If you want to grow on Instagram, you need to reach as many people as possible. What better way to do that than to invite a collaborator on your post?
For those who don’t know, Instagram Collabs are posts on which you can invite other Instagram influencers to be credited as co-authors. Once it’s published, the collaborative post is displayed in both your feeds, thus enabling you to generate the maximum amount of exposure from both sets of followers. It’s a win-win!
Instagram Collabs is by no means a new feature. In fact, its official launch date was October 19, 2021, making it now over two years old.
However, it’s also not immediately noticeable when you’re drafting a new post, hence why many creators may still be unfamiliar with it. You must tap Tag People before you publish your post and then tap Invite Collaborators on the next screen in order to start the process.
But what if you decide you want to start a Collab after you’ve already tapped, “Publish”? In this article, we’ll explain how to invite collaborators on Instagram after posting, potential workarounds, and quick fixes in cases where you’re unable to access this feature.
What Is the Instagram Collab Feature?
But first, let’s elaborate more on the Instagram Collab feature and how it works.
Let’s say that you have a post that you and another influencer worked on together. When the time comes to publish it, you both want credit for it, and you also both want it to be displayed to your respective audiences.
You could simply tag the other creator in your post. But this isn’t as beneficial for them because it doesn’t share the post to their followers (the same principle works in reverse; if someone tags you, that post won’t be shared to your followers).
Instagram Collab is also important for privacy reasons. When you tag someone in a post, you’re not required to get the other person’s permission to mention their account. But when you invite someone to be a co-author on your post, they must accept your invitation first. That gives them a voice in the publishing process.
When you invite the other person to collaborate on a post, and they accept the invitation, the post will be displayed to all your followers. Each of you will also be credited as co-authors of the post.
Those circumstances apply whether one or both of you has set your account to Private or Public status.
Can Add a Collaborator After Posting on Instagram?
Now for the million-dollar question: can you still add a collaborator to your Instagram post, even after it’s already gone live?
That’s why we strongly recommend that you remind yourself to invite collaborators on your post before you publish it. You’ll save yourself a lot of time and frustration.
However, if you made a mistake and you absolutely need to credit your collaborator on a post that has already been published, there are some workarounds that you can try. We address those in the next section.
How To Add a Collaborator on Instagram Even After Posting?
The following workarounds to adding a collaborator to your live Instagram post can help you fix your mistake and give your fellow creator credit where it is due. However, keep in mind that no matter what you do, you can’t transform your post into a Collab after it’s been published.
Still, though, they can achieve the same end results, as you’re about to see.
#1 Tag the Collaborator in the Post and the Caption
Our first workaround is to tag the collaborator in the post and in the caption. This makes it clear to the other creator and your followers that they are a significant contributor to your project.
There are two drawbacks to this method. First (and as we mentioned earlier), tagging someone else in a post doesn’t share that post to their feed. It’s only shared to yours. Secondly, it doesn’t credit the other person as a co-author.
But, if you’re willing to describe the level of influence that your collaborator had on your post in your caption, tagging can be an acceptable way of including them.
You can add tags to your post by following these steps.
Step #1: Tap the three dots in the upper right corner of the post you want to edit.
Step #2: Tap Edit.
Step #3: Next, tap the Tag people button on the photo or video in your post.
Step #4: Tap the photo or video and then search for your collaborator to tag them.
Step #5: Type the username or name of the user you want to tag.
Step #6: Tap the blue checkmark or Done button to save your edits.
Now you’ve tagged your collaborator in two places on your post!
#2 Ask Collaborator To Repost in Their Feed
Tagging the other influencer is a great first step, but that still doesn’t help them with the problem of showing the post to their own followers. We recommend pursuing this second workaround, as well, which requires you to ask your collaborator to repost your content in their feed.
The downside of this option is that there’s no native way to share other Instagram posts directly to your feed. The other creator must download a third-party app like Repost.
With a little effort, though, your collaborator can repost your content to their own followers.
#3 Make the Collaborator Share the Post in Their Stories
Finally, you can make the collaborator share the post in their Stories. This doesn’t require them to download a third-party app.
Keep in mind, though, that Stories are only visible for 24 hours. That’s not a long time to maximize exposure to your post. Furthermore, Stories have a lower reach rate than regular posts (between 1.5% and 6.2% for the former compared to between 12% and 25% for the latter).
But don’t get us wrong! Stories are used by some 500 million people around the world daily, so can still be an effective way to share new content. It’s just that, according to the latest data, they’re not as effective as regular posts.
If you decide to have your collaborator share your post to their Stories, here’s how they can do that.
Step #1: Tap the paper airplane symbol beneath your Instagram post.
Step #2: Tap Add to Story at the bottom of the screen.
Step #3: Add stickers, captions, tags, and any other extra items you want. Then tap Your story or Close friends, depending on whom you want to share the post with.
Invite a Collaborator Not Showing on Instagram? Quick Fixes To Try
Now that you’re aware of the workarounds (as well as their potential disadvantages), you can see why you would want to prioritize inviting collaborators before you publish your post.
But what if the Invite collaborators option isn’t showing when you tap Tag people?
If this happens, it could be a glitch or a bug that Instagram is experiencing, or it could be a problem with the type of account you have.
Here are some quick fixes to try to restore your access to Collabs.
Fix #1: Disable Private Account
Even though Instagram Collabs is supposed to work for private accounts, it doesn’t always do that in practice. Inviting a collaborator is certainly easier and more advantageous when you both have a public account, as it means that more people besides your followers can see your post.
If you have a private account and the Collabs feature isn’t showing up, try switching to Public using these steps.
Step #1: Go to your profile and tap the three horizontal lines in the top right corner of your screen.
Step #2: Tap Settings and Privacy.
Step #3: Scroll down the menu and tap Account Privacy.
Step #4: Toggle the Private Account button to turn it off and change your status to Public. Now, all your posts will be visible to anyone on the app.
Fix #2: Switch To a Professional Account
Another common reason that Instagram creators can’t use Collabs is that their account is Personal rather than Professional.
As a content creator who wants to build their brand, you should have a Professional Instagram account. There are two types of identities that fall into this category: Business and Creator. The latter is ideal for influencers.
If your Instagram account is already set to Public status, but it’s still a Personal account, here’s how to switch it to Professional. Using this method will hopefully allow you to start inviting collaborators on your posts.
Step #1: Go to your profile and tap the three horizontal lines in the top right corner of your screen.
Step #2: Tap Settings and Privacy.
Step #3: Scroll down and tap Account type and Tools.
Step #4: Tap Switch to a professional account.
Step #5: Choose a content category that best describes your brand.
Step #6: Select Business or Creator.
Step #7: Complete the rest of the steps to finish setting up your Professional account.
Fix #3: Log Out of Instagram Account and Log Back In
When all else fails, you may simply need to log out of your Instagram account and back in again. This may help the app reset after whatever glitch is preventing the Collabs feature from appearing.
Other Quick Fixes
You can also:
- Delete the Instagram app and reinstall it.
- Check if your Instagram app needs to be updated, and if so, initiate the update manually from your phone’s Settings app.
- Check if your phone needs to be updated, and if so, start the update.
- Clear the cache on Instagram.
Want To Grow on Instagram? Try Viralyft
The objective of collaborating on Instagram posts is to help you and other influencers that you work with grow your reach. This in turn will lead you to more opportunities to build your reputation, work with brand partners, and earn money.
There are other ways that you can grow, too, though – the main method being working with a growth services provider like Viralyft. We offer affordable packages for real followers, likes, views, auto likes, comments, Story views, and Reel views. Basically, we’re here for whatever you need!
Let’s collaborate!
Frequently Asked Questions
How Can I Enable Collaboration Invites on Instagram?
The Instagram Collabs feature should be automatically enabled, regardless of whether you have a Personal or Professional account or if you’re Private or Public. To send an invite, tap Tag people before publishing your post, and then tap Invite collaborators.
Can You Invite Someone as a Collaborator on Instagram After Posting?
No. Once a post goes live, you can no longer invite someone to be a collaborator on it. Try using the workaround we described in this article to properly credit your co-creator.
Why is Invite a Collaborator Not Showing on Instagram?
Invite collaborators should be available to all Instagram users. However, if it’s not, it could be a glitch or a bug in the current version of Instagram that requires an update to fix. You can also try switching to a Professional account and from Private to Public status (if you haven’t already), as that method works for some users.
