Schedule Instagram Stories with Publer | Direct Posting or via Reminders

Here is an extensive guide on how to schedule Instagram Stories right now! (And why do you need to!)

Half a Billion Instagram Users Use Stories Daily

Without a doubt, Instagram has become a fully-fledged social media powerhouse by successfully combining features that make today’s social media world. 

Originally a photo-sharing social network, Instagram now houses an array of cool features such as Stories, Filters, Lives, Product Catalogs, and recently: Reels – You can now schedule them directly from Publer.

And while, yes, everyone is focused on the trending reels nowadays, research shows that Instagram stories remain one of the main features of why users choose Instagram as their favorite social media platform.

Official Instagram data shows that half a billion users use Stories daily to interact with their audiences and engage more creatively.

However, business accounts are the ones that truly harness the full power of Instagram Stories by showcasing their products/services and engaging directly with their audiences on Instagram. A whopping 58% of the people surveyed said they became more interested in a brand/product after seeing it in Stories.

That is why you should immediately consider creating an Instagram Stories plan for your Business/Brand. And we are not talking about posting every now and then a couple of stories – without a consistent schedule. 

We want you to schedule ahead all your planned Instagram Stories – just like you do with any other content you regularly post through our platform.

Schedule Your IG Stories Now!

Scheduling Instagram Stories has been one of the most popular user demands here at Publer and we couldn’t be any happier to offer not one, but two alternative solutions to fully support them. Let’s dive in!

1️⃣ Navigate to the Story tab for Instagram

The process is quite intuitive, really. All you need to do is:

• Log in to your Publer account both on the mobile app and desktop.
• Select the Instagram account where you’d like to schedule Stories.
• Click on the “Story” tab right next to “Post”
  • If you’re posting to multiple social networks, make sure to customize the post first
• Upload photo(s) or a video

2️⃣ Have the right format

Use the live preview to make sure that your story is pixel-perfect. Keep in mind that Instagram stories are designed to occupy the full screen of your phone, so they need to have a 9:16 aspect ratio with the recommended size of 1080px by 1920px.

You can make sure you are scheduling Instagram Stories in the right format by using our Canva or VistaCreate integrations to design your content. Their platforms have exact resolutions for IG Stories or any other social media format and offer thousands of templates for you to get your creative groove on.

And if your content still needs cropping, just hit “edit” on the uploaded image. Publer’s own Built-In Photo Editor can quickly edit visuals with the correct aspect ratios for any channel you choose.

3️⃣ Choose the posting method

Publer can automatically post your scheduled stories, just like any other post, or you can opt for a reminder if you prefer making any last-minute changes, such as adding stickers or trending audio.

Let’s go through both posting methods in more detail.

Automatically post your scheduled IG stories

Just like regular posts, Publer can automatically publish your Instagram stories at the scheduled time. You don’t need to be online or take any additional actions, however, there are a few API limitations:

• Instagram accounts are limited to 25 API-published posts within a 24-hour moving period and each story counts as one post
• You cannot add stickers, a trending sound, or any other element offered by the native Instagram app
• You can select only one photo or one video at a time
  • Videos need to be up to one minute long and less than 100 megabytes

In a few words, you need to prepare everything beforehand as what you see in Publer is what will get shared on your Instagram story.

Get a reminder for your scheduled IG stories

Stickers, hashtags, trending audio, effects, or location tags are very crucial for the discoverability of your Instagram story, but unfortunately, they can only be added through the Instagram app.

However, thanks to the Publer app we can send you a notification/reminder on your phone when the time comes for your scheduled story.

✨ Publer App provides the ultimate convenience of scheduling social media posts on the go ✨
Download it today for iOS or Android.

You will have the story prepared for you and ready to be opened on Instagram in just a few taps.

You will be able to make any last-minute changes, such as adding stickers, before sharing it on Instagram natively. If you have added a caption in Publer, it will be automatically copied to your clipboard.

And unlike the direct posting method, you can upload up to 10 photos per story instead of one.

For a more in-depth guide on how to use reminders for your scheduled Instagram stories via Publer, please watch our YouTube video below or consult our Help Center article.

✨ And that’s it! ✨

You are now a master of IG Story Scheduling from Publer! Now you just have to make sure you are using the feature in a way that is helping your social media marketing efforts. To do that, we recommend starting with a simple content plan that can be built around your Brand and personality.

‘Till the next big feature! (It’s coming much sooner than you think, we promise.)