If you’re anything like me, you enjoy sharing your photography on Instagram, but hate the process of creating posts. Various scheduling services have emerged, but Facebook’s own Creator Studio is probably one of the best when it comes to photography.
Creator Studio is definitely not without its flaws, but it does bring a few advantages over other scheduling services that are making my life easier.
Facebook has a been relatively quiet in rolling out this service, and it’s probably still a work in progress given the areas that need refining, but if you’re not set up with a service like Buffer, Later or HootSuite, it’s definitely worth checking out.
There are a few prerequisites: firstly, you will need to have linked your Instagram profile to a Facebook Page. Secondly, you will need to have converted your Instagram account to a business profile. (Note: there is speculation that moving to a business profile will reduce your enagagement. You might want to do some research before taking this step.)
Once you’re set up, the layout isn’t too complex, but takes a little getting used to. Note that Creator Studio isn’t just for posting to Instagram; you can also schedule Facebook posts. As a result, there’s a tab at the top of the screen to switch between the two modes.
If you run a number of Instagram accounts, you’ll notice that all of them show up by default. These can be filtered, something you may end up having to do every time you use Creator Studio, which can be annoying.
From there, it’s simply a case of hitting “Create Post” and choosing “Instagram Feed.” The process is straightforward, and there are a few nice touches, such as counting the number of characters and hashtags you have remaining. Unlike other scheduling services, it will autosuggest hashtags as you type, similar to when you’re using the Instagram app.
One of the features that I really appreciate is autosuggestion of account names. I shoot a lot of different individuals and organizations, and being able to type the first couple of letters of their name or account and have the rest of the work done for you makes my life much easier. Other scheduling services don’t have this level of access to Instagram’s API.
When creating your Instagram post, much like other scheduling services, Creator Studio gives you the option to crop your image according to Instagram’s dimensions.
There are various shortcomings: you can’t save lists of hashtags, and while Creator Studio calls itself a “Content library,” there is no means of storing a body of photos. As you post, you’ll need to upload each image individually and keep track yourself of what you have used. One of my other annoyances is that you can’t drag and drop images into the upload dialogue.
I tend not to use my Facebook business page too heavily, so I take advantage of Creator Studio's ability to automatically cross-publish the posts I create for Instagram. If you’re scheduling posts, you’ll need to fill out the time and date for Facebook and then the time and date for Instagram — slightly annoying.
Keep in mind that cross-posting to Facebook means that all of the Instagram hashtags will appear in your Facebook post (where they’re ugly and useless) and that an Instagram account you mentioned will not be translated to that person or business’s Facebook account. I only do this, as otherwise, my Facebook page would be dormant.
If you use your Facebook page regularly and you’re less lazy than me, you may wish to take advantage of Creator Studio’s option to repost an image that you have already scheduled/posted to Facebook.
From within the Instagram scheduler, you can "upload" images that you have already posted to Facebook. Vice versa is not possible.
In Conclusion
If you post photographs to Instagram daily or perhaps every other day, Creator Studio is a simple platform that has a few nice features — such as hashtag autocompletion and user suggestion — even though it lacks refinement. As a free option for those who don’t use Instagram and/or Facebook too heavily, it’s an easy way to get content online.
If you’ve further suggestions, be sure to leave a comment below.
Doesnt this (just like paying for their adds) help fule the pointless censorship they put on creatives? Its part of what killed the platform for those that no longer enjoy it.
I just edit them then post, completely the wrong thing to do I know but all that worrying about timing it is far too much hassle for me.
Facebook has a bad reputation on security - i'll never use their software - i'm even blocking all dns-domains to disable their ability to spy on me. Didn't you read the documents from UK Parliament on Facebook? Ugly stuff - but intresting. Watch out for your privacy in the UK. Boris has no good intentions - that's my prediction.
I have no idea about any security issues, but at least in concept this looks like a great tool and something that was much needed.
Thanks for the infos, nice tools !
Well, maybe you're going on vacation somewhere without internet access and still want to post stuff to social media. That's when you'r eplanning posts for example
Sam,
I totally get that scheduled posts are not for you. They are not for me, either. However, some Instagram users count on Instagram to drive traffic to their income-generating sites. For many photographers, Instagram is a mainstay of how they make their living.
A friend of mine sets his cell phone alarm to go off at 5:10 Mountain Time every single day, to remind him that that is the time when he needs to make the next post. He usually has the post all written out and prepared ahead of time, so that when his alarm goes off, he only has to upload it to Instagram. He has done extensive research on posting algorhythms, and learned that posting at the same time each day provides a consistency that generates more traffic to his posts and to the sites that his Instagram is linked to.
This stuff is really important to a lot of people. Just because you use it casually, as a hobbyist or whatever, does not mean that it is okay for others to be so casual about it.
Andy,
Thanks for figuring all of that out and sharing it with us.
Personally, I only post to Instagram once every few weeks, and I quite enjoy making the posts - the research that I do to figure out the best hashtags to use, the "story behind the photo" that I write up for each post, and all of that.
But for someone who posts to Instagram on a frequent, regular basis, I can see how all of that time going into each post would be tiring ..... in which case the info that you shared with us could be quite helpful.
I have the feeling that my engagement range is cut down if I post through Instagram creator studio.... Anyonelse who got that? Or someone who could help me out?