Instagram Posts Can Now Be Scheduled in Advance Through Facebook

Instagram posts can now be scheduled in advance through Facebook, the platform’s parent company. 

Now, businesses can utilize Facebook’s Creator Studio to schedule both Instagram posts and longer IGTV video content for up to six months. 

This feature was highly anticipated, as some users spotted this functionality over the summer when it was selectively rolled out during testing. Now, it’s been formally announced as a core feature in the Creator Studio and open to all users. 

About Instagram scheduling 

Previously, Facebook allowed businesses to schedule posts for their Facebook company page, but didn’t offer support to do the same on Instagram. 

If businesses wanted to schedule Instagram posts in advance, they’d need to do so using a third-party tool, like HubSpot, Sprout Social, or Hootsuite. 

However, even if users did opt to invest in a third-party solution to simplify their Instagram posting process, there were still limitations that existed regardless of which solution was used. 

For one, users could only upload one image at a time. Because Instagram’s swipeable multi-image format is so popular, that meant that any marketer who wanted to schedule posts in advance could only post a single image — or had to create a reminder to go in and add to the post the day it went live. 

Additionally, none of these solutions offered support for IGTV, so users were unable to upload longer videos to the platform in advance either. 

Facebook’s update to allow scheduling through Instagram via the Creator Studio eliminates these limitations. Now, users can schedule multi-photo posts or IGTV videos right from their business’ Facebook account. 

However, this functionality does not include scheduling Instagram Stories in advance, perhaps to preserve the real-time nature of the Stories feature. If you want to have Stories appear during a specific timeframe, like for an event or sale, you may be better off creating an Instagram Stories ad to increase exposure. 

How to use Instagram scheduling 

This functionality is available now for all users. However, if you’re not seeing the feature, it may be because you lack one of the following requirements: 

• Must have a Facebook Business account 
• Must have an Instagram Business account or a creator account 
• Instagram account must be linked to a Facebook page

These requirements are not meant to limit access to the tool but are in place simply because the tool can’t function without being linked up to the proper channels. 

The good news is that all of these are relatively easy to set up if you don’t yet have them in place. 

Once those requirements are met, you should be able to access the Instagram scheduling tool and start planning your calendar. 

Users can find the Instagram scheduling tool via Facebook’s Creator Studio by clicking the Instagram logo at the top of the page.