How to Schedule Instagram Posts

When you were managing a personal Instagram account in the early days, it was a collection of hastily shot photos of your breakfast and a few night shots of friends or a landscape with the native filter applied. Today, social media has grown up. And since engagement rarely happens by accident anymore, scheduling your posts can bring a sense of consistency that helps you get that coveted engagement. 

Let's go over a few different ways you can manage all your Instagram posts and build a posting strategy that not only reflects your brand voice but also has a good chance of getting results. Here's how to schedule Instagram posts to maximize engagement.

Why you should schedule Instagram posts

The algorithm still favors consistency. Your followers crave consistency. This makes it a critical part of your overall Instagram content strategy and really across any social channels.

Companies need to watch their Instagram analytics closely because it reveals a lot about the behavior of their target audience. When an audience knows to check for new content and the algorithm consistently sees fresh posts, that builds an engagement momentum that the algorithm identifies as valuable. Once that happens, it's more likely to share your content with new viewers.

Scheduling Instagram posts ahead of time allows you to upload content when your target audience is most likely to be online. That optimal time might not coincide neatly with your operating hours, however. Instead of making them work around the clock, scheduling posts ensures content goes up when it needs to without overworking the resources of your team.

This approach has a few other benefits:

  • You have the chance to batch-create posts, which are more likely to follow a coherent story or goal.
  • It also follows that the workflow won't have nearly as many manual tasks taking up time. Your team will have more resources to devote to higher-order tasks such as planning or responding to comments. You'll have a more humanized Instagram presence.
  • Scheduling posts also gives you the opportunity to see the wide-angle (or the bird's eye, if you will) view of your strategy. If you choose a tool with a visual calendar, media library, or drag-and-drop planner, you can set up and arrange multiple types of content all at once to tell a good story.

Different ways to schedule Instagram posts

There are several different ways you can approach Instagram scheduling. Here's how to schedule Instagram posts using three different tools.

Native scheduling within the IG app

Instagram now offers a native scheduling feature for Instagram business and creator accounts. You can schedule posts and Reels up to 75 days in advance. It's convenient, but it lacks much of the functionality necessary to handle a complex social media campaign on the platform.

It's good for small businesses or creator accounts that don't have a lot of need for bulk scheduling (though you can currently schedule up to 25 posts a day) or in-depth analytics. 

To use this feature, open the app and upload a piece of content. Tap "advanced settings," and you can toggle on the "Schedule this post" option. You can make your choices there and tap "post."

As of right now, certain types of content are ineligible for scheduling ahead, including fundraisers, collaborative posts, and sponsored posts.

Meta Business Suite

You can also schedule content through the parent company, Meta Business Suite. It works if you have a business portfolio that connects assets like Instagram accounts and Facebook pages. To schedule content, make sure your Instagram account is connected to your Meta Business Suite.

In the content section, you can create your post or Reel. Once you've created your content, tap "schedule" to determine the posting time. You can also reschedule the post using the same suite. Just tap "scheduled content." 

This option works well for companies that have a social media presence, primarily through Facebook and Instagram. If your social media strategy involves a lot of cross-posting between these two platforms, the Meta Business Suite could be a helpful option.

Third-party scheduling tools like Brandwatch

If your social media strategy has evolved into a complex web of campaigns, you may be ready for a third-party social media management tool. These offer more functionality to choose when and how you schedule your Instagram posts. 

Third-party tools, particularly Brandwatch, give you more control over your Instagram content and the metrics you measure. With in-depth analytics, you'll have a greater understanding of what your ideal audience wants to see and when they're most likely to be online. 

Even more, third-party tools offer collaborative tools such as visual calendars and consumer research to help create the ideal post and then schedule it at just the right time. You can also learn from what your competitors are doing. They facilitate creating quality content and improve collaboration, so post content remains fresh and appealing.

This option is best for established companies that need comprehensive approaches to managing social media and want to connect their Instagram app to multiple social media platforms.

Step-by-step guide to schedule

Instagram postsLet's walk step-by-step through how to schedule Instagram posts.

Set up your Instagram business account

Make sure your chosen tool connects to the right account and enable any permissions for you and other team members responsible for executing content.

Create your content

Plan and design Instagram posts that align with your brand's goals and aesthetics. Be sure to leave some space for spontaneous posts that fit a particular trending topic or pivoting posts in response to world events.

Choose a scheduling tool

Decide between native tools, Meta Business Suite, or a third-party platform like Brandwatch. The tool you need will depend a lot on how complex your social media needs are and whether you need more robust analytics to craft an Instagram strategy.

Upload your content

Add images, videos, and captions. Consider planning a first post comment to help nurture conversations, as well. Your Instagram analytics can offer excellent guidance for building your content strategy.

Select publishing times

Use analytics to determine the best times to schedule posts for maximum engagement, as well. Remember that early engagement is crucial for signaling to the algorithm that your post is valuable and that audience members should see it.

Review and confirm

Double-check your content to make certain everything aligns with your goals. Even though you're automating as much as you can about the workflow, you'll still monitor posts closely to make sure your feed is timely and relevant.

Best practices for scheduling Instagram posts

This is our best advice for how to schedule Instagram posts so that you have better interactions with your followers.

Why schedule posts in advance from an algorithm perspective

Meta uses artificial intelligence to determine what posts users might like to see on both Facebook and Instagram, but users still have control over their feeds. AI looks at what they've shared and commented on, who they're following or friends with, and what their linked community has engaged with.

Facebook and Instagram use something called a recommendation engine or an algorithm designed to predict what a user might like to see in their feeds. This AI looks at many, many data points to make this determination. 

If you can increase your initial engagement on new posts even a little bit, that makes it more likely your posts will appear first in your followers' feeds and in the suggested posts of new users. Knowing when to schedule posts on Instagram is a significant component of this strategy. 

Plan your content calendar in advance

Individuals may be able to get away with uploading on the spot, but a company needs to tell an overarching story with a clear brand style and an understanding of what your audience expects to see. 

To accomplish this, develop a monthly or weekly content calendar to stay organized and ensure a mix of Instagram content, including promotional posts, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and user-generated content. If you can set up your posts ahead of time in a mock-up — either through a visual calendar or a drag-and-drop feed planner — that would be even better.

Using a third-party Instagram scheduling tool can help you with the particulars. Use your chosen option to plan content themes, holidays, and campaign schedules, build a reserve of content, and then publish it at the optimal time.

Use analytics to schedule posts at the best times

Instagram's algorithm favors content that seems really engaging. It measures that by looking at how many people like, share, and comment on a particular Instagram post, especially during the beginning minutes and hours of the new post being uploaded. 

To take advantage of this, auto publish when your audience is most likely online. Closely following your analytics will reveal optimal posting times so that you can schedule posts when your people are online to see them.

Balance automation with real-time engagement

The whole point of social media is building and maintaining real relationships. Companies need to interact with their followers genuinely to keep them interested and to help the algorithm understand that there is real engagement happening on your account.

But you also can't be online 24/7. You'll have to automate some Instagram tasks to maintain a sane approach. The trick is figuring out which tasks are good candidates for automation and which ones need to have a human at the helm.

Automation can make sticking to a consistent posting schedule easier. That part doesn't need humans. Even automatically publishing your first post comment ahead of time can help get each post started. However, once the post is up, your team can spend their time responding to comments and interacting with followers to maintain the social aspect. 

Deciding where automation is appropriate is all about making sure humans are doing the real human activities — conversation, creation, and problem-solving.

Review and optimize content before scheduling

If you've put in the time to plan thorough content arcs, researched necessary keywords and hashtags, and made data-informed decisions about posting based on your analytics, it's time to put all that into motion. 

Take the time to review each post you create. It should have a place in your content calendar (even if it's addressing an unexpected trend or topic that popped up last minute). It should follow brand guidelines and best practices for Instagram itself.

Additionally, optimize each post before you schedule it. Write a captivating Instagram caption that invites more conversation from your target audience, and use your hashtags and keywords strategically so it's easier to appear on someone's suggested posts page. 

This stage is another opportunity to balance automation with humanization. It might seem like the right choice from an efficiency perspective to plan out and schedule social media posts for an entire year, but will your human team be able to pivot if necessary with that many posts in the air? 

How much can you plan ahead while demonstrating the creativity and spontaneity of a real person on your Instagram profile? The middle ground in that question is where you can find your automation sweet spot.

Even the most well thought out calendar will need tweaking. You can't perfectly predict when a trend will come along that aligns with your company's mission or when an event happens and requires a more sensitive approach to posting. 

Schedule posts ahead of time, but don't forget about them. As we mentioned above, your marketing team will need to review Instagram posts fairly consistently, even after they're scheduled to update or make changes when necessary. You don't want to miss out on a challenge that fits right in with the type of content you already make, and you want to make sure a well-crafted post doesn't hit the wrong note during a tragedy. 

Again, human tasks for human skills such as creativity and problem-solving. Adjust your content calendar throughout the year to reflect changes in goals or audience behavior. Consider also how to schedule Instagram posts in a way that maintains consistent quality without seeming robotic.

Choosing the right Instagram scheduling tool

Before you decide whether to use the native tools of the platform itself or commit to the broader functionality of a third-party option, consider this:

  • Can I easily automate everything I need to? Look for an Instagram scheduler that allows you to automate repetitive tasks and schedule social media posts. Instagram's API limitations might call for a broader social media management tool.
  • Do I have enough analytics to make data-informed decisions? Choose platforms that give you more information about your audience and your competitors, ideally with access to public historical data outside what you've collected yourself.
  • Is this tool easy to use without extensive training and retraining? When team members leave, new people arrive, or responsibilities change, a user-friendly tool reduces the amount of time spent explaining what's going on.
  • Can my team effectively collaborate? Ensure the tool supports team workflows if you're managing accounts collaboratively. Good tools offer media libraries, brand and platform guidelines, and better communication options.
  • Does this tool integrate with all the platforms and tools I use? Verify that the tool integrates seamlessly with other social media platforms and tools that your teams already use to manage your Instagram account.

Additionally, as you schedule Instagram posts, scheduling other social media in tandem builds an omnichannel presence that consumers expect from companies. Make it count.

Start scheduling your Instagram posts with Brandwatch

Brandwatch offers an all-in-one social media management platform to schedule Instagram posts and help you post consistently. With its powerful analytics, automation capabilities, and user-friendly interface, it's designed to help you save time and pull off your digital marketing goals. 

Whether you're managing a single account or multiple profiles, Brandwatch provides advanced settings beyond the native Instagram app to help you wrangle your upcoming posts. It's an Instagram scheduler that can put your entire team on the same page, save time, and keep your Instagram content on track.

FAQs

Let's answer any lingering questions you might have about your Instagram profile.

Can I schedule Instagram posts directly on Instagram?

Yes. The platform does offer limited scheduling tools for Instagram business and creator accounts. You can schedule Instagram posts up to 75 days in advance and no more than 25 posts a day.

What tools can I use to schedule Instagram posts?

Instagram offers business users a native scheduling tool right in the app, but it has limited functionality. Third-party tools like Brandwatch expand what you can do beyond just scheduling to include powerful analytics, sentiment analysis and social listening, and access to public historical data.

While the native Instagram scheduling tool is a good budget option for those just beginning their Instagram journey, a third-party tool provides so much more functionality for companies with a mature Instagram account.

Can I schedule Instagram Stories and Reels?

Yes, it's possible to schedule both Instagram Stories and Reels in addition to Instagram feed posts or carousel posts, either through the Instagram scheduling tool or through third-party tools. 

When you auto publish some Instagram posts in advance, your team saves time and can pour more energy into creating quality content and nurturing an audience.

When is the best time to schedule Instagram posts?

Your own analytics will give you more insight into when your Instagram audience is likely to be online and what times of day and week your posts perform the best. 

Our own studies have found that Instagram sees the most engagement from 7 am to 9 am and 10 am to 2 pm, Tuesdays through Thursdays. That should give you a good place to start gathering your own data.

Do I need a business account to schedule Instagram posts?

Yes, you'll need an Instagram professional account to schedule Instagram posts. Personal accounts don't have that feature yet.