Before you start
Instagram lets scheduling tools publish to professional accounts only: a Business or Creator account, linked to a Facebook Page. Switching a personal account to professional is free, in Instagram’s settings, and takes a minute.
How to schedule an Instagram post
- Connect InstagramIn Smartplannr, open Settings, then Social Accounts, and connect Instagram through Facebook.
- Add your photos or videoOne photo for a post, 2 to 10 photos or videos for a carousel, a video for a Reel, or one vertical photo or video for a Story.
- Write the captionUp to 2,200 characters and 5 hashtags. Hashtags in a first comment count toward the same 5. Add alt text to photos.
- Schedule itPick a date and time, or drop it into your next posting slot. It publishes on its own, with no reminder on your phone.
Sizes and formats
- Feed photos: any shape from 4:5 portrait to 1.91:1 landscape. 1080 × 1350 (4:5) fills the most of the screen.
- Carousels: 2 to 10 photos or videos. Every slide is cropped to the shape of the first.
- Reels: an MP4 or MOV video from 3 seconds to 15 minutes, best at 1080 × 1920 (9:16). Add a cover so it looks right on your grid.
- Stories: one 9:16 photo or video; videos run 3 to 60 seconds.
- Photos: JPEGs up to 8 MB. Other formats are converted for you.
What a scheduler can’t do on Instagram
Instagram’s publishing API doesn’t give any scheduling tool these, so finish them in the app if you need them:
- Stickers, links, polls and music in Stories. Stories are posted as the photo or video alone, with no caption.
- Music from Instagram’s library on Reels. Add a soundtrack to the video file itself instead.
Smartplannr also doesn’t add shopping tags or collaborators yet; add those in the app after the post goes out.
When to post
There’s no single best time. Your own Instagram insights show when your followers are online, so set your posting slots around those hours and check your analytics after a few weeks to see what earned the most reach.