Mastering how to schedule Instagram posts is one of the top time-saving strategies for creators, social
media managers, and business owners who have a lot on their plates. And the benefits of planning Instagram
posts in advance go far beyond just saving time—although that’s pretty appealing, isn’t it? In this guide,
I’ll highlight the key advantages of scheduling Instagram posts and walk you through how to do it, helping
you boost your posting consistency and content performance.
Why You Should Schedule Instagram Posts
Scheduling your Instagram posts comes with plenty of benefits. Let’s break it down:
Save Time and Reduce Mental Load
Creating Instagram posts individually each day can be a big time commitment. When you schedule posts, you
can plan and create content in bulk, making it easier to manage your time.
Example
Imagine having to post at lunchtime every day. Instead, you could spend a couple of hours over
the weekend setting up all your posts for the week. This way, you’re not interrupting your day-to-day
tasks to focus on Instagram.
By scheduling, you avoid the distractions that come with stopping to post something manually. Studies show
it can take up to 25 minutes to regain focus after an interruption. So, a 10-minute post can actually turn
into a 35-minute distraction from your work.
Example
Instead of posting during work hours and losing focus, creators can block off time once a week to schedule
content ahead.
Keep a Consistent Posting Schedule
Consistency is key to growing your Instagram presence. By scheduling posts, you can ensure you publish
content regularly without any gaps.
Example
If you consistently post once a day at 9 a.m., your followers know when to expect new content.
This regularity helps build engagement over time.
Consistency also helps build your audience's trust. People are more likely to follow accounts that post
regularly rather than those that post randomly.
Example
Hinata, who runs a smoothie shop, schedules posts around the times her customers are most likely to engage
— early in the morning, when people are planning their day. This consistency keeps her brand top of mind.
Maintain Control Over Your Instagram Feed
When you schedule Instagram posts, you can plan how your content looks in your feed. This helps maintain a
consistent visual style and avoids posting similar content too closely together.
Example
If you post two similar product images back-to-back, your feed may look repetitive. But when you schedule
ahead, you can spread out your posts and maintain a visually appealing grid.
It also ensures that time-sensitive content, like promotions or seasonal posts, goes live exactly when you
need it to.
Example
For a holiday sale, you can schedule your promotion to go live at the right time, ensuring you don’t miss
important events or deadlines.
Scheduling Lets You Plan and Post on Instagram from Your Desktop
Most Instagram scheduling tools, like Brand2Social, allow you to create and plan your posts right from your
desktop, which is much easier than using your mobile phone. While smartphones are great for creating
content, using a desktop scheduling tool gives you more features and control.
Example
Brand2Social, you can plan and schedule your Instagram Stories from your desktop or mobile device. When
it’s time to post, your scheduled post or stories, published on Instagram, along with the post success
notification, will be sent for user confirmation.
How to schedule Instagram posts
In this guide, I’ll explain the main ways to schedule Instagram posts ahead of time (well, two and a half
ways if we’re being specific):
Use Instagram’s built-in scheduling feature.
Schedule Instagram posts using Brand2Social’s auto-publish feature.
How to Schedule Posts on Instagram
Did you know you can actually schedule posts directly through the Instagram app? It’s a useful feature,
though a bit tricky to find. However, there are a few limitations you should be aware of:
Limited to Meta platforms: You can share posts on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads at the
same time, but not on other social platforms like Twitter or LinkedIn.
Can’t schedule Instagram Stories: You can only schedule regular posts, like images and
reels. This may not be a big issue for creators who prefer stories to be more spontaneous, but it could be
a problem for marketers planning content for specific events or launches.
Scheduling is limited to a month ahead: Instagram says you can schedule up to 75 days in
advance, but from my experience, I could only schedule 28 days ahead. This could be a temporary issue that
might be resolved soon.
days ahead. This could be a temporary issue that might be resolved soon.
If these limitations don’t work for you, check out Brand2Social’s scheduling tools, where you can schedule
posts and stories, even with their free plan. Before scheduling your posts on Instagram, make sure you have
a professional Instagram account (either a Creator or Business account).
How to Schedule Instagram Posts: Step-by-Step
Open the Instagram App: Launch the Instagram app on your mobile device.
Tap the Create Post Button:
Locate the '+' button at the bottom center of the app and tap it to start creating a new post.
Select Your Media:
Choose the photos or videos you want to share from your gallery. After selecting, tap 'Next.'
Edit Your Content (if needed):
If you're posting a video or an Instagram Reel, edit your content as needed. You can add text,
stickers, and other elements by tapping the buttons at the top of the screen.
Write Your Caption:
Add your caption, and include any necessary hashtags, collaborators, and location tags to
enhance your post.
Access More Options:
Scroll down and tap on the 'More options' button to reveal additional settings.
Toggle on 'Schedule this reel':
Enable the option that says 'Schedule this reel' to activate the scheduling feature.
Choose Date and Time: Select your desired date and time for the post to be published.
Once you've set the date and time, tap 'Done.'
Go Back to Post Composer:
Tap the back arrow to return to the main post composer screen.
Schedule Your Post:
When you're satisfied with your post, tap 'Schedule.' Your post is now set to be automatically
published at the time you selected!
How to Edit or Delete a Scheduled Instagram Post
Go to Your Profile:
Tap your profile picture in the bottom right corner of the Instagram app to navigate to your
profile.
Access Settings and Activity:
Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top right corner of your profile.
Select Scheduled Content: In the menu that appears, tap on 'Scheduled content.' This will
show you all the posts you have scheduled.
Choose the Post to Edit:
Scroll through the list and tap on the post you want to edit or delete.
Open Post Options:
Tap the three dots in the top right corner of the selected post to open additional options.
Edit or Delete the Post: From this menu, you can choose to:
Edit
the post (make changes to the caption, media, etc.).
Delete the post if you no longer want it scheduled.
Reschedule the post if you want to change the publication time.
Share Now to publish the post immediately.
Confirm Changes:
If you choose to edit or delete, follow the prompts to confirm your changes.
How to Schedule Instagram Posts, Stories, and Reels with brand2social
If you're looking for a more advanced way to schedule your content, a social media management tool like
brand2social can be very useful. With brand2social, you can schedule Instagram feed posts (like images and
carousels), reels, and stories.
Schedule your Instagram posts, carousels, stories, and reels with Brand2Social:
Seamlessly organize your
content calendar and boost your profile's appeal with Brand2Social’s powerful Instagram scheduling tools.
Before You Start:
Here are some steps you need to complete before you can start scheduling posts on Instagram with
brand2social. Don’t worry; you only need to do this once, and it won’t take more than a few minutes.
Switch to a Professional Instagram Account: If you haven’t done this yet, change to a
professional Instagram account. This will allow brand2social to schedule posts directly to your Instagram
profile. You can find easy instructions on how to do this from Facebook (you’ll need to have a Facebook
Page to switch to an Instagram business profile).
Sign Up for brand2social: You can try our brand2social use our powerful forever-free
plan, which lets you manage up to five social media channels connected as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,
Youtube, and LinkedIn in Everyone five social media account are available to connect for free.
Connect Your Instagram Account: After you sign up, you will come to the integration page
and click on the Instagram Connect button. After that, your Instagram pages are listed choose your
Instagram profile or pages your Instagram account is successfully connected.
Ready to Go? Ready to Go? Now comes the easy part! For scheduling Instagram posts with
brand2social. As mentioned before, both methods start with the same initial steps.
Create a New Post:
Click on the ‘New Post’ button.
Choose the format like (Post, Reels, Story).
Upload Your Media:
Click on the camera icon and choose the photos or videos you want to upload.
You can add multiple images if you are creating a carousel post.
Write Your Caption:
In the caption box, type what you want to say about your post.
Remember to include relevant hashtags to increase visibility.
You can edit post content or images individually on your Instagram post.
You can add the first comment for your posts.
Select Date and Time:
Look for the scheduling option.
Choose the date and time you want your post to go live.
Review Your Post:
Double-check your media, caption, and hashtags, and schedule time to make sure everything looks good.
Schedule Your Post:
Click on the ‘Schedule’ button to finalize your post.
Manage Scheduled Posts:
To view or edit your scheduled posts, go to the ‘Upcoming post’ section in your Home screen.
Here, you can make changes, reschedule, or delete posts if needed.
By following these simple steps, you can easily schedule Instagram posts using brand2social. This will help
you stay organized and maintain a consistent posting schedule, saving you time and effort in managing your
social media presence.
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Jaisingh Pedhuru
Lead Content Marketer
Content writer with a focus on SaaS products and services.
Constantly staying up-to-date on the latest digital marketing
trends.
