Facebook business page admins have long been able to schedule posts in advance. Despite having been acquired by Facebook in April 2012 – just 18 months after its launch – Instagram has been without a scheduling feature. And posting from your desktop? You could forget about it… until now.
It should be noted that at KWSM, we suggest that you post in real time to the platform you’re using whenever possible. Doing so can help optimize reach and engagement on your social channels. However, if you’re trying to juggle content generation and social media on top of running a business, and no amount of planning ahead can seem to get you into a good posting rhythm, Facebook Creator Studio might be able to help. Here’s how you can use this relatively new tool from Facebook to schedule Instagram content.
Creator Studio Setup
Before you get started, make sure that your Instagram account is set as either a business profile or a creator account. Don’t worry if you haven’t done this already, making the switch is easy. You’ll also need to have a corresponding Facebook business page. If you don’t want to run a Facebook page for your business, the page can remain unpublished.
Once you have your Instagram account and associated Facebook page ready to go, you’ll need to find Creator Studio on your desktop. Log in to Facebook, head to your business page, and locate the Creator Studio tab at the top of your page. If it’s not immediately visible, check under the “More” dropdown or in the Publishing Tools left sidebar menu.
Creator Studio Features
Creator Studio defaults to your Facebook page. Click the Instagram icon at the top of the page (the header will turn pink) and you’re ready to post to your Instagram account from your desktop. Click “create post” in the top left hand corner, and you’ll see that Creator Studio lets you add a location, tag people, turn off comments, and even tag business partners in branded content. The dropdown arrow next to the “publish” button lets you schedule your post for later.
You might feel like being able to post from your desktop is a game-changer. There are a few limitations, however. Photo editing – one of the main features that popularized Instagram in the first place – is non-existent in Creator Studio. You can crop your photo, but that’s about it. It’s convenient to see engagement insights on all of your past posts, but post insights aren’t quite as robust as they are within the Instagram app. The same goes for audience and activity Insights. It’s nice to see them enlarged on your desktop, but there’s no option to adjust your date range.
Stories make an appearance in Creator Studio, but not in the way we all might hope. There is no scheduling option for Instagram stories, though all of your past stories are logged and their individual reach displayed, which is useful for planning future stories content.
A little forethought goes a long way. By harnessing some of Facebook’s native tools, you can easily take steps to stay on track with your social media plans.
The average business posts to Instagram 1.7 times per day.
Need a little help with your Instagram presence? At KWSM, we will develop a fully customized social media marketing strategy based on your unique needs, and then execute your strategy on a daily basis. You run your business; we run your social media.
CLICK HERE to learn more about KWSM Social Media Management.
