Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Using multiple Twitter accounts on Instagram


Sorry for dumping this post into your feed... I simply wanted a place to store this info, so I could link out to it from other places. It's related to using Instagram with more than one Twitter account. So, if you're on Twitter and Instagram, maybe you'll find it helpful. Otherwise, return to your homes... nothing to see here. :) 

Okay I admit it: I have more than one Twitter account. One of them is for my motorcycle blog, and the other is for this blog and my craft and decorating life. (You can find The Painted Piglet on Twitter here!) 

Photo Credit: Wanelo
Also, I recently discovered Instagram - a photo editing and sharing app that takes a photo, lets you apply a creative filter or two, and then shares it with your Twitter, Facebook, or other social networks. (You can follow me on Instagram here!

The problem for me is, my biker friends are not necessarily interested in my craft-related photos, and my crafty friends probably couldn't care less about the latest chromey bit on my motorcycle. 

So, I was hoping to find a way to link my Instagram account with both of my Twitter accounts, so that when I snapped a photo I could easily choose which account to share it with.  

Unfortunately, Instagram apparently doesn't accommodate multiple personalities like mine. So I figured out a work-around, and thought I would share it in case you have the same issue. 

But be warned, it's not that great of an option and Instagram really needs to work on this ASAP. Basically what you're doing in Instagram is unlinking one Twitter account, and linking another, manually. 
 
But first a few important reminders: 

a. No matter which Twitter account you share your photo with, on Instagram they're all going to appear on your one Instagram feed. Instagram is the place where all your photo worlds collide! 

b. The work-around has to be done before you snap a photo. Once you take a picture or load one from the camera roll, you can't go off and do anything else in Instagram (except cancel the operation) until you're done editing and sharing it. 

c. In my case, I discovered that Instagram is pulling my Twitter account information from the Twitter app on my phone (iPhone 4). So even though I use another app to tweet (Tweetcaster), I still had to make sure I had the actual app called Twitter on my phone, and loaded with all the accounts I wanted Instagram to find. I'm guessing the same will be true for you.

d. Think ahead! Be sure your Instagram app is linked to the Twitter account you think you'll be using on a given day. If I am heading off to the antique mall or flea market, I'm going to make sure Instagram is linked to The Painted Piglet. If I'm off to explore the backroads of Iowa with my merry band of biker pals, I'll make sure it's set to my biker account. 

Okay so after all that, here's the work-around. Again, what you're doing here is un-linking and re-linking Instagram to different accounts. Assuming you have Instagram already linked to one Twitter account, here's how to un-link and then re-link to a different one.  


1. Tap the Profile icon in the lower right corner of Instagram to go to your Profile. 



2. Tap the cog to access your Settings. 



3. Tap "Share Settings." 



4. Tap "Twitter." 



5. Tap "Unlink." 



6. Tap "Yes, I'm sure." 



7. Now you're back to the "Share Settings" screen. Tap "Twitter" again. 



8.  Instagram pulls up a list of the Twitter accounts that are connected to the Twitter app on your device. (See Reminder "c" above.) Tap the account you want to link Instagram to. 



Instagram will connect and you'll now see the Twitter account name off to the right again. 



9. Once the "Connected" message fades away, you can click the camera icon to return to the camera. From here you can snap a photo, or load one from your camera roll. 

Yes, you have to do this every time you want to share to a different Twitter account. Frankly, it's a pain in the butt. 
Of course, if I'm out at the antique mall and I see something that might interest my biker friends, I can always snap the photo with my camera app instead of with Instagram. The photo will immediately save to the camera roll. Then later, I can go through the unlink/link work-around again and load/edit/share that picture from the camera roll with the other account. Or I could share it right away using TwitPic or Facebook or whatever, and skip Instagram altogether. 

Wouldn't it be so much easier if I could simply tap "Next" when I'm done applying filters, then tap "Twitter" on the Share Photo screen, then be shown one more screen that lists all my Twitter accounts? 

Yes, yes it would. I hope Instagram is working on that. And by the way, if YOU know of an easier way to toggle between Twitter accounts on Instagram, please Please PLEASE share it in the comments! Maybe I have just completely missed it. If so, I'd love to know the real way to do this! 

More soon,

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6 comments:

  1. Thanks very much for this - I have no idea how you figured this out, but I'm glad that you did!

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  2. It doesn't make any sense! When you share another person's photo on IG, you can choose which twitter account you share it on. Why can't you do that for your own pics? So strange.

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  3. I think the things you covered through the post are quiet impressive, good job and great efforts. I found it very interesting and enjoyed reading all of it...keep it up, lovely job..buy instagram shoutouts

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