# How to create an Instagram Collab post > Create a shared post, invite a collaborator and see how they accept. A complete example shows what both accounts need to agree before publishing. **An Instagram Collab post lets multiple accounts appear as co-authors of the same piece of content.** Before you make one, agree on what you’ll say together, what each account brings and the one action people should take next. ## How to invite a collaborator on Instagram For a feed post, [Instagram’s app Help page](https://help.instagram.com/5861247717337470/?cms_platform=iphone-app) describes this process. Follow these steps in the mobile app; the Help page does not offer this procedure for computers. 1. Prepare the content and caption from the account that will create the original post. Before sharing, open **Tag people** and select **Invite collaborator**. 2. Find and select the correct account, then confirm with **Done**. Share the post once the agreed version is ready. ## How to accept an Instagram Collab invite The invited account receives a message with the invitation. To accept it in the app: 1. Open **Messages** and enter the conversation where you received the invite. 2. Open the collaboration invite. 3. Select **Review**, then **Accept**. Check that the names appear as authors and that the post is on the intended profiles. It appears on the collaborator’s profile after they accept. If you only see a tag, check whether a collaborator invitation was sent. Tagging someone or sending them the caption by DM does not complete shared authorship. ## Does your Instagram account have to be public to collaborate? A public account is not a universal requirement. Instagram says public accounts can invite public or private accounts. Private accounts can also invite either, provided the invited account follows them. If a public account accepts an invitation from a private account, the post is shared publicly through the public collaborator; review that visibility before accepting. ## How many collaborators can you add, and who controls the post? The current Help page allows up to five collaborators alongside the original author. The original author controls the post: deleting it also removes it from the collaborator’s profile. An invited account can leave the collaboration without deleting the original post. Agree on who will maintain the content before linking both accounts to it. ## An example: a café and bakery announce a tasting Imagine Café Patio and Horno Sur are hosting a breakfast tasting. This is a fictional example. The café brings the venue and Cajamarca coffee; the bakery brings butter croissants. They plan the tasting together and decide to announce it in one post they’ll share. **The post copy:** > We’re having breakfast at Café Patio on Saturday, October 24. Horno Sur is bringing its butter croissants; we’ll brew a Cajamarca pour-over at the bar. We’ll taste the coffee on its own, then with the croissants to compare flavors. > > Join us at Café Patio from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. There are 8 places, and tickets cost CLP 8,000. Book through the link in Café Patio’s profile. The café confirmed the coffee, venue and booking owner. The bakery confirmed what it would bring. Both accounts agreed on the event, reviewed the same copy and chose one place to sign up. That keeps each contribution in the post and avoids splitting enquiries between inboxes or creating duplicate guest lists. The names, event, coffee origin, time, price, number of places and booking process are made up for this example. Replace them with details the accounts have confirmed. For a real post, Café Patio would need to use its current booking link and check that people can register there. ## Decide what you’re publishing together Both accounts make this call together. If you want to sign one shared post, agree on the idea you share, what each account will contribute and which final version you’ll approve. That could be an event you organize together, a demonstration where each account explains one part, or an announcement with one offer and one destination. If one account only needs a mention or a credit and the content still belongs to the other account’s plan, you can agree to use a tag or mention instead. This is a working choice for the accounts, not an Instagram eligibility rule. Tagging an account does not by itself make a post a Collab. Shared authorship allows the post to be distributed to the audiences of accounts that accept. It does not guarantee that every follower sees it or that it reaches more people than another post. Evaluate the post’s observed result against its goal and conditions. ## Agree on one post before sending an invite Café Patio prepares the photo and caption; Horno Sur checks that the product and terms match their agreement. Before sending an invite, both accounts approve that final version, including the booking destination. The café manages one guest list and confirms bookings. Also agree on who will send the invitation and when the other account can accept it. Then check that the collaboration appears on the intended profiles. Sending someone the copy by message still leaves the collaborator invitation to arrange. If the venue, price or availability changes, one person should update the agreed destination and tell the other account before they keep sharing the post. ## Collab posts, tags and commercial content A tag identifies an account in a post. Collab adds shared authorship to that post after the other account accepts the invitation. Those are different choices: giving credit does not mean both accounts agreed to co-author and publish the content together. A commercial relationship needs its own review. If money, gifts or another exchange are involved, check Instagram’s current [branded content policy](https://help.instagram.com/128845584325492?helpref=faq_content) and the rules that apply to your campaign and country. A paid partnership label and the decision to co-author address different things; this example does not determine legal obligations. If you also want to run the content as an ad using both accounts’ identities, that is a separate partnership ads decision. Meta describes that option alongside brand and creator partnerships in its [partnership ads overview](https://about.fb.com/news/2024/02/creator-marketplace-for-brands-and-creators-to-collaborate-on-instagram/). Agree on that use and check the current permissions before running an ad; accepting a co-author invite does not show that the other account authorized an ad. If a creator makes content for the brand to publish on its own account, distinguish that commission from a shared post. Our guide to [UGC and customer content](/en/guides/what-is-ugc-customer-content/) explains the different origins and uses. ## Once you know what you’re sharing With the post reviewed and the destination ready, you can decide when to publish it. If you need to schedule a Reel with collaborators, our solution for [scheduling Instagram Reels](/en/solutions/schedule-instagram-reels/) explains HeyMark’s options and how they differ from scheduling in the app. The example and its details are fictional; they are not an observed collaboration or a performance result. The steps and conditions follow Instagram Help as read on October 21, 2026. Check the controls available in your app when preparing the post. The cover is an AI-generated illustration. ## Plan your next post in HeyMark. Keep the idea, review the draft with your team, and see how it performed in the accounts you connected. [Start free](https://app.heymark.ai) · [See how it works](https://heymark.ai/en/#product) ## Developer and agent resources - [HeyMark MCP documentation](https://heymark.ai/en/mcp/) - [llms.txt](https://heymark.ai/llms.txt) - [Full site content for language models](https://heymark.ai/llms-full.txt) - MCP protocol endpoint: `POST https://mcp.heymark.ai` - OAuth protected-resource metadata: [/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource](https://mcp.heymark.ai/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource) - MCP server card: [/server-card](https://mcp.heymark.ai/server-card)