How to Schedule Instagram Posts in 2024: The Ultimate Guide

Scheduling your Instagram posts in advance is one of the handiest approaches to keep time and submit always.

In this manual, we’re breaking down the whole lot you need to know about scheduling content — inclusive of the satisfactory Instagram Scheduler in 2024.

And the high-quality part? You may do all of it without cost. Allow’s get into it.

Why You must schedule Instagram Posts in 2024

Before we show you a way to schedule Instagram posts, we speedy need to cowl the why.

Here are the top six reasons why the use of an Instagram scheduler in 2024 may be useful:

Benefit #1: shop Time

Whether or not you’re a enterprise owner, creator, or social media supervisor, you’re in all likelihood juggling many hats — and with best so many hours in an afternoon, time is money.

Saving time is the largest reason for scheduling your Instagram posts in advance.

It leaves greater room for strategic brainstorms, content creation, and other commercial enterprise desires.

Plus, you gained’t be speeding to whip up a put up in real-time (until there’s a relevant trend or information you need to leap on), and may plan ahead as an alternative.

TIP: With Later, you could time table Instagram posts without spending a dime. It’s the perfect social media control tool relied on by using 7M+ manufacturers, creators, and marketers. Create an account these days.

Benefit #2: Be Consistent

Ask any social media manager or creator, and they’ll say one key reason for their success is having a consistent posting cadence on Instagram.

The reason your struggling with being consistent online is because you try to create content day by day

Take time to batch create your content for a week or two & schedule it

This will save you time & stress

— Ashley France (@theashleyfrance) September 15, 2021

While it doesn’t have to be every single day, it’s important to post content throughout the week so that your audience can engage.

TIP: We analyzed over millions of Instagram feed posts to discover how often you should post. Get the answer here: How Often Should You Post on Instagram Every Week?

Benefit #3: Write Stronger Captions

Crafting captions on-the-fly is difficult.

You may experience writer’s block, make a spelling mistake, or miss the opportunity to tell your brand’s story in the best way possible.

By planning and scheduling your Instagram posts in advance, you can set time aside to brainstorm and write stronger captions.

Don’t forget about Instagram SEO — write descriptive captions with relevant, highly-searched keywords throughout to boost you reach. ⚡

— Later (@latermedia) May 18, 2021

This includes optimizing your post to include highly-searched keywords for SEO, and relevant hashtags to increase reach.

Say goodbye to caption fatigue!

TIP: With Later’s AI Caption Writer tool, you can write engaging Instagram captions in seconds. Sign up to try it today.

Benefit #4: Craft a Cohesive Visual Story

In 2024, the Instagram aesthetic may no longer be “picture-perfect,” but users are still drawn to grids that tell a cohesive visual story.

This could be a grid that makes use of complementary colors, or one that mixes up memes and lifestyle posts:

You only have a few seconds to make a great first impression, so planning a visually appealing grid can help visitors understand who you are and what you do, right off the bat.

TIP: Later’s Visual Planner lets you preview your Instagram grid and see how your scheduled posts will look! Sign up for free.

Benefit #5: Keep Your Content Calendar Organized

Another reason for scheduling your Instagram posts?

To keep your content calendar organized.

This way, you’ll have a holistic view of your content, and can spot any gaps or opportunities for the upcoming weeks.

Benefit #6: Post From Your PC or Mac

Posting to Instagram from your desktop is a great way to be efficient — especially if you’re already creating graphics and social media assets on your PC or Mac.

Scheduling via your desktop also means you can review upcoming posts on a bigger screen, write your captions with a full keyboard, and easily toggle back and forth between tabs.

Hello, multitasker!

Later is trusted by millions of brands, creators, and social media managers — making it the best Instagram Scheduler in 2024.

And it’s easy too! Here’s how to get started:

Step #1: Connect Instagram Business or Creator Profile

When you sign up for Later, you can connect your Instagram Business, Creator, or Personal profile.

However, due to Instagram’s API limitations, each profile type has access to different Later features — which is why we recommend using an Instagram Business or Creator profile.

To find out the difference between all three profiles, check out this helpful page, which includes the Later features you can use!

For the sake of the remaining steps, we’ll assume you have an Instagram Business profile.

Step #2: Upload Content to Later’s Media Library

Click “Upload Media” on Later for desktop and add content from your computer, Dropbox, or Google Drive.

You can also drag and drop files directly into the Media Library, for an even faster process!

TIP: With our new Canva integration, you can export your designed content directly to the Media Library.

Step #3 (Optional): Find User-generated Content

Later has a collection of paid tools to help you find user-generated content (UGC) to add to your library.

Using the “Collect Media” button, you can search for Instagram posts that have tagged or mentioned you, or search via a specific hashtag or profile:

Remember to:

Ask permission before you repost
Tag and credit the creator in your caption

Step #4: Select Content to Schedule

Choose the Instagram profile you’d like to publish to (double-check the highlighted circle).

Then, drag and drop selected content from your Media Library to the content calendar:

Step #5: Optimize Your Instagram Post

Write your caption, include relevant emojis (if applicable), and insert hashtags to help maximize your reach and engagement.

With Later’s Saved Captions tool, you can save your favorite hashtags as a caption for easy copy and pasting — whenever you need them.

Alternatively, you can use the tool to save a great caption for future purposes, too:

Step #6 (Optional): Edit Your Image or Video

Tap “Edit Image” or “Edit Video” to add design elements to your post.

With Later’s crop tool, you can make sure your content meets Instagram’s approved dimension sizes — whether it’s square, portrait, or landscape:

With the filter tool, you can choose from an array of colorful filters to enhance your photo.

And the trim tool lets you trim the length of your videos.

Click “Update Image” or “Update Video.”

Step #7: Choose the Date and Time to Schedule Your Post

If you have an Instagram Business profile, select “Auto Publish” from the dropdown list and select the date and time you want your post to go live.

Click “Save” — and voila!

If you have an Instagram Personal profile, you cannot auto-publish posts due to Instagram’s API limitations.

Instead, you will receive a mobile notification when it’s time to post.

Once you open the notification and tap “Open in Instagram”, your caption (and hashtags) will be copied to your clipboard, and the image will be uploaded to your camera roll.

TIP: Here’s a full breakdown of how notification publishing works.

Step #8: Review How Your Grid Will Look With Later’s Visual Planner

Later’s Visual Planner is a user favorite — and for good reason.

With the feature, you can see exactly what your Instagram grid will look like before you post on Instagram.

Not feeling its current lineup? Rearrange your posts directly in the Visual Planner to find the perfect balance for your grid.

When you’re happy, click “Save Changes.”

Your posts’ dates and times will automatically update based on their new order, as reflected in the Planner Scheduling sidebar.

Two words: game changer.

4 Instagram Scheduling Tips and Best Practices

Instagram scheduling is packed full of perks — here are our four best tips to make the most of it:

Post at Your Best Time
Use Relevant Hashtags
Include SEO Keywords
Create a Strong Visual Impression

#1: Post at Your Best Time

Later analyzed over 11M posts and found that the best time to post on Instagram (in local time across time zones) is 4AM.

However, this isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer, so it’s important to experiment by using either:

A spreadsheet to manually track when you post on Instagram and analyze each posts’ performance
Later’s Best Time to Post feature, which will automatically find your unique best times (and days) to post for maximum engagement

TIP: Remove the guesswork and find your personalized best posting times with Later. Start a free trial today.

#2: Use Relevant Hashtags

How many hashtags should you use on Instagram? It’s a question that’s caused much debate on social media.

In a recent study, we discovered that using 20-30 hashtags is best for optimal reach and engagement.

But it’s important to make sure your hashtags are relevant to your content, audience, and business.

TIP: Later’s Hashtag Suggestions tool can help you find new hashtags to use in your posts.

#3: Include SEO Keywords in Your Captions

Instagram’s Explore page is constantly evolving, with new and advanced search functionalities being introduced throughout the year.

For example, you can search by keywords (not just hashtags) to discover relevant content:

This suggests the Explore page algorithm considers both the visual content and words in your caption.

So, by using relevant keywords in your captions, there’s a chance your content could be more easily discovered by anyone searching on the app.

For more discoverability tips, read this blog post: Instagram SEO: 5 Ways to Increase Your Discoverability

#4: Create a Strong Visual First Impression

Instagram is first and foremost a visual platform.

And while users no longer gravitate to super polished content, it’s still worth posting photos and videos that are on-brand, and easy on the eye:

Whether it’s bold colors or branded illustrations, make sure you’re scheduling Instagram posts that’ll make a good first impression to anyone who visits your profile.

This way, you can convert them into a follower and potential customer.

TIP: Later’s Visual Planner tool will keep your grid looking on point. And the best part? It’s free. Create an account, now.

So… Why Choose Later as Your Instagram Scheduler?

When picking the right Instagram scheduler for you, it’s important to think about what features meet your needs.

With Later’s Instagram scheduler you can:

Upload unlimited photos and videos to your Media Library (including content created in Canva)
Use the Saved Captions tool
Crop, edit, and filter your content
Access the Visual Planner feature to help design your Instagram grid
Use Linkin.bio to easily drive traffic to your website
Track and measure your weekly and monthly growth with Later’s Analytics tool

And if you upgrade to a new paid plan, you’ll get even more features including:

The ability to schedule and auto-publish carousel posts
Hashtag Suggestions to find relevant hashtags
The ability to create a post and save it as a draft
AI-generated caption writing for Instagram posts
The ability to schedule Instagram Stories
Best Time to Post — to find your personalized best posting times
And more!