Top 12 Instagram Scheduling Apps & Tools to Automate Your ...

Top 12 Instagram Scheduling Apps and Tools to Automate Your Posts in 2022 ; 1. Falcon ; 2. Loomly ; 3. AgoraPulse ; 4. PromoRepublic ; 5. Buffer. Youarehere: InfluencerMarketingHub»SocialMedia»Top12InstagramSchedulingAppsandToolstoAutomateYourPostsin2022 byWernerGeyser LastUpdated:March11th,2022 2minread InfluencerMarketing Ifyou’reacasualsocialmediauser,it’seasyenoughtomakeyourpostsdirectlywithinyoursocialmediaaccounts.Thisisparticularlysoifyoujusthaveoneaccount.Ifyou’resomebodywhotakesacasualshotwhichyoushareviaInstagram,youcaneasilyenougharrangethisdirectlyintheInstagramapp. However,ifyouhavemoreheavy-dutyneeds,youwillprobablyfinditmucheasiertouseasocialmediamanagementapp.Thisisparticularlythecaseifyouschedulemultiplesocialaccounts,orwhereyouliketoscheduleyourpoststobedeliveredtosettimesoftheweek. Initially,mostofthesocialmediamanagementappsrestrictedthemselvestoFacebookandTwitter,perhapsalsoaddingLinkedIn.Morerecently,however,manyoftheseappshavediscoveredthepopularityofInstagramandaddedittotheirroster.ThankstoInstagram’sAPI,itisnotalwaysassimpletoscheduleInstagrampostsfromwithinanappasitisothers,particularlyTwitter.Butsomeofthesesocialmediamanagersseemtohavemadetheprocessmuchmorestraightforwardthanothers. ThemainreasonwhysomeoftheseappsfacedifficultieswithInstagrampublishingisthatFacebook(thecompany)nowgivesveryclosescrutinytoallapplicationstousetheInstagramContentPublishingAPI.InthewakeoftheCambridgeAnalyticascandal,however,theyhaveputthisprocessonhold.Appsthatwentthroughtheprocessbeforethisdecisionhaveaclearadvantageovercompanieswhohadnotreachedthetopofthequeue. BestInstagramSchedulingApps&Toolsfor2022: 1. Falcon Falconisasocialmedialistening,publishing,advertising,measurement,andcustomerdatamanagementplatform.Thecompanyoperatesglobally,withofficesinNewYork,Berlin,Budapest,Sofia,Melbourne,andChennai. Falconoffersaunifiedcalendarthatprovidesaviewofallscheduledcontent.Itshowspostsscheduledbydateandclearlyidentifiablebysocialplatforms.YouwilleasilybeabletodistinguishyourupcomingInstagrampostsfromyournextYouTubevideoortheseriesoftweetsyouintendtosend. Ifyouarepartofalargerteam,Falcon’sCampaignPlannerhelpsyoudevelopsocialcampaignsincollaborationwithteammembers.Falconhandlespermissionsbyhavingasetofroles,approvalprocesses,andanaudittrailtoboostquality.Italsoprovidesaccesstoagenciestosmoothyourcollaborativeprocesses. Falconsupportsavarietyofposttypes,includingimages,videos,andInstagramStories.ItstorescontentcentrallyinaContentPool.  YoucanpromotepoststhroughFacebookandInstagramadswithinPublish,acleanandintuitivetoolthatmanagesalladsinoneplace. Falconprovidesin-depthanalytics,particularlyforFacebookandInstagram,trackingover600metrics.  IfyousubscribetotheFullSuite,youhaveaccesstoFalcon’ssociallisteningtools.Theygiveyouaclearpictureofwhat’shappeningandwho’sinvolved.Youcanusethemtotracktrends,monitoryourbrand,createcustomqueries,tracksentimentacrossmultiplelanguages,filterextensively,identifyinfluencers,andmuchmore. Falconalsohelpswithsocialengagement.Youcandesignacentralizedinbox,includingmultiplefeeds,labels,andfilters. RelatedContent:29BestSocialMediaPostingandSchedulingToolsfor202215SocialMediaMarketingToolstoGetMoreSocialSharesin202227BestSocialMediaMarketingPlatformsfor2022 2. Loomly Loomlyhasamissiontomakesocialmediamanagementamorestructuredandlesscomplexfeatforsocialmediamanagers.Itoperateswithfivepricingtiers,rangingfrom$36permonthupto$299/month(withcustompricingforthetopEnterprisetier).EventheBasicplanisusefulforthosewiththoseoperatingtenorfewersocialaccounts. Youbeginbysettingupacalendar,includingatimezoneandindustry.LoomlygivesyoutheoptionofschedulingpostsdirectlyfromtheapplicationorworkingwithBufferforschedulingpurposes(althoughthelattersuffersfromsomelimitations). Youthenattachyoursocialaccounts.LoomlydoesnotyetallownativeInstagramautomatedpostpublishing,soyoumustuseathird-partyapp.OnceLoomlyhasworkedthroughaccessissueswithInstagram’sAPI,theywillbeimprovingtheirInstagramofferings. Loomlyhasastrongemphasisonworkflows.Ifyouhavemorethanoneteammember,thetypicalworkflowis: Draft PendingApproval RequiresEdits Approved Scheduled Published Thestandardpracticeforanewpost(unlessyousetotherwise)is: SetPostDetails SelectSocialChannels DefineGenericContent Fine-TuneEachChannel 3. AgoraPulse AgoraPulseisafully-featuredsocialmediamanagementprogramwithanextremelyuser-friendlyinterface.Ithasaneasyset-upprocess,evenforthepotentiallytrickyInstagram. TheheartofAgoraPulseisitsInbox.Itshowsyourcomments,mentions,conversations,andreviewsrelatingtoeachofyoursocialaccounts. AgoraPulseprovidesavarietyofwaystopublishcontent.ThePublishingtabtakesyoutoacalendar,showingthecurrentperiodwiththesocialmessagesyouhavescheduled,queued,published,senttoapproval,hadassignedtoyou,orfailed.Youcanscheduleapostsimplybyclickingontheappropriatetimeslot. TheappincludesasociallisteningfunctionthatworkssimilarlytotheInbox.YouclearlyseeyourbacklogitemsinbothyourInboxandSocialListeningmoduleseachtimeyouopenthesoftware. Ithasevenmorepowerwhenyouusethebulkpublishfeature.ThisletsyouimportaseriesofpostsfromaCSVfile,awebsiteusingRSSfeeds,orasagroupofpicturestotransformintoposts.Youcanthenusethesetocreateaqueue. Youcanuploadimagesandmakepostsfromthese.Thisisparticularlyusefulifyou’reactiveonInstagram. 4. PromoRepublic PromoRepublic’spointofdifferenceisitsstrongdesignfocus.Youcandesignbeautifulpostswithoutleavingtheapp,withnoneedtoopenanyseparategraphicssoftware.Youcanuseittoscheduleandsharepostswithallthemajorsocialnetworks,includingInstagram. Youcansetapostingschedulefordifferenttypesofposts.Youorganizeyourpostingschedulesacrossacentralizedcalendar.  PostideasareattheheartofPromoRepublic. Itcomeswith100,000postideas,andthesecoverawiderangeoftopics.Mostofthesepostideascomepre-designed,witheye-catchinggraphicsthatyoucaneasilymodifyandcustomizetheirpostideastosuityourbusiness. Theinbuiltgraphicseditorallowsyoutoselecttheappropriatedimensionforwhatyouwanttocreatewithasingleclick,includingtheidealsizeforInstagrampostsandInstagramStories.Ifyouprefer,however,PromoRepublicoffersadesignservice,whereyoucanbuy20customtemplatesforyourbusiness. Youcanseparateyourcontentacrossdifferentworkspaces.Youcanalsosetupflows,makingiteasytoworkwithateam,incorporatinganyapprovalswherenecessary. 5. Buffer Buffermakessharingcontentextremelyeasy.Onceyou’vehookedupyoursocialaccounts,includingInstagram,youcaneasilycreateanewpostwithintheapp.Itletsyouselectthesocialaccountsyouwanttouse.Withhigherplans,youcancontentfromothersources,suchasyourfavoriteblog. ConnectingyourInstagramaccountcanbeslightlyconvoluted(thankstoInstagram’srestrictions),butBuffermakesthiseasierthanmuchofthecompetition.IfyouwanttoscheduletoyourInstagramaccountinasimilarwayyoudotoyourotherprofiles,youneedtohaveanInstagramBusinessProfile.IfyouonlyhaveanInstagramPersonalProfile,Buffersimplyremindsyouwhentomakethepostsyourself. PostingschedulesareessentialforBuffertowork.Yousetupapublishingscheduleforeachofyoursocialaccounts,soyouwon’tneedtothinkaboutpostdatesandtimeswhenyoucreateposts.Bufferautomaticallyplacesnewpostsattherightplaceinthequeue.YoucancreateyourownpostsinsideBuffer,addcontentwiththeBufferbrowseradd-on,oruploadingpostsfromappropriateRSSfeeds. 6. Hootsuite ThecoreofHootsuiteisStreams.Yousetupatabforeachofyoursocialnetworks(includingInstagram)ontheStreamspage.Then,foreachsocialaccount,youaddaseriesofstreams.Youcanaddupto10streamsforeachofyoursocialnetworks. Theappoffersaunifiedinbox,showingallyourincomingmessagesacrossyouraccounts.YoucanmakeanyrepliesdirectlyfromwithinHootsuite. Ifyoucreateoriginalposts,youcanusethehandyPublisherscreen.Thisshowsyouacalendar,whereyoucanslotinanynewpostsasyoumakethem. YoucanengagedirectlyfromHootsuite.AsyoucanhavestreamsforyourHomepageinHootsuite,youdon’treallyneedtoopenyouractualsocialaccountsveryoften. 7. ContentCal ContentCalallowsyoutoplan,create,collaborate,publishandanalyzeyourcontentfromonecentrallocation.ItoffersaSaaSplatformthat’saffordabletonearlyanysizebusiness,evenatitshighesttier,Premium,whichfeaturescustompricingstartingat$99/mo($79/mowhenbilledannually.) ContentCalisatitsheartavisualcalendar.Itlooksgood,andusingitisintuitive.Postsarepositionedwithinthecalendarinalargeformat,withtheimageandcaptionlegiblewithouthavingtoclickinfurther.Colorcodinggivesusersanat-a-glanceunderstandingofwherethey’reatwiththeirqueue.Thisimprovesthecategorizationofeachpost.Youcantellyourcontentbalancesimplybylookingatthecolorbarsontopofeachpostinyourcalendar. YoucancreateSnippets,whereyoupre-defineasmanydifferentstringsoftextasyouneedto.Whenyoucreateposts,youselectanappropriateSnippetfromadrop-downmenu. ContentCaloffersanAdvancedAnalyticsadd-onthatgivesagranularoverviewofhoweachchannelhasperformed,who’sengagingwithyourposts,howwellyourcompetitorsareperforming,andwhichpiecesofcontenthavedrivenconversions. ContentCalintegrateswithZapier.ThisletsyouintegrateContentCalwithmanyotherapps,meaningyoucanadaptitemsofcontentyoufindelsewhereforyourposts.  ThenewestadditiontoContentCalisEngage,whichenablesyoutomanagesocialmediamentions,comments,andDMsfromonecentralinbox. 8. SocialPilot SocialPilotisaimedatabroadaudience,withpricingoptionsaimedateverythingfromsmallbusinessestolargeenterprises.Therearenofeaturerestrictions—nearlyanythingyoucandoatthehighestlevelcanalsobedoneatthelowest.Youjustdoitonasmallerscale. Themanagementofaccountsisdonecleanlyandefficiently,asyoucanorganizeeachaccountintorelevantgroups,e.g.,bychannelorclient). Unfortunately,there’snodirectpublishingofcontentwithInstagramyet.ButSocialPilothasannouncedthattheyareintheprocessofgettingextendedAPIaccess.Currently,SocialPilotusespushnotificationsintheirmobileapptoremindyouwhentomakeyourInstagramposts. Unfortunately,untilInstagramgivestheAPIaccess,youcan’tgetanalyticsorevenviewposthistoriesforInstagramposts.ThisisunlikeFacebook,whereSocialPilotletsyoumanageandrespondtoallyourFBcommentsandmessages,acrossallaccountsandpages. 9. MeetEdgar MeetEdgaroffersjustoneplan.Itisnotasfullyfeaturedassomeothersinthemarket,butMeetEdgarisexcellentforbusinessesthatsimplywanttoconcentrateonqueuinganddeliveringcontent. MeetEdgarinvolvesyouschedulingdifferentcategoriesofpostsacrossyoursocialnetworks.Youbeginthisprocessbydefiningcategories.Therearedefaultcategories(General,MyBlogPosts,Promotions&Specials,andRecommendedReads).However,youcanaddtooradaptthesecategoriestofitthewayyourunyoursocialaccounts.  Youcreateaweeklyrecurringscheduleforeachofyoursocialaccounts.Youcandecideonthecategoryofpostyouwishtoshareinanyslot,oryoucantellEdgartoselectpostsrandomly. YoucaneithercreateyourownpostswithinMeetEdgarorimportexternalcontent.Whenyoucreateapost,youcanchoosefromallyourconnectedaccounts,althoughtherearesomecombinationsnotpermitted.Yougiveeachpostacategoryandthenenteritscontent,includinganyimagesorvideosyouwanttoshare.YoucanimportcontenteitherbyconnectinganRSSfeedforyourfavoriteblogorimportingaCSVspreadsheetcontainingmultipleposts. YoumanageyourcontentinEdgar’sLibrary.Onceyouapproveenoughcontent,Edgarcreatesaqueueforthenexttwoweeks.Itmatchesyourqueuetoyourscheduleandcategories.Ittakesrelevantpostsfromthelibraryandplacesitinyourqueueinthecorrectslotforitscategory. YoucurrentlyneedtheMeetEdgarmobileapptobeabletoworkwithInstagram.Onceyou’veconnectedthemobileappwithyourInstagramaccount,EdgarallowsyoutoscheduleInstagramStoriesandfeedpostsforInstagramfromyourdesktop,muchlikeyouschedulecontentforFacebook,TwitterandLinkedIn. 10. SproutSocial SproutSocialisoneofthemoreprofessionalsocialmediamanagementplatforms,butitlacksafreeorcheapplan.Itclearlytargetslargerorganizationswithmoreheavy-dutyneeds. ItfeaturesaSmartInboxthatcollectsallyoursocialmessages.Youcanopttocombineallyourinboxesintooneorkeepthemseparate.Youcanselectthetypesofmessagesyouwanttoshowhere. Amongstotherthings,youcanusetheFeedstabtomonitoryourchosenInstagramhashtags. Youcaneasilycreatecontentforallyoursocialaccounts,addinggraphics,links,andothermaterialasneeded.Thecalendarshowsallthesocialpostsyou’vemadeandscheduled. Youcansetuptheentireapprovalprocess,makingteammanagementaseamlessprocess. SproutSocialincludesasociallisteningmoduletouncovertrends,analyzesentiment,andextractactionableinsightsfromsocialconversationstobetterinformyourmarketingstrategy. SproutSocialprovidesanextraordinaryrangeofreports–everythingfromcross-networkpaidperformance,tocomparingyourTwitterprofileswithyourcompetitorstoseehowyoustandup,toanalysisofyourInstagramperformance. 11. Sendible  Sendible’sapproachtosocialmediamanagementisalittledifferentcomparedtomost;theymakeuseofServices.ServicesarelikechannelsorprofilesthatyoucreatewithinyourSendibleaccount.Theyallowyoutoselectwhichfeaturesyouneedfromasocialplatform. Sendibleallowsyoutoworkwithallthemainsocialnetworksandbloggingplatforms,offeringdifferentfeaturesforeachchannel.YoucanuseSendibletopublishphotosandvideosdirectlytoInstagramBusinessProfiles,andtoschedulecarouselpostswithin-appnotificationsandmonitorhashtagsandanalytics. Inincludesvariousintegration.OneusefuloneforInstagramusersisthatyoucancreatesocialmediagraphicswithCanvaandschedulethemtoyourprofilesandpageswithoutleavingSendible. SendibleincludesaPriorityInbox,whichisacombinedinboxwithallyourimportantmessages.However,messagesmustbesetupasalertstoappearinyourPriorityInbox. 12. Later AlthoughLaterallowsyoutoposttoyourInstagram,Twitter,Facebook,andPinterestaccounts,itsmainemphasisisonInstagram.Itfocusesonthevisual.Unliketherestofthesesocialmediamanagementappsthatstartwithasocialmessageandthenallowyoutoaddanimage,Laterrequiresyoutostartapostbyuploadinganimage.Youthenaddsuitabletexttotheimage. ItcanbealittlechallengingtosetuptheInstagraminterconnectivity,butoncecompleted,itisstraightforwardtouse.ItevenhasaStoriesbuttonyoucanusetoschedulecontentforyourInstagramStories. LaterletsyoustoreyourgraphicimagesinaMediaLibrary.Thisallowstoshowquitesomedetailabouteachimageyou’veused,addmedianotes,andevendistinguishyourusedmediafromyouunusedmedia. YouneedaBusinessProfileforyourInstagramaccountifyouwanttofullyuseLater’sfeatures–anotherlimitationcausedbyInstagram’sAPIrules. LaterincludesConversationsinitshigherplans.ThisallowsyoutomanageyourInstagramcommentsdirectlyinsideLater. FrequentlyAskedQuestions IsiteasytoscheduleInstagramposts? Overall,itismoredifficulttoscheduleInstagrampostscomparedtootherplatformslikeTwitter.Though,thereareafewsocialmediamanagersthatcanmakethisprocessalotsimpler.Thatbeingsaid,theprimaryreasonwhynotalloftheseappscansuccessfullysimplifyschedulingonInstagramisbecauseFacebook(thecompanythatownsInstagram)nowcloselyscrutinizesalltheapplicationsthatusetheInstagramContentPublishingAPI. IsAgorapulseeasytouse? TheinterfaceofAgorapulseiseasytounderstandanduse.Itisalsoeasytosetup,evenifyouplanonusingittoscheduleInstagrampostswhichcanbepotentiallychallenging.Withregardstopublishingcontent,thisfullyfeaturedsocialmediamanagementprogramoffersavarietyofwaystopublishcontent.Youcanscheduleapostsimplybyclickingonthemostsuitabletimeslot. WhatmakesPromoRepublicgood? OneofthefeaturesthatsetPromoRepublicapartfromotherInstagramschedulingtoolsisitsstrongfocusondesign.WithPromoRepublic,youcandesignbeautifulpostswithoutevenhavingtoleavetheapporuseaseparategraphicssoftware.Italsofocusesalotonpostideas.Itoffers100,000postideasthatcoverawiderangeoftopics.Themajorityofthesepostideasarealsopre-designedwithgraphicsthatyoucanmodifyandcustomizetosuityourindustry. IsSproutSocialagoodchoiceforasmallerbusiness? No.SproutSocialclearlytargetsbiggerbusinesseswithmoreheavy-dutyrequirements.Italsodoesnotofferacheap(orfreeplan).SmallerbusinessescaninsteadcheckoutatoollikeSocialPilotwhichisaimedatabroaderaudiencewithpricingoptionsaimedatsmallaswellaslargebusinesses.WithSocialPilot,therearealsonofeaturerestrictions.Youcanpracticallydoallthesamethingswithitscheaperplan(justonasmallerscale). WhatmakesLateragoodappforschedulingInstagramposts? LaterisoneofthebestInstagramschedulingtools.AlthoughyoucanuseLatertopostonTwitter,PinterestandFacebooktoo,itsmainfocusisonInstagram.Thereasonforthisisthatittakesamorevisualapproachtoposting.Unlikeothersocialmediamanagementappsthatbegintheprocesswithasocialmessagebeforeyoucanaddanimage,Laterrequiresyoutostartapostbyuploadinganimagefirst.Onlyafteryouhaveuploadedyourimagecanyouaddtext. SUGGESTED