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How can you schedule instagram posts


How to Schedule Instagram Posts in 2022: Guide + Best Practices

Learning how to schedule Instagram posts in advance is the easiest way to save time on the platform so that you can focus on what matters.

The more complex your Instagram marketing efforts are, the more helpful a scheduling tool becomes. This is true whether you own a small business or manage a global team. Consistent, high-quality content is easier to plan, craft and share when you automate some of the grunt work.

In this article, we’ll go through how to schedule posts on Instagram, including the best Instagram scheduling tools for Business, Creator and personal accounts.

1. Add your Instagram Business account to your social media management platform

2. Compose your Instagram post

3. Find the best time to post

4. Schedule your post

Bonus: Download our free, customizable social media calendar template to easily plan and schedule all your content in advance.

How to schedule Instagram Posts (for Business accounts)

Can you schedule posts on Instagram Business? You sure can!

Visual learners: Watch this video for demos of how to schedule Instagram posts and Stories with Creator Studio and Hootsuite. Everyone else: keep reading.

Brands with business profiles can use third-party apps like Hootsuite to schedule posts across multiple social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest.

You can schedule feed posts, Stories, carousel posts, and Instagram ads with Hootsuite.

Before you start, make sure to switch to an Instagram Business or Creator account — it’s free, and it only takes a minute. If you’d rather stick to a personal account, we have a section for you coming up.

1. Add your Instagram Business account to your social media management platform

If you’re using Hootsuite, it’s easy to link your Instagram account. From the Hootsuite dashboard:

  • Click your profile icon in the bottom left corner
  • Next, click Social Networks and Teams
  • Select + Private Network in the bottom-left corner
  • Choose Instagram from the list of networks, and then click Connect with Instagram
  • Input your account credentials

For more details on this process, check out our very thorough help article.

2. Compose your Instagram post

In your Hootsuite dashboard, click the Create icon, then select Post.

In the Post To field, choose your preferred Instagram account from the list.

Now go ahead and upload your visuals (or select them from your content library). You’ll also want to write an engagement-driving caption, add your hashtags, tag relevant accounts, and add your location.

Your draft will show up as a preview on the right.

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If you haven’t already prepared your image for Instagram, it’s easy. Click Edit Image to crop your visual to the required aspect ratios (that is: 1.91:1 or 4:5), filter it, and otherwise perfect it.

Bonus: Download our free, customizable social media calendar template to easily plan and schedule all your content in advance.

Get the template now!

You can also edit your image using Canva’s editor inside the Hootsuite dashboard. No more switching tabs, digging through your “Downloads” folder, and reuploading files — you can seamlessly create beautiful visuals from start to finish without leaving Hootsuite Composer.  

To use Canva in Hootsuite:

  1. Log in to your Hootsuite account and head to Composer.
  2. Click on the purple Canva icon in the bottom right corner of the content editor.
  3. Select the type of visual you want to create. You can pick a network-optimized size from the drop-down list or start a new custom design. 
  4. When you make your selection, a login pop-up window will open. Sign in using your Canva credentials or follow the prompts to start a new Canva account. (In case you were wondering — yes, this feature does work with free Canva accounts!)
  5. Design your image in the Canva editor. 
  6. When you’re done editing, click Add to post in the top right corner. The image will automatically be uploaded to the social post you’re building in Composer.

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3. Find the best time to post

Posting at the right time can help you reach your audience when they’re online. Plus, early engagement tells the Instagram algorithm that people like your content (a.k.a. gives it a nudge to surface it in more users’ feeds).

Hootsuite’s Best Time to Publish feature shows you your best time to post on Instagram based on your posts from the past 30 days. It groups posts by weekday and hour to identify when your posts had the highest impact, based on average impressions or engagement rate.

To find your best times to post, save your post draft and follow the instructions below:

  1. In the left-hand side menu, click Analytics.
  2. Then, click Best time to publish.
  3. In the dropdown menu at the top of your screen, select the Instagram account you’re posting to.

You will see a heatmap highlighting your best times to post (based on your account’s historical performance). You can switch between two tabs: “Build awareness” and “Boost engagement” to find the time that will work best for your specific goals.

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4. Schedule your post

All right, now comes the easy part. Click Schedule for Later in the bottom right, and select the date and time you’d like your post to go live.

If you skipped the step above and didn’t go to analytics to look up your best times to publish, you will see a couple of recommended posting times once you select a date. You can pick one or manually set a time.

That’s it! You can review your scheduled posts in the Hootsuite Planner, and edit them there before they go live, as well.

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How to schedule Instagram posts (for personal accounts)

Finally, let’s take a look at how to schedule an IG post for those of us using personal profiles.

If your Instagram profile is neither a creator nor a business account, don’t worry. You can still schedule your posts; there are just some extra steps involved. In short: Hootsuite sends you a mobile push notification at the scheduled time, which reminds you to log in and tap publish.

1. Add your Instagram profile to your social media management platform

For self-evident reasons, we’ll pretend that your preferred management platform is Hootsuite. From the Hootsuite dashboard:

  • Click your profile icon in the bottom left corner
  • Next, click Social Networks and Teams
  • Select + Private Network in the bottom-left corner
  • Choose Instagram from the list of networks, and then click Connect with Instagram
  • Input your account credentials to integrate the accounts.

You’re also going to want to set up the ability to use mobile push notifications. Follow these steps on your phone:

  • Download the latest version of the Hootsuite mobile app onto your phone
  • Open the Hootsuite app, tap your profile icon in the upper left corner, go to Settings, then Notifications
  • Find your Instagram profile in the list and ensure Send me a Push Notification is on

2.

Compose your post

You know the drill: write a good caption, use the right hashtags, tag relevant accounts, and add your location.

If you want to level up your posts, check out our list of Instagram marketing tips. Or else read up on the latest Instagram trends in 2022.

3. Schedule your post

The key difference between business and personal accounts? Posts scheduled for a personal account don’t publish automatically. Instead, you’ll get a mobile notification.

You’ll still want to check your Instagram analytics and make sure you select the best time to post.

Go ahead and pick your time and date, then click Schedule.

4. Publish your post

When the time comes, you’ll receive a push notification on your phone to remind you to post to Instagram. Note that this is essentially the same process for scheduling your Instagram Stories (no matter what kind of account you have).

The process for posting looks something like this. The Hootsuite app will take care of most of the work, but you need to open Instagram, paste your caption in, select your photo, et cetera. Not tough brain work, but give yourself five minutes to triple-check that everything’s right.

And voila! You’ve done it!

How to schedule Instagram posts with Creator Studio

Can you plan your Instagram feed on Facebook? You sure can — if you have a Business or Creator profile on Instagram. Facebook’s native Creator Studio allows you to craft and schedule Instagram posts from your computer.

Note that while Creator Studio is a handy Facebook scheduler for Instagram, it’s currently not possible to post or schedule an Instagram Story from Creator Studio. To do that, you’ll want to check out our post on how to schedule Instagram Stories.

In general, Creator Studio is a good tool if you only want to schedule Instagram and Facebook posts (and don’t mind not being able to schedule Stories). But most social media pros can save a lot of time and energy using a social media management tool and handling all social channels from a single dashboard.

A tool like Hootsuite will help you schedule content to Instagram and Facebook pages, as well as TikTok, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest, all in one place. Here is how Creator Studio compares to Hootsuite:

To schedule Instagram posts from your computer using Creator Studio, follow these steps:

  1. Link your Instagram account to Creator Studio.
  2. Click the Create Post button.
  3. Upload your visuals (photos or videos — you can upload multiple files to create a carousel post).
  4. Craft your post (write your caption, add emojis, mentions and hashtags).
  5. Click the arrow beside the blue Publish button, and select Schedule.

That’s it! Now you can lean back and check your DMs.

What about cross-posting?

If you’d like to streamline your process even further, you can also consider cross-posting.

Cross-posting is the process of sharing similar content across multiple social media channels. It’s a handy choice for businesses with smaller budgets and less time to personalize content.

You can use cross-posting (via Hootsuite or Facebook Creator Studio) to set Facebook to post to Instagram. It’s not always the best choice for truly engaging content, though.

We’ve got more details in our in-depth guide to cross-posting. If you’re serious about scaling your Instagram marketing efforts, you’ve got better options.

Best practices for scheduling Instagram posts

If you’re ready to take the plunge and get real efficient with your posting habits, these tips will help keep you ahead of the game.

1. Post at the best time

In general, posting when your followers are online is key. That’s because the Instagram algorithm prioritizes recency. This means that, generally, a newer post will show up higher on your followers’ newsfeed than an older one.

That’s one reason why simple cross-posting may not work. Your audience on Facebook may be active from 6-10PM on weeknights, but browsing Instagram from 1-4PM.

The right Instagram analytics tool will tell you when your audience is most likely to be online and/or engage with your post.

For the Hootsuite social media team, that time is 8AM-12PM PST, or 4-5PM PST on weekdays. For you, it might be different.

Luckily, Hootsuite’s Best Time to Publish feature can show you your best time to post on Instagram based on your posts from the past 30 days. It groups posts by weekday and hour to identify when your posts had the highest impact, based on average impressions or engagement rate. Then it suggests the best times for you to post moving forward.

It will also suggest time slots that you haven’t used in the last 30 days so that you can shake up your posting habits and test new tactics.

2. But don’t schedule too far in advance

If we learned anything in 2020, it’s that the world is changing faster and faster. That’s why automating Instagram posts is a little more nuanced than “set it and forget it. ”

When it comes to Instagram scheduling, going much farther than a week in advance can start to increase the risk of something going sideways. You don’t want to cause a social media crisis for your brand by posting something insensitive. If something unexpected happens, you may need to pause your posting calendar entirely. You might even need to  use your social channels to communicate through a crisis.

Our advice: keep your finger on the pulse, and stay nimble.

Growth = hacked.

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3. Be ready to press pause

If you do schedule your posts far in advance, it’s not the end of the world. Sometimes you need a full two weeks of vacation!

Just make sure you’re using an Instagram scheduler that allows you to press pause on all upcoming content if a crisis or emergency suddenly occurs.

With Hootsuite, pausing your scheduled social media content is as simple as clicking the pause symbol on your organization’s profile and then entering a reason for the suspension. (This is actually one of our favorite Hootsuite hacks.)

Source: Hootsuite

4. Don’t get spammy

Yes, the miracle of Instagram scheduling means you can now increase your quantity of posts without sacrificing quality. But should you?

The short answer is “maybe.” The long answer is “maybe, if you can maintain consistent quality at that pace over the long term.”

Consistency matters more than frequency when it comes to engagement. Remember that the algorithm prioritizes good relationships: if your followers are engaging with your Instagram content, the algorithm will show more of it to them.

5. Optimize and edit

No matter how busy you are, make sure you take a fresh look at that copy before it goes live.

And for big teams with a lot of moving parts, an internal multi-stage approval system is ideal for preventing a gaffe.

But though words are important to any social media post, visuals are key on Instagram. Get yourself an Instagram scheduler that allows you to edit your photos in the same dashboard you publish from. It’ll save you much more time and ensure that your images are fully optimized before posting.

Shout out to Hootsuite’s image editor, which can crop your image to the correct size for any social network. It also has an extensive filter library (useful for those of us who would rather leave photo editing up to the professionals). Watch the video below for a preview of the tool.

6. Analyze and adjust

Now that you know how to schedule posts on IG, you’ve got time to take a look at the big picture.

Are you creating content that works for your audience? What’s earning likes? What’s falling flat? Choose your preferred Instagram analytics tool and start exploring.

Use Hootsuite to schedule Instagram posts at the best time, respond to comments, track competitors, and measure performance—all from the same dashboard you use to manage your other social networks. Start your free trial today.

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How to Schedule Instagram Posts (And Why You Should)

Do you know how to schedule Instagram posts?

If not, it’s time to learn!

We know: scheduling posts on Instagram used to be a huge headache.

Thankfully, times have changed. Recent updates to the platform and a new wave of third-party apps make it easier than ever to schedule posts on Instagram.

But doing so isn’t as simple as queuing up a bunch of posts and walking away.

In this guide, we’ll cover why you should schedule Instagram posts, how to do it and best practices for automating your campaigns.

Why should you schedule Instagram posts, anyway?

Businesses have begged for scheduling features on Instagram for years.

But why are so many marketers eager to queue up their content? Below are some of the biggest benefits of scheduled Instagram posts.

1. Develop a more comprehensive content strategy

Food for thought: Instagram stats highlight that different types of content (think: carousels, images, Stories and videos) all receive different rates of engagement.

Similarly, brands need to diversify their content strategies and not just post the same type of content over and over.

When you schedule posts on Instagram, you give yourself time to actually assess your content calendar.

And when you don’t have to rush to publish Instagram posts, you have time to gather the various assets you need to create fresh, compelling content.

Want to spend a few days workshopping a storytelling post or editing a video? No problem.

2. Free up your schedule to interact more with followers

If nothing else, scheduling Instagram posts can free up some serious time in your schedule.

That means more opportunities to interact with followers and reply to comments.

Even the best Instagram scheduler can’t do the legwork of building relationships with customers. When you stick to a schedule and post consistently, you can dedicate more time to engagement.

3. Better time management means higher quality posts

Think about the effort that goes into any given post or campaign.

Writing captions. Tweaking images. Tagging.

And that doesn’t even scratch the surface.

Writing Instagram posts last-minute is a recipe for burnout. By scheduling posts on Instagram, you can batch your time appropriately and craft more meaningful posts.

4. Create seamless marketing campaigns beyond Instagram

Your marketing campaigns shouldn’t be siloed.

From organic and paid social to email and beyond, all of your channels should be on the same page in terms of creatives, landing pages and promotions. This creates a better customer experience.

Through social scheduling, you ensure that your posts fire off at the right time. If you’re using a social media management tool such as Sprout Social, you can actually sync all of your social channels (think: Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest) so you don’t have to publish manually or in real-time.

5. Encourage collaboration and brainstorming

Again, scheduling encourages brands to begin working on posts well in advance.

This means marketers and colleagues have time to hash out the best captions and creative assets.

Useful for both social teams and marketers looking for feedback from clients or influencers, collaboration and Instagram scheduling go hand in hand. Coupled with a social media approval process, it’s a cinch to get multiple sets of eyes on your content before it goes live.

“Can you schedule Instagram posts directly from the app?”

The short answer? Yes.

There are two ways to set up basic Instagram scheduling within the platform, albeit not from the mobile app itself.

The first (and perhaps most straightforward) is through Creator Studio for Instagram. Below is a quick breakdown of how it works and what desktop scheduling looks like:

The second way to schedule posts on Instagram natively is through Facebook Business Suite. Not unlike Creator Studio, the platform lets you upload your imagery, write out captions and preview your scheduled content before it goes live. A nice upside of Business Suite is that you can post via mobile.

How to schedule Instagram posts from Creator Studio

Ready to start scheduling Instagram posts? First, connect to your Instagram Business Account from your Creator Studio dashboard. Then follow these steps:

  • Step 1. In Creator Studio, click Create Post, then click Instagram Feed. (If you have multiple Instagram accounts, you’ll be able to specify which one.)
  • Step 2. Write your caption and include your mentions and hashtags (up to 30 each).
  • Step 3. Now click Add Content and pick the images or videos you want to share. You can add images directly from your Facebook Page or upload them from your computer.
  • Step 4. Tag any accounts you want to include, then click Save.
  • Step 5. Now you can either click Publish to share your post immediately, or click the arrow next to Publish and select Schedule. Then choose the time and date for publication and click Schedule again.

How to schedule Instagram posts using Sprout Social

Scheduling Instagram posts natively is straightforward, but how about when you have a larger social strategy across multiple platforms to plan and schedule?

With a dedicated social media publishing tool like Sprout, you can do so much more.

Cross-posting. Team collaboration and permissions. In-depth analytics. The list goes on.

We make it so easy to upload to your feed, add a Carousel or Story imagery, finalize your content and schedule it whether you’re on desktop or mobile.

Below is a precise, step-by-step process of how to schedule Instagram posts on Sprout.

Step 1. Pick

your images or video

The first step to scheduling Instagram posts is picking the image(s) or video to post. If you’re not 100% sure what you should publish, check out our in-depth guide on Instagram post ideas.

Using Sprout’s Publishing tools you can quickly upload your Instagram image in Compose. And, you can do more than post to Instagram. The fully integrated feature lets you schedule posts to LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok and Instagram at the same time.

Step

2. Polish your Instagram post

After you upload your Instagram picture, it’s time to edit your image. You can edit images in Compose with an integrated Image Editor tool:

Here you can crop, add effects and overlays, change lighting and adjust the focus. Creativity counts on Instagram—avoid posting poorly edited images to your profile.

After you finish fine-tuning your image, you can tag other Instagram users directly in your photo or add hashtags to the first Instagram comment.

Users recognize and appreciate polished content. To increase your shares, likes and comments, make sure your posts go through a thorough round of edits before going live.

Step 3.

Select the appropriate Instagram account and post type

Once you’ve edited your content, select what account you wish to post to. Note that you can manage multiple Instagram accounts in Sprout when scheduling your content. This makes it much easier to select your preferred Instagram account along with other social networks connected to your Sprout account.

Many businesses need to publish to multiple Instagram accounts. Managing the publishing for these accounts requires the content creator to receive content approval, coordinate the post’s timing and ensure that someone is logged into the correct account to publish the post.

Luckily with Sprout, your social media team has several options to publish Instagram content.

Keep in mind, mobile publishing is only required for Story and Carousels. While not required for grid posts, you can select a mobile publisher if your workflow prefers it.

Step 4.

Stage your post for publishing

After your content is edited and approved, you can click Send to publish it immediately, or move the post to Draft, Queue, Schedule, or Submit for Approval. Let’s take a look at each option:

  • Draft: Not sure if your post is ready to go live quite yet? Want to create multiple “backup” Instagram posts for the future? Draft is a great spot to park your unfinished content or items that still need approval.
  • Queue: The Sprout Queue is ideal for edited posts ready to go live—especially if you’re not sure when to post your content. When you queue your Instagram posts, Sprout picks the best time to publish within the window you specify.
  • Schedule: Use the schedule feature when you want to publish your Instagram posts at a specific time. This is great for when you’re launching an Instagram contest and want the post to go live right when it starts. It’s also helpful if you’re scheduling an Instagram post as a part of a larger campaign, and need content to go out at a specific time of the day. Plan finished content for the future and see your scheduled posts in Sprout’s Publishing Calendar.
  • Submit for Approval: Choosing an approver ensures your content is properly edited, grammatically correct, timely and on-brand. Select specific approvers to review your content before it goes live.
  • Send: If you don’t need approval and are ready to publish right away, click Send.

Step 5. Schedule your Instagram Story or Carousel post (mobile publishing workflow only)

For those scheduling or submitting an Instagram Story or Carousel through Sprout, you’ll receive a mobile notification at the selected time or immediately after clicking Send. Because Instagram’s API doesn’t allow for other platforms to post Stories or directly to its network, Sprout developed a notification system that takes the pain out of scheduling Story content.

To receive these alerts, you have to select “Allow Notifications” on your mobile device. All alerts for scheduled content are sent out to the appropriate users. From the notification, you can easily open Sprout’s mobile app to send the image and caption to Instagram.

When the Instagram Publisher receives the notification to post a Story post or Carousel, they can tap on the notification to open the Sprout app. From there, they’ll see the media, Story Notes and Link Stickers, as well as which Instagram account the post is going to. Tapping Continue to Instagram opens the Instagram app with the appropriate profile.

Then, the Instagram Publisher can paste the Story from their clipboard. Take a final look at the content and tap Share to publish.

And boom! The process of using Sprout is quick and simple for brands looking to schedule Instagram Stories and posts.

5 tips and best practices for scheduling Instagram posts

We’ll say it again: You can’t just queue up your posts months or weeks in advance and expect your Instagram to grow on autopilot.

Below are some key considerations for brands looking to leverage Instagram scheduling for the first time.

1. Optimize your post timing to maximize engagement

A nice added bonus of scheduling is that your business isn’t beholden to “business hours. ”

Based on our research on best times to post on social media, there’s a correlation between time of day and engagement:

Although these numbers aren’t the be-all, end-all of follower activity and vary based on your time zone, they’re eye-opening in terms of when the average Instagram user is active:

Marketers using Sprout social as their Instagram scheduler can increase engagement with our ViralPost algorithm that optimizes post timing. Rather than guess or decide when to post via trial and error, you’ll know exactly when to post, based on real follower engagement data.

2. Take extra care when crafting your captions

It’s no secret that Instagram captions represent valuable real estate when it comes to engagement.

They shouldn’t be treated as an afterthought. For each post, consider:

  • Which Instagram hashtag are you using? How many? Are they in your first comment (see below)?
  • Do you need to tag any accounts?
  • Did you write an appropriate call-to-action?
  • How does this caption compare to your most recent one(s)?

Much like your content strategy needs to be diverse, the same rings true for your Instagram captions.

When you schedule posts in advance, you have time to put your captions under the microscope and ensure there’s some variety. Likewise, you can confirm that you’re using the right hashtags and aren’t missing any key details before your post goes live.

3. Keep a close eye on your content calendar

Piggybacking on the point above, scheduling based on a defined content calendar encourages both variety and consistency in terms of your posts.

As you queue up your posts, ask yourself:

  • Are we hitting the appropriate publishing frequency (think: daily, four times a week)?
  • Is there enough variation in our content schedule (think: video versus carousel versus photo)?
  • How are we promoting this content to encourage engagement (think: Stories, questions in CTA)?
  • Are there opportunities to cross-post this content to other networks (like Facebook)?
  • Have the appropriate stakeholders reviewed this post before it goes live?

The answers to all of the above ensure more thoughtful, goal-driven posts that are poised to perform well. Below is a quick snapshot of what a content calendar looks like in the Sprout app:

4. Block off time to engage with customers

Despite popular belief, scheduling Instagram posts doesn’t make your presence more “passive.”

Quite the opposite, honestly.

Yet again, scheduling frees up your schedule to interact with customers in real-time.

Mind your notifications and make sure your comment section never gathers cobwebs. Be proactive and make a point to respond to social customers ASAP for the sake of satisfaction and loyalty.

5. Know when to hit “pause” on your scheduling

Whether due to a brand emergency or a bigger crisis management effort, sometimes you need to put a stop to your scheduled content.

Failure to do so could come off as insensitive or result in otherwise poor engagement when your followers’ minds are elsewhere. For example, publishing promotional content during certain holidays, on somber occasions or in the wake of tragedies is not the best for your brand’s reputation.

This speaks to how Instagram scheduling is so much more than putting your brand on autopilot. As a side note, Sprout has built-in features to pause scheduled posts and resume them when the time is right.

Ready to schedule posts on Instagram yourself?

If you want to build a better Instagram presence and free up more time in your busy day, you need to start scheduling.

Doing so might seem simple, but making the most of Instagram scheduling means understanding the key details of any given post and how to best engage followers.

With the tips above and tools like Sprout, you can create a compelling content calendar that does exactly that. If you haven’t already, make sure to take a trial of Sprout Social today to see our full suite of social media features in action.

How to make delayed posts and stories on Instagram

The social network itself still does not have special mechanics. But there are at least three suitable solutions. Detailed instructions on them were compiled for Pressfeed by the author of the blog SMMplanner Alexey Edakin.

There is no built-in function for delayed publications in the Instagram application and on the website, as is done in VKontakte or Odnoklassniki. But on the other hand, Facebook, which owns Instagram, offers two tools at once - Creator Studio and Business Suite, where this function is available.

How to make a delayed post on Instagram on PC

Creator Studio is the official Facebook posting tool. It is simple: you need to go to your Instagram account, click on the "Publish" button, set the release date. Everything, the post will go to the "future"!

For delayed posting, your Instagram account must be switched to a business profile. To do this, go to Settings → Account → Change account type.

Change account type on Instagram

Link the page to Facebook immediately: Edit profile → Page → Create or connect a page.

Associating an account with Facebook

Now let's start delayed posting.

Step 1. Go to the Facebook Creator Studio homepage. Select the tab to enter Instagram. You will need to enter your username and password on a new page.

Log in via Instagram

If you have linked pages on Facebook and Instagram, then log in via Facebook - this way you can send posts to both social networks.

Step 2 . Click "Create Post" and select "Instagram Feed".

You can also make a delayed video in IGTV

Step 3. Create a post. Add a photo or upload several at once to make a carousel. There is no built-in editor, but you can mark an account and crop images to 1:1, 1.91:1 and 4:5 formats.

You can add a geotag to a post

The maximum amount of text is 2200 characters. You can make 30 mentions and post 30 hashtags. All indents and paragraphs will be preserved - you do not need to use services to create invisible spaces.

In advanced settings, you can disable comments for a post and write alternative text for uploaded images.

Post advanced settings

Step 4. Making a delayed post. Click on the arrow next to the "Publish" button and select "Scheduled Post". We set the time and day.

A delayed post cannot be released immediately to the feed - the minimum time is +10 minutes from the current one. Planning for later dates is unlimited - you can set any day and time.

We plan to release a post on Instagram

As a result, the delayed post will appear in the profile exactly at the specified time, with all tags and a breakdown by paragraphs in the text.

A delayed post is no different from a posted one from the application

You can view all posts in the "Content Library" section - the first in the list will be scheduled publications. In the same section, you can see the number of likes and comments for each post that appeared on your account.

Where to see the release date of post

Creator Studio has a publication calendar - this is a visual content plan. A scheduled post can be edited or its deadline can be shifted - this helps to flexibly change the order of posts.

Publication calendar

In the "Statistics" section, you can see the audience and study the dynamics of likes, coverage. The data is available for a week and a month and is no different from the statistics from the application.

How to view Instagram statistics on a computer

Creator Studio has apps for iPhone and Android, but delayed posting is only available for Facebook. If you want to make scheduled posts on Instagram from your phone, you will need to install Business Suite.

How to make a delayed post on Instagram from the phone

Business Suite is a marketing platform for managing advertising and commercial accounts on Facebook and Instagram. The service has an online version and applications on the phone. The functionality is wider than that of Creator Studio, so you can also do delayed posting on Instagram.

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How it works

You need to transfer your Instagram account to a business profile and link it to Facebook - the Business Suite can only be accessed through this social network. See instructions above.

After that, install Business Suite on the phone.

Step 1. Download Business Suite to your Android phone or iPhone.

Download Business Suite to phone

Step 2. Login to Facebook by email and password. Click the "Publish" button in the center. We switch in the post editor to the Instagram profile.

If you do not switch, the post will be sent to both social networks at once

Step 3. Create a post. We write the text, add an image, mark people and put a geotag. We click "Next".

Writing a post. Limitations are the same - 2,200 characters maximum

Step 4. Set the exit time. Click "Publication scheduling options" → "Schedule for the future". Specify the date and time. Click "Schedule" and go back. Click "Publish".

We plan the release time of the post on Instagram

The post went on hold. You can find it in the "Publications" → "Scheduled" section. You can edit the post, change the posting time, or delete it.

Guide "How any company can start publishing in the media"

How to choose media, make friends with journalists and what to check in the text before sending.

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How to delete a scheduled post for Instagram

Business Suite, like Creator Studio, has access to profile statistics and a number of advanced features: you can reply to direct messages and run targeted ads. The only downside is that you can’t schedule stories in both services. But there is a solution.

How to make a delayed story on Instagram

To do this, we will use one of the delayed autoposting services with the ability to edit stories - SMMplanner.

Step 1. Go to the SMMplanner website. We enter the account, create a new one or do it through any social network.

Step 2. Enter the menu. Go to the menu tab and select "Accounts".

To enter the menu, click in the upper left corner - a list will open

Step 3. Connect your Instagram account. Select "Advanced API SMMplanner". Enter login and password.

What does it mean: publishing through the Instagram API will not allow you to create delayed stories - its functionality is the same as Creator Studio.

Connecting

Step 4. Planning stories. We return to the "Posts" section and click "Schedule a story."

Planning a Story

Step 5. Creating a Story. First, select an account, then make a background - you can upload a photo or video. All stickers from the application are available, but if you need text, you will first have to add it to the image. You can use the Canva or Crello editors that are built right into SMMplanner.

Edit and set the timer

Step 6. Plan the time. Click "Schedule", set the date and time. After that, the story will appear in the "Posts" list - it can be edited or rescheduled for another time.

Instagram is in no hurry to introduce delayed posting directly into the application - apparently, it considers that this function is only needed by SMM-boxes and commercial accounts. Therefore, you have to use Business Suite, Creator Studio or SMMplanner. On the other hand, it is more convenient to create publications in these tools: the functionality is wider, it is possible to save drafts and plan a content grid.

Delayed posting on Instagram (2022): free and without software

  • Author Zarina Musina

More recently, Facebook has pleased with the function. Now we can do delayed posting and schedule publications in advance without using additional programs and services.

Disadvantages of third-party applications

There are 2 disadvantages to using auto-posting services:

1. In some services, you need to enter the login and password from your Instagram account .

It is very easy to get into fake sites that simply collect logins and passwords of promiscuous social network users. I am too distrustful and I don’t want my account to be spammed in the comments “I earn up to 46 thousand a day with my child” after some time.

2. Other services access the account via API .

This method is safe for your account data, you just give access to actions on behalf of your Instagram profile without entering a login and password. But here another nuance appears: for suspicious actions, your profile may be banned.

For example: you have scheduled a publication through such a service for 18:00. And at 18:03 you go to Insta from your phone - like, post a story or just scroll through the feed. Instagram sees it like this: 2 active users on 1 account from 2 different devices from 2 different countries (such services are often placed outside the CIS) - it looks suspicious. Ban.

Therefore, in consultations, on live broadcasts and in private conversations, I did not recommend using different gliders. It's good that Facebook made this feature for Instagrammers.

Schedule a delayed post on Instagram

To schedule a post, go to Creator Studio. There are two ways to get here:

  • Follow the link - https://business.facebook.com/creatorstudio
  • Go to business manager FB - Tools - Creator Studio

Go to the Instagram tab , to do this, click on the logo on the Instagram logo. If this is your first time here, you will need to enter your username and password from your account. You trust the data to Facebook itself, and not to third-party applications, so you can not be afraid for your data.

In the upper left corner, click on the " Create Publication " button. The service allows you to publish a post in the feed, or a video in IGTV.

Here you can also view account statistics: audience data, reach, engagement, impressions. In general, all the same numbers that are shown in the application.

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