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By the end of this, DMs people send to your Instagram will land in Olanna. Your agent will answer them. Instagram is owned by Meta, the company behind Facebook. So most of this happens on Meta’s website, not in Olanna. Here is the whole job:
  1. Set up an account with Meta.
  2. Copy four things from Meta into a note.
  3. Paste those four things into Olanna.
  4. Tell Meta to start sending your DMs to Olanna.
Set aside 20 to 30 minutes. Use a computer, not your phone, apart from the first step below.
Meta changes these pages now and then. A button might not be exactly where this guide says. Look for the words, not the place, and you will find it.

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Before you start

Your Instagram has to be a Business or Creator account. A personal one will not work. If yours is still personal, switch it on your phone:
1

Open your Instagram profile

In the Instagram app on your phone.
2

Go to Account type and tools

Tap the menu, then Settings and privacy, then Account type and tools.
3

Switch to Business

Tap Switch to professional account, choose Business, and follow the prompts.
Your Instagram also has to be linked to a Facebook Page. Instagram usually offers this while you switch. If you skipped it, you can link one later under Settings, then Linked accounts. You also need a Meta business account. Part 2 covers making one.

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Part 1: Open a blank note

You are about to collect four things from Meta. Keep them in one place so you do not lose any. Open a blank note on your computer. Leave it open in its own window. Type these four lines into it. Fill each one in as you reach it.

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Part 2: Set up your Meta business account

Skip to Part 3 if you already have one. Meta calls it Meta Business Suite, or Business Manager. It is the same thing.
1

Open Meta's business site

Go to business.facebook.com.
2

Choose Create Account

The button is near the top of the page.
3

Type your name and email

Your business name, your own name, and your work email. Then choose Submit.
4

Add your business details

Fill in what Meta asks for.
5

Confirm your email

Open the email Meta sends you and click the link in it.

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Part 3: Create a Meta app

Meta will ask you to make something called an app. It is not an app anyone downloads. It is a box that holds your connection. Meta will not let Olanna handle your DMs without one. You make it once, then leave it alone. If you already made one while connecting WhatsApp or Messenger for this business, use that one and skip to Part 4.
1

Go to Meta's developer site

Open developers.facebook.com and log in with the same account as Part 2.
2

Start a new app

Choose My Apps, then Create App.
3

Pick Business as the type

Meta asks what type of app this is. Choose Business.
4

Name it after your business

Something you will recognise in a year, like “Willow Spa Olanna”.
5

Finish creating it

Link it to the business account from Part 2, then choose Create App.

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Part 4: Add Instagram and link your Page

1

Set up Instagram

On your app’s dashboard, find Instagram in the list of products and choose Set up.
Meta's add products screen with Instagram in the list

Instagram is one tile among many.

2

Link your Facebook Page

Follow the prompts to link the Page that is connected to your Instagram.
3

Check it is the right account

Meta shows you which Instagram account is tied to that Page. Make sure it is yours.

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Part 5: Copy your Instagram Business Account ID

An ID is a number Meta uses to tell one thing from another.
1

Open the Instagram setup page

Still inside your app on developers.facebook.com, choose Instagram, then API setup with Instagram business login. Meta sometimes calls this Messenger API for Instagram.
2

Find your account in the list

Next to it is a long number. That is your Instagram Business Account ID.
The Instagram API setup page showing the Business Account ID

The ID sits beside your linked account.

3

Copy it into your note

That is one of your four lines done.
Cannot find it there? Open developers.facebook.com/tools/explorer. Pick your app, choose your Page under “User or Page”, and ask for the instagram_business_account field. The number appears in the result.

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Part 6: Make your page access token

An access token is a long password. It is what lets Olanna into your Instagram. This part has the most steps of anything here. Go slowly.
1

Open System Users

Go to business.facebook.com. Choose Settings, then Users, then System Users.
2

Add a system user

Choose Add. Name it “Olanna Integration”. Set the role to Admin. Choose Create System User. Skip this if you made one already.
3

Give it your Page

Choose Add Assets. Pick the Facebook Page linked to your Instagram. Give it Full Control.
4

Start a new token

Choose Generate New Token. Pick the app you made in Part 3.
5

Tick three permissions

You will see a list of permissions with tick boxes. Tick instagram_basic, instagram_manage_messages and pages_messaging. Leave the rest alone.
6

Generate it

Choose Generate Token. A long line of letters and numbers appears.
The system user token dialog with the three Instagram permissions ticked

Three permissions ticked, the rest left alone.

7

Copy it into your note

Do this before you close anything.
Meta shows this token once and never again. If you close the window without copying it, you will have to come back and make a new one. That is annoying, not serious.

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Part 7: Copy your app secret, then make up a verify token

App secret. This is another password. It proves the app belongs to you.
1

Open your app

Go to developers.facebook.com and open the app you made.
2

Go to Settings, then Basic

Both are in the left menu.
3

Reveal the app secret

Find App Secret and choose Show. Meta might ask for your password.
4

Copy it into your note

That is three of your four lines done.
Verify token. You make this one up yourself. It is not copied from anywhere. Any word or phrase will do, like willow-ig-2026. Write it into your note exactly as you typed it. You will type the same thing in two places later, and they have to match. Your note should now have all four lines filled in.

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Part 8: Paste it into Olanna

1

Open Channels

In Olanna, choose Channels in the left menu.
2

Choose Connect on the Instagram row

A form opens with a box for each of your four things.
3

Copy your note into the boxes

Each line of your note goes in the box with the same name.
Olanna's Instagram connect form filled in

All four values from your note, in Olanna.

4

Choose Install

Olanna checks your token against your Instagram Business Account ID. It tries a few different ways behind the scenes, so you do not need to know which kind of token you made.
If everything matches, Instagram moves into your connected apps. If not, the message tells you which value is wrong. Troubleshooting is at the bottom of this page.

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Part 9: Tell Meta where to send your DMs

Meta now trusts Olanna. But it still does not know where to send your DMs. This part gives it the address. That address is called a webhook URL. It is a long web address. You copy it out of Olanna and paste it into Meta. Nothing will arrive until you do.
1

Copy your webhook URL from Olanna

On the Channels page, open your Instagram row and copy the Webhook URL.
2

Open Configuration in Meta

Go to developers.facebook.com, open your app, then Instagram, then Configuration. On some layouts it sits under Webhooks, then Instagram.
3

Edit the webhook section

Choose Edit next to Webhooks.
4

Paste in the address

Put the Webhook URL into the Callback URL box.
5

Type your verify token

In the Verify Token box, type the phrase you made up in Part 7. It has to match what is in Olanna exactly. Same capital letters. No spaces at either end.
The Instagram Configuration page with Callback URL and Verify Token fields

Callback URL from Olanna, verify token from your note.

6

Verify and save

Choose Verify and Save.
7

Switch on messages

Still on that page, find Webhook fields and switch on messages.

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Part 10: Test it

1

Use a different Instagram account

A personal test account is fine. It cannot be the account you just connected, because an account cannot DM itself.
2

Send a DM to your business account

Any short message will do.
3

Check your Olanna inbox

It should be there within a few seconds. If nothing arrives after a minute, see Troubleshooting.
You can close your note now. Or keep it somewhere safe, in case you ever need to connect again.

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Questions

Yes. Meta requires every Business or Creator account to be linked to a Facebook Page for this kind of connection, even if you never post to that Page.
No. It has to be switched to Business or Creator first. That is in Before you start.
Yes. One Meta app can hold WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram together. You do not need a separate one for each. You can use separate apps if you would rather.
Yes. It is what keeps the connection alive. You do not have to open it again, but do not delete it.

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Troubleshooting

Your page access token does not go with the Instagram Business Account ID you entered, or it has expired. Go back to Part 6 and make it again, checking you pick the right Page. Then update it in Olanna.
The app secret has to come from the same Meta app your token was made for. Copy it again from Settings, then Basic, on that app.
The verify token you typed into Meta does not match the one saved in Olanna. A space on the end is the usual cause. Also check you finished Part 8 first, because Meta’s check needs a live connection to work against.
Check that messages is switched on under Instagram, then Configuration, then Webhook fields. Also check you are not messaging from the same account you connected.
Neither can be looked up once hidden. But you can make a new one from Part 6 or Part 7 and update it in Olanna. You will not lose your account or your messages.
Contact support. Tell us which part you are on, and the exact words of the error. A screenshot is best.
Last modified on September 14, 2026