Scheduling Instagram Posts: The Benefits + 5 Services to Help
If you want to have a successful business using Instagram as your marketing platform, then posting daily is a must.
Instagram allows you to reach more potential customers that may not be Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc…
In fact, Instagram has over 500 million active users. Lately we are finding that the younger generations are over on Instagram and not on Facebook, so again Instagram gives us a great opportunity as business owners to reach more people.
Due to Instagram’s algorithm, it’s important that you post regularly. It’s best if you can post every day so that each day your account shows in the feed of your followers.
It’s completely understandable that posting on Instagram can seem like a hassle in our busy lives. Especially if you are also posting on other social media platforms.
In this post, I’ll introduce you to something that many businesses do – scheduling Instagram posts.
But first…..
Here are the benefits of Scheduling Instagram posts:
- You save time. Take 1 or 2 hours on any day of the week (preferably a Sunday) and pre-schedule all your posts for the week, including the photos, captions, and tags. You literally won’t even need to check your Instagram after that, except to answer comments.
- You can post at the best times. There are specific times on Instagram that have been proven to have more users. For example, the hours between 4-6pm are usually very active. However, if you are normally busy during these hours, you can’t post. Scheduling Instagram posts allows you to choose the times you post so even if you are busy you can still get a post up.
- Easier to stay consistent. If you only need to dedicate a couple hours on 1 day of the week to Instagram posts, it’s way easier to stay consistent and regular with your postings compared to needing to do it every single day.
- Regular Instagram posting has been proven to improve your follower engagement rate and make them more interested. Additionally, you will gain more followers with each post.
Here are some of the best websites you can use for scheduling Instagram posts:
Schedugr.am – This website allows you to plan, manage, schedule, and post all of your content. It even lets you edit photos and add filters.
This website includes a group of physical people in Melbourne, Australia that post for you!
They work 24/7 to make sure that your posts are up at whatever time you need them. You can add as many Instagram accounts as you want using Schedugr.am.
The only catch is you do have to pay for this service, but they provide you with a free 7 day trial to test it out first.
Hootsuite – Hootsuite is more commonly used as a Facebook scheduling app, but it can certainly be used for scheduling Instagram posts too.
In order to use this app for Instagram, you will need to download the Hootsuite app from the iTunes App Store or the Google Play Store.
You can preschedule your posts, choosing a date and time that you want them to publish. Once it’s time for the post to go live, Hootsuite will automatically send a notification to your phone telling you that it’s time to publish your post. Then, all you do is tap the notification, which will take you to the Hootsuite dashboard.
Once you’re there, you tap “open in Instagram” and then click publish.
This is definitely more complex than something like Schedugram, where they deal with the posting for you. However, for people who like to publish posts themselves, it’s a good option.
Later – This Instagram scheduling website is really unique because it lets you plan your posts in a calendar view. It shows you your Instagram feed and lets you preview posts as they would actually appear after they were posted.
It’s basically a visual Instagram planner. Having a nice looking feed and theme really boosts your follower account. If your page looks good upon first glance, someone is more likely to follow you.
This website lets you organize weekly and monthly, whatever you prefer.
OnlyPult – This automatic posting Instagram scheduling website lets you manage multiple accounts at the same time.
You don’t need to worry about switching users and logins in time. If you have multiple employees that manage your Instagram account, you can connect them to this website without having to give anyone the password.
This website lets you track your growth of followers.
Hopper – This is yet another Instagram scheduler that posts for you. It’s fully automated and doesn’t send you any notifications before posting.
All you need to do is schedule the post, and they handle the rest. This app also provides you with emojis to include in your captions, which some other scheduling sites don’t. The built-in emoji picker makes this website appealing to many.
It also allows you to tag other people in both the caption and photo if you want.
They also let you do bulk uploads where you can upload up to 50 images at one time. This website does come with a fee, but you can test it out first with their 14 day trial.
