How to Post Together on Instagram

Ever seen two brands or creators share the exact same post on Instagram, complete with a shared like and comment count? That’s not a coincidence, it's the Instagram Collab feature, and it’s one of the platform’s most powerful tools for growing your reach. This guide will walk you through exactly how to create a joint post, step-by-step, and share strategies to make your brand partnerships a huge success.

What is an Instagram Collab Post and Why Should You Use It?

An Instagram Collab post allows two separate accounts to co-author a single Feed post or Reel. When one person creates the post and invites the other as a collaborator, the post appears on both of their profile grids. It shows both usernames in the header and, most importantly, shares a single pool of likes, views, and comments. This isn’t just a simple tag, it’s a true content partnership built directly into the platform.

For brands, creators, and marketers, this feature is a game-changer. Here’s why it’s so valuable:

1. Massive Increase in Reach and Discovery

The number one benefit is organic reach. When you create a Collab post, it’s not just served to your followers - it's also served to your partner’s followers. You’re effectively combining your audiences and getting your content in front of a new, often highly relevant, group of people. If an account has 10,000 followers and you have 15,000, your post instantly taps into a potential audience of 25,000, significantly boosting its discovery potential on the Explore page and in hashtag feeds.

2. Shared Engagement Creates Social Proof

Since the likes, views, comments, and saves are all syndicated under one post, the engagement metrics add up quickly. A post that might get 500 likes on your profile alone could easily get 1,000+ when combined with your collaborator’s audience. This concentrated engagement sends strong positive signals to the Instagram algorithm, which rewards the post with even more visibility. Plus, a post with high engagement serves as powerful social proof, making your brand look more credible and popular to new viewers.

3. Authentic Brand Storytelling and Trust

Collaborating with another creator or brand is a form of trusted endorsement. When someone your audience already knows, likes, and trusts partners with you, some of that trust transfers to your brand. It feels less like a traditional ad and more like an authentic recommendation. For example, a local coffee shop collaborating with a popular local food blogger creates a natural, believable story that resonates with both of their followers.

4. Simplified Cross-Promotion

Before the Collab feature, partners would have to screenshot and re-share content in their Stories, caption their own posts with “check out @partnerbrand!” or awkwardly post the same picture in a row. It was clunky and often split the engagement. Co-authoring a post streamlines this process entirely. You plan and create one piece of high-quality content, and it seamlessly serves the marketing goals for both parties without confusing followers or duplicating effort.

How to Post Together on Instagram: A Step-by-Step Guide

Creating a Collab post is straightforward once you know where to find the option. The invitation process all happens before you publish, so follow these steps carefully.

Step 1: Create Your Feed Post or Reel Like Normal

Start by tapping the "+" icon at the bottom of the Instagram app homepage to create a new post. Select whether you're creating a Feed Post or a Reel. Choose your image, carousel of images, or video and go through all your usual editing steps - applying filters, trimming clips, adding music, etc. Once your creative is perfect, tap “Next” to move to the final screen where you write your caption.

Step 2: Go to “Tag People” and Tap “Invite Collaborator”

On this final screen, right below the area where you write your caption, you’ll see the “Tag People” option. Tap it.

Normally, this is where you’d just tap on a photo to tag accounts. But you’ll now see two options at the bottom: “Add Tag” and “Invite Collaborator.”

• Tap on “Invite Collaborator”.
• A search bar will appear. Search for the username of the brand or creator you want to partner with. You can invite up to three collaborators for a single post.
• Select their account from the list. You’ll see their user tag appear on the image with a “Collaborator” label.

A quick note: You can only invite public accounts to be collaborators. The option will not work for private profiles.

Step 3: Finish Your Post and Tap Share

Once you’ve invited your collaborator(s), tap “Done” to return to the caption screen. Write your shared caption, add your location and hashtags, and configure any other settings. When you’re ready, hit the blue “Share” button.

At this point, the post will immediately go live on your profile grid. The collaboration is now “pending,” and your partner needs to accept the invitation before it appears on their profile.

Step 4: Your Collaborator Accepts the Invitation

The person you invited will receive a notification and a banner at the top of their direct messages folder letting them know they’ve been invited to collaborate on a post. They can tap this notification to review the post.

• They will see the button “Review” at the bottom of the post.
• After tapping it, they can choose to “Accept” or “Decline” the collaboration.
• As soon as they tap “Accept,” the post instantly appears on their profile grid, under their username in the header, and gets distributed to their audience. All done!

Strategies for Creating Winning Collab Posts

Using the feature is simple, but using it effectively for your brand requires a bit of planning. Just hitting “Invite Collaborator” isn’t enough. Here’s how to make your collaborations truly stand out.

1. Choose Your Partners Wisely

The most important part of a successful collaboration is partner selection. Don’t just look for accounts with a large following. The best partnerships are built on alignment.

• Audience Overlap: Does their audience share similar interests, demographics, and pain points as yours? A partnership between a hiking gear company and a landscape photographer makes sense. A partnership between a vegan skincare brand and a BBQ influencer? Not so much.
• Shared Values and Aesthetics: Does their brand ethos align with yours? Do their visuals look good next to yours in a feed? Mismatched aesthetics can feel jarring to both audiences and hurt the campaign’s credibility.
• Mutual Benefit: Make sure the collaboration is a win-win. Both parties should get meaningful value, whether it’s increased visibility, content for their channels, or sales from a shared product launch.

2. Plan and Co-Create the Content Together

A Collab post should feel like a true partnership from start to finish. Don't just create something and slap an invitation on it. Involve your partner in the creative process. Brainstorm concepts, create storyboards, or write the caption together. When both voices are present in the final product, the content feels far more authentic and both audiences will be more receptive to it.

Before you even start, agree on:

• The primary goal of the post (e.g., brand awareness, promoting a sale, announcing an event).
• Who handles what (e.g., who provides the photo/video, who takes the lead on the caption).
• The timeline for creation, approval, and publishing.

3. Write a Unified and Engaging Caption

The caption is where you can truly sell the story of your collaboration. Don't let it feel one-sided. A great Collab caption blends the voices of both partners and clearly explains to the audience why you've teamed up. You can mention both brands, tag each other again in the text, and even use a "quote" format where each partner contributes a sentence or two to the caption. Always end with a clear call-to-action that serves the shared goal of your post.

4. Engage with Comments Proactively as a Team

Community management on a Collab post is a shared responsibility. Both partners should actively monitor and respond to comments. This shows that the partnership is genuine and that both brands are invested in engaging with their communities. You can delegate replies ahead of time. For instance, one brand could handle product-specific questions while the other handles more general comments. The faster and more thoughtfully you reply, the better the engagement signals you send to the algorithm.

Common Questions About Instagram Co-Author Posts

Even though the process is fairly simple, a few common roadblocks can pop up. Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.

Why can't I find the ‘Invite Collaborator’ button?

If you don’t see the button, it's usually because your Instagram app isn't up to date. Head to your device's app store and check for any available updates. In some rare cases, this professional feature might not have been rolled out to your account yet, particularly if your account is very new or has had past policy violations.

Why isn’t a user showing up when I search for them?

There are a few key reasons for this:

• The account you’re trying to invite is set to private. Only public accounts can be collaborators.
• The account has restricted who can tag them in their settings.
• You may have accidentally blocked them (or they may have blocked you).

What happens if a collaborator removes themself from a post?

If your partner decides to stop collaborating, they can remove themselves from the post. When this happens, the post is simply removed from their profile grid. It remains on your profile as a standard post. However, their username is removed from the header, and the shared engagement stops counting from that point forward.

Can I add a collaborator to a post after I’ve already published it?

Unfortunately, no. The collaborator invitation must be sent before you hit the publish button. This is one of the few settings, along with the content itself, that you cannot edit on a Feed post or Reel after it has gone live. So always double-check that you've sent the invitation before sharing.

Final Thoughts

Mastering the Instagram Collab feature is all about pairing strong creative partnerships with a smooth, clear workflow. By directly co-authoring posts, you can tap into entirely new audiences, build powerful social proof through shared engagement, and create more authentic stories without the clunky workarounds of the past.

Planning these successful partnerships becomes much simpler when all your content is organized in one place. At Postbase, we designed our visual content calendar for the speed of modern social media, allowing you to drag-and-drop posts, map out major campaigns, and see exactly where your Collab posts fit into your larger strategy across every platform. It helps you keep all your creative approvals and partner content perfectly aligned, without ever needing project management spreadsheets again.