and respond to comments through your computer. To access your messages:
- Click the Facebook icon at the top of the screen
- Click the Inbox tab
- Select Instagram Direct under the Messages header OR Instagram under the Comments & More header
From there, you can respond to messages and comments. However, as of the time of this post, Facebook does not allow for “liking” of comments from the Creator Studio.
How to View Instagram Analytics
Using Creator Studio you can also monitor how your posts perform and get to know your audience better. We’ll briefly run through the different capabilities at your disposal here.
Content Library
In the Content Library tab, you can view all of your posts as well as view Insights for each post. You can also filter by date range and post type, or search all your posts if you’re looking for something in particular.
Insights
In the Insights tab, you’ll find a high-level view of the activity on your account as well as an overview of the people who are following you.
The Activity page gives you a summary of the past week of action on your account. This includes the total number of actions taken (like profile visits or emails collected), as well as your reach and impressions in the past 7 days.
On the Audience page, you can get better acquainted with your followers, including their demographic breakdown by age and gender, when they were on Instagram in the past week, and the cities and countries that they hail from.
Ready to get started?
It only takes a minute to connect your Instagram account to Facebook’s Creator Studio, and if you prefer to work on your computer, it’s well worth it.
For video inspiration and discussion with fellow creators, join our private Facebook group, the Animoto Social Video Marketing Community.