How to schedule videos on instagram
How to Schedule Videos to Post Directly to Instagram ⋆ Wavve
For most brands, posting to social platforms like Instagram on a weekly (or daily) basis is a must. However, it can be a strenuous task having to post photos and videos that often. It often means you must be available to post at a certain time of day in order to get the most engagement. That’s where tools like Buffer come in handy – they allow you to “batch” your social media posts, scheduling several at a time so that they post automatically for you. This is great, but there have been some limitations with Instagram. Traditionally, you have not been able to schedule videos to Instagram in this way… until now!
Auto-Posting Video Content to Instagram
Luckily, Buffer has greatly streamlined the process for anyone that has a business Instagram account. Last week, this service announced that they would be rolling out an exciting update that allows you to schedule videos to Instagram directly through their system.
This is a really big deal! Here’s why:
If you’re not familiar with Buffer or similar platforms, these tools allow you to connect your Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, etc., so that you can automate your social media. With Buffer, you can schedule posts individually to share at the desired time, or create a weekly posting schedule and add each post into a queue to post on that schedule.
Most of the popular social networks have allowed you to post images, links, videos – pretty much anything you want through Buffer and similar tools. However, Instagram is a different story. Instagram has not always played well with these sorts of tools. For years, they seemed to frown on any form of automation. For that reason, you couldn’t auto-post directly to Instagram at all.
But in 2018, we finally saw Instagram ease up on some of their policies. As a result, Buffer, Hootsuite, and other services were allowed to schedule and post on your behalf, with one caveat: single square images only.
This was certainly a step in the right direction, however, posts that didn’t meet that criteria – namely, videos, vertical images, and image carousels – would merely show up as a reminder on your phone. It still required you to open up the Instagram app, paste in your description, and hit that Share button. It wasn’t truly automated, and if you happened to miss the reminder notification on your phone, you’d completely miss that ideal window of time to post.
For those of us who create video content, this has been a real bummer.
But just last week, Buffer delighted us with some good news: “[We’re] thrilled to share that scheduling videos directly to Instagram is now available in Buffer!”
We were stoked to hear this news, not just for our sake, but for all of our amazing Wavve creators. Our platform Wavve allows audio creators (podcasters, musicians, etc.) to generate animated videos from their audio content, allowing them to share their audio on social media. Wavve users probably utilize Instagram the most out of any platform, so we’re excited that sharing their videos just got that much easier!
So let’s look at how easy scheduling Instagram video posts is using the Buffer platform…
How to Use Buffer to Schedule Videos to Instagram
Step 1: Create a Buffer Account
It’s totally free to get started with Buffer, and they even allow you to connect up to three social accounts at no cost.
And if you find you need more than that, their monthly plans are actually very reasonable.
Step 2: Convert to a Business Profile
In order to auto-post to Instagram, Buffer will require you to connect a business profile. (You can connect a non-business account with Buffer, but in that case, you will only be able to schedule a post reminder.)
It’s easy to switch over to a business account. Simply open the Instagram app, navigate to your Settings, and click “Switch to Business Profile.”
Step 3: Connect Your Instagram Profile to a Facebook Page
Next, it will prompt you to connect to a Facebook business page. (If you’re wondering why, Facebook owns Instagram and the two platforms often work hand-in-hand.) If you don’t already have a Facebook Page to associate with this IG account, you’ll have the opportunity to create one here.
Step 4: Connect Your Accounts in Buffer
Now that your Instagram account is set up properly, you’ll have no problem connecting your profile to Buffer so that it can share photo and video posts on your behalf.
Step 5: Schedule Your First Video Post
Now, create your first post, and schedule it to share… whenever. You’ll have the option to set a specific time to auto-post or you can add it to the queue.
PRO TIP: Go to “Settings” in Buffer under the Instagram section, and select “Posting Schedule” to set up the times you want to post each day of the week. When you add a post to the queue, it will automatically post on this custom schedule so you don’t have to think about it each time.
We think you should definitely give Buffer a try! But if you still prefer the manual method of posting videos to Instagram, we’ve compiled an article of alternative ways to do it: Sharing Videos To Instagram
Also, if you happen to be a podcaster, musician, or marketer, be sure check out Wavve to convert your audio content into shareable videos for Instagram.
Baird Hall
I’m the Founder of Wavve. I love building tools to help content creators better share their message on social media.
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:
- Log in to your Hootsuite account and head to Composer.
- Click on the purple Canva icon in the bottom right corner of the content editor.
- 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.
- 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!)
- Design your image in the Canva editor.
- 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:
- In the left-hand side menu, click Analytics.
- Then, click Best time to publish.
- 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 postYou 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:
- Link your Instagram account to Creator Studio.
- Click the Create Post button.
- Upload your visuals (photos or videos — you can upload multiple files to create a carousel post).
- Craft your post (write your caption, add emojis, mentions and hashtags).
- 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.
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.
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Delayed posting on Instagram
2 minutes. reading
Vladimir Kolesov
Author
Internet marketer, Internet project manager, professional with many years of experience in Internet project management, from planning, launch, prototyping to implementation, support and development.
Vladimir Kolesov
Articles
April 21, 2022
Table of contents
- Delayed posting from phone
- Post
- Storys
- Delayed posting from computer
- Post
- Storys
Youtube. Vladimir Kolesov, May 7, 2021
Previously, there was no official postponed posting on Instagram* - it was impossible to schedule posts for a week in advance. Finally, Instagram made its official delayed post. It can be done from both mobile and computer.
Delayed posting from phone
Post
Important note: delayed posting works only on business accounts. Essentially, the delayed posting features of posts, stories, and ads work through Facebook*.
- First you need to install the Business Suite application. Business Suite is a large ecosystem for managing accounts. It has advertising, statistics, and delayed posting - everything you need.
- Click "Publish": here you can choose actions: for example, immediately publish to both Facebook and Instagram.
Or just Instagram. You can add text, video, upload photos at this stage.
- Click Next. You can choose to post now, or you can plan ahead and choose a specific time for this post to be released.
- Click "Schedule". Ready!
Stories
- Select "Create Stories" in the application.
- Choose the video you want to publish. The only negative: so far there is limited functionality: there are no stickers, polls and other chips from stories.
- Click "Share": then select accounts - either Facebook and Instagram, or just Instagram. And then choose the date when you want your story to come out.
Delayed posting from computer
Post
- To get to Facebook Business Suite, you just need to enter business.facebook.com in the address bar.
- From the main page go to the "Publications" section. Here, as in the application, there are published and scheduled publications.
There is a division into publications and stories. And there is also a calendar: you can see what days you had stories, what was the content, this will help you analyze your activities. - Click the "Create Publication" button. Here you can upload a photo, write a text. Choose where you want to post this post - Facebook, Instagram, or both. You can add a location. You can see how the post will look on the preview.
- If you click "Publish", the post will be published immediately, or you can click "Schedule publication", then the post will be published later when you want.
Stories
- Click Schedule, Create Story. Choose, for example, Instagram. Upload the picture you want. There is also a small functionality for processing stories: you can overlay text, add stickers.
- Click "Schedule story posting". Choose a date. Click "Save". You will see a "Schedule" button. Ready!
*The activity of the organization is prohibited in the Russian Federation
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How to make delayed posts and stories on Instagram
The social network itself still doesn't 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.
The Instagram application and the website do not have a built-in function for delayed publications, 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"!
Changing the type of account on InstagramYour Instagram account must be switched to a business profile for scheduled posting. To do this, go to Settings → Account → Change account type.
Link the page to Facebook immediately: Edit profile → Page → Create or connect a page.
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.
We go through InstagramIf you have linked pages on Facebook and Instagram, then go through 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 IGTVStep 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, 1.9 formats1:1 and 4:5.
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 settingsStep 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 InstagramAs a result, the delayed post will appear in the profile exactly at the specified time, with all the tags and a breakdown by paragraphs in the text.
A delayed post is no different from a posted one from the applicationYou 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 the 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.
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 computerCreator 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 - 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 phoneStep 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 onceStep 3. Create a post. We write the text, add an image, mark people and put a geotag. We click "Next".
Writing a post. The restrictions are the same - 2200 characters maximumStep 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.
Watch for free
How to delete a scheduled post for InstagramBusiness 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
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: posting through the Instagram API will not allow you to create delayed stories - its functionality is the same as Creator Studio.
ConnectingStep 4. Planning stories. We return to the "Posts" section and click "Schedule a story."
Planning a StoryStep 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.
Editing and setting the timerStep 6. Planning 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.
