Instagram Finally Allows Automatic Post Scheduling via API

At long last, we can say goodbye to push notification scheduled Instagram posts. As all my workflow articles reiterate, I am always looking for the most efficient way to accomplish my tasks especially since I work alone with no assistants. For my Instagram postings, I have been using Later which has been good, because it allows me to get my caption and hashtags ready on the computer and do my final posting from my phone. 

Error Rate Reduction 

The biggest reason besides the obvious convenience of preparing hashtags from the computer for me is the lower error rate. When trying to type hashtags and such from the phone, it's not only more time consuming, but also much more prone to errors. Before I used the Later system, I used to use a Google Doc so that I could prepare my caption and post on the computer and then just copy/paste from the Google Doc app on my phone. That was a tremendous improvement over doing it from the phone only.

Then Later, allowed me to basically do the same, but integrated a calendar where I could schedule the post, and then my phone would get a push notification and it would download the pic to my camera roll and copy the caption, then I could open Instagram and post it manually (at my scheduled time). This was another improvement.

But all of that has changed now, finally, the API works like it should. Currently available for Instagram business accounts, the major changes announced to the Instagram API allows us to schedule posts automatically without manual interaction on our phone.

This is a huge benefit, being able to schedule a post for when perhaps you are out of cell range, or maybe on an airplane at the optimal posting time. 

Hacked Methods

There were what I consider to be hacked ways of auto-post scheduling. Services who had virtual Android devices set up to auto post for you, and while that reportedly worked I don't like hacks like that. If it's not natively offered, there's a reason and that was certainly a gray area in the TOS of Instagram. The last thing any of us need is our account terminated after we've worked to build followers.

Added Benefit

The added benefit of using Later, is that you can get hashtag popularity while typing the hashtags into the editor, this is very helpful in selecting which hashtags to use when. You can also save presets of captions/hashtags you use frequently for quick access.

Using a platform such as this will help your workflow when you take advantage of the features they offer.