How to generate and post Instagram images from Notion with Make.com

A workflow built around Notion and Make.com can turn a single content entry into a ready-to-post Instagram image—complete with branding—and then automatically publish it on a schedule. The core idea is to treat Notion as the “source of truth” for content status and assets, while Make.com handles the automation: pulling due items from a Notion database, generating a square 1080×1080 image via HTML/CSS-to-image rendering, posting it to Instagram, and then marking the item as published back in Notion.

The setup starts with a clear checklist of what the system must do: centralize content planning, eliminate manual steps for recurring posts (like quote-style screenshots), and post at a fixed cadence. The creator targets multiple platforms—YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram—but explicitly automates Instagram (and reuses the same image for LinkedIn and Twitter). YouTube remains manual because it requires uploading a video and using the resulting URL for downstream posts.

Inside Notion, the content database stores structured fields that Make.com can rely on. Each entry includes a content “type” (e.g., Instagram post vs. tweet vs. LinkedIn post), a publish date, an image text (short headline-like text that fits on the graphic), a longer social text (caption body), and a URL field used to append a link to the caption. A “published by make” checkbox acts as a guardrail: Make.com filters for items whose publish date is on or before “now” and whose “published by make” flag is not set, then processes only those due items. After posting, Make.com updates the checkbox and status so the item turns green and won’t be reprocessed on the next run.

The automation logic in Make.com begins with a Notion connection that fetches up to 10 eligible items, then routes each item based on its type. A fallback route ensures items that don’t match other conditions are handled safely, and a “done” flag prevents repeated processing. For Instagram, the key step is the “magic” layer: converting HTML and CSS into an image using Make’s HTML/CSS-to-image capability. The image generation uses a layered “cake” approach—stacking a background image, a centered title graphic (the “thumbnail”/main image area), an overlay banner, and a text block—so the final output is a single square image sized for Instagram.

The HTML/CSS template is intentionally simple and modifiable. It sets a 1080×1080 canvas, positions each layer with absolute coordinates, and uses CSS drop shadows and typography rules (including uppercase styling and a chosen font family) to keep the design consistent. The text on the graphic comes from Notion’s “image text,” while the caption posted to Instagram comes from Notion’s “social text” (converted to plain text and paired with the URL).

Finally, the workflow posts to Instagram using the generated image URL and caption, then writes back to Notion to mark completion. A practical constraint is that the image must be publicly reachable; the creator suggests hosting the image on a publicly accessible page (e.g., via a hosting service) and verifying it loads in an anonymous browser before relying on it in the automation. A live test demonstrates the loop: an item is set to “ready,” Make.com runs, generates the image, posts it, and updates Notion immediately.