While short-form videos are still considered the most popular content format across all social media sites, research shows that Instagram Stories remain one of the main reasons why users choose Instagram as their favorite. So, if you’re planning to grow your brand on the platform, it’s important to know how to schedule Instagram Stories.
In today’s article, we’ll discuss how and why you should schedule Instagram Stories and offer some expert scheduling tips to maximize their impact. Let’s get right to it!
Can You Schedule Instagram Stories With Instagram?
You can’t schedule Instagram Stories natively, but you can schedule other content types, like posts and Reels, on the Instagram app. If you want to schedule your Stories, you can use Facebook Business Suite or a third-party automatic scheduling app like Publer.
How To Schedule Instagram Stories With Publer
Publer is an all-in-one social media management platform that allows you to create and schedule posts in advance, manage multiple social media accounts, and collaborate with your team on a shared workspace.
Our tool also has the same great scheduling features that the Instagram app offers for all content formats and goes the extra mile by providing more scheduling options, comprehensive analytics, AI tools, and convenient cross-posting features.
Here’s how you can schedule Instagram Stories on Publer in 4 easy steps:
#1. Create a Publer Account
Create a free Publer account by signing up with your preferred email address or an existing social media account.
Next, you’ll need to provide some basic information, like your current role and how you plan to use the platform, to help improve your experience. After that, you can create a workspace. Just choose a name and select the industry that best represents the one you are currently in.
Then, you can connect your Instagram account and any other social media sites you want to manage. If you already have a Publer account, you can add your Instagram account to the platform by going to Social Account and signing in.
#2. Compose Your Instagram Story
Compose your Instagram Story by tapping on Create on the left sidebar and selecting Instagram from your social media accounts.
Tap on Story and upload your chosen media. If you are uploading a photo, you can hover over the image to access the editing tool. Here, you can crop or resize the photo, apply a filter, adjust the colors, and add some stickers.
#3. Optimize Your Story
In addition to its built-in editing features, Publer has a range of design tools for optimizing your Instagram Story.
Stories rely on eye-catching visuals to encourage users to interact with them. Luckily, you can easily create unique videos and images with VistaCreate. This comes free with your Publer account—there is no need to purchase a separate subscription!
You can also use these tools to access more extensive editing features for your photo or video.
When you’re happy with how the visual looks, click Save and wait for your edited version to load on Publer.
Like posts and Reels, Stories are discoverable through hashtags. Users can follow a hashtag on Instagram, and when they do, any Stories with that hashtag can show up on their feed even if they don’t follow the user who posted it.
Using hashtags is a great way to get more views on your Stories and improve your visibility on the platform, so don’t forget to add them.
Set the Posting Schedule
Set your Story’s posting schedule by choosing one of four Publer scheduling options:
- Manual. With manual scheduling, you can freely choose the date and time for your scheduled Instagram Story.
- Automatic. With automatic scheduling, Publer chooses one of your predefined timeslots on the platform to schedule your Instagram Story.
- Recurring. With a recurring schedule, you can repost your Story at the same exact time, daily, weekly, or monthly.
- Recycling. With a recycling schedule, you can choose to recycle your Story based on your predefined timeslots.
After selecting a posting option, click Publish to schedule your Story.
If you want to schedule your Instagram Stories with links, you can do so by editing them before they go live. Create your post as usual, then tap Get a reminder before scheduling to receive a notification on your phone when your Story is about to be published.
When you get the post reminder, click on the notification and tap Open in Instagram. This will save the edited media on your phone and redirect you to the Instagram app. Upload the media and add a custom link before publishing your story.
How to Schedule Instagram Stories via Facebook Business Suite
You can also use Facebook Business Suite to schedule Instagram Stories. This method offers basic scheduling and analytics monitoring capabilities, so it can be a good option for creators who have never tried social media scheduling before.
Let’s go over the steps for scheduling Instagram Stories on the Facebook Business Suite below.
#1. Step 1
Sign in to your account and go to the Facebook Business Suite. Scheduling content is only available on Business profiles, so if you have a personal account, you need to switch to a business account first.
#2. Step 2
On the dashboard, click Create story and upload the media for your post. You can create and schedule up to 10 posts at once, which is handy when uploading multiple connected images or videos.
#3. Step 3
Add text or stickers to give context to your Story or make it more visually appealing. You can also crop the photo if it doesn’t fit the ideal aspect ratio. Then, click Apply to save your changes.
#4. Step 4
If you link Instagram to your Facebook Page, you can share the Story on that platform as well. Click on Share to and select your Facebook account from the drop-down list.
Cross-posting on social media is a good way to improve your discoverability and save time on content creation. However, the Facebook Business Suite only supports Facebook and Instagram. If you have other social media accounts, it’s better to use a scheduling tool that allows you to handle all your profiles on one platform.
#5. Step 5
After finalizing your drafts, set the schedule for your Instagram Story manually or choose Meta’s recommended active times to post during your peak hours.
5 Important Reasons Why You Should Schedule Your Instagram Stories with Publer
Instagram Stories are great for boosting brand awareness and engagements, but one way to further maximize these benefits is by scheduling your content in advance. When you schedule Instagram Stories with Publer, you can enjoy several benefits, such as:
#1. Time Efficiency
Scheduling Instagram Stories with Publer can help you save time and improve your efficiency. Suppose you have a packed week ahead preparing for a new product launch. It can be difficult to maintain a consistent posting schedule while also trying to accomplish other tasks before the deadline.
Set aside time at the beginning of the week to plan all your Stories so you won’t have to worry about missed opportunities. By scheduling your Stories in advance, you can also improve customer retention and build hype around your launch.
#2. Fewer Mistakes
When pressed for time, it’s easy to make spelling mistakes or to add the wrong link to a Story. By scheduling your Stories, you can easily avoid these errors and ensure that you only publish quality and engaging content.
When you schedule Instagram Stories with Publer, you can choose to receive a notification before your post is published. Aside from optimizing your post, you can use this time to double-check your Story and ensure that there are no typos and that all links are working properly.
#3. More Editing Options
The editing options for Facebook Business Suite can be quite limited, so you would still need a third-party editing app to improve your Story. By choosing to schedule your Instagram Stories with Publer, you can do all the editing on the same platform. You can also utilize our tool’s comprehensive content creation features to create amazing visuals for your brand.
#4. Improved Engagement Rates
Stories are one of the best content formats for engagement on Instagram. Their limited availability, more authentic quality, and often unstructured content make them a great way to connect with your audience.
A surefire way to improve audience interaction is to schedule your Instagram Stories with stickers. From the popular “Add Yours” sticker to polls and questions, you can engage your audience without having to ask for responses outright.
#5. Targeted Posting Times
Because they’re only visible for 24 hours, posting time is crucial for Instagram Stories. You want to publish content when the most users are on the platform to give your Story the best visibility. However, this can be difficult to do when targeting a global audience.
Scheduling your Instagram Stories allows you to post when your audience is most active so you can get the most views and engagements.
3 Expert Tips for Scheduling Instagram Stories
- Follow Instagram’s guidelines. While Stories don’t have strict guidelines, it’s important to optimize your content for mobile viewers. This means following a 9:16 aspect ratio and a 1080 x 1920 resolution. Higher-quality Stories are more likely to capture the attention of the viewer and retain their interest.
- Post relevant content. When it comes to Instagram Stories, keep your content relevant and interesting. What topics interest your audience? What would make them engage with your content? Be sure to capitalize on any holidays or celebrations to create a more relatable and interesting Story.
- Know your audience. When scheduling Instagram Stories with Publer, use our analytics feature to learn more about your audience. Their active hours, main demographic, and favored type of content are some crucial information that can improve your content strategy.
Engage your audience effortlessly when you schedule Instagram Stories with Publer!
Key Takeaways
- Instagram doesn’t allow the scheduling of Stories on its app, but it supports the scheduling of other content formats.
- When you schedule Instagram Stories on Publer, you can utilize our extensive scheduling features. Simply sign up on the platform and connect your Instagram account.
- You can also schedule Instagram Stories on Facebook Business Suite. This is a free option that can be a great starting point for beginners.
- Scheduling Instagram Stories with Publer gives you access to more editing options and can help you save time while avoiding mistakes in your posts. Scheduled content also allows you to target peak posting hours for maximum engagement rates.
- When scheduling Instagram Stories, it’s important to know your audience so you can continuously post quality and relevant content.
Ervin Kalemi
