Build your brand on Instagram
With Buffer you can plan and schedule your Instagram posts in advance, measure the performance of your content, and collaborate with your team — all in one place.
Start a free 14-day trial →Join 80,000+ amazing businesses already using Buffer
Schedule posts directly to Instagram
Plan your Instagram posts in advance, and we’ll automatically publish them for you. You’ll need an Instagram business profile for this. Here’s how to switch from a personal to business profile.
Or plan your posts in advance
If you’d like to schedule gallery images, or use Instagram’s native posting features, like filters, we’ll send a notification to your phone at your scheduled time. We’ll automatically load your post into Instagram with your pre-written caption, ready to be pasted, and you can customize and publish.
Measure your performance
Get insights into your post performance and audience growth, so that you can optimize your future content.
Collaborate with your team
Work together with your team to plan and preview your upcoming Instagram posts and campaigns.
Ready to start scheduling posts to Instagram?
Start a free 14-day trial →How Instagram direct scheduling works
We’re thrilled to provide an all-in-one Instagram solution that combines automatic posting and notification reminders. Instagram direct scheduling is available to all Buffer customers on all plans. The only requirement is that you have an Instagram business profile. Details on how to convert can be found here. We’re excited for the difference this will make for you!
To get the most out of direct scheduling with Buffer for Instagram, here are some guidelines on how direct scheduling works and how to get setup.
Which posts can be shared directly?
- Single images and videos
Which posts will you need to finish in the Instagram app? (We’ll send you a reminder.)
- Posts scheduled to personal profiles
- Gallery (multiple image) posts
- Image posts that are not within a 4:5 to 1.91:1 aspect ratio
Whenever possible, Buffer will default to scheduling your update to automatically post at your chosen time.
For any of your scheduled posts that Buffer can’t share directly, we’ll let you know after you create the post, and will send a notification to you via the Buffer app on your mobile device once the scheduled posting time comes around. In these cases, we’ll help you finish the post in the Instagram app, where you can add things like filters and photo tags.
To get fully set up with Instagram direct scheduling and for answers to any questions about the exact flows, we’ve put together a comprehensive resource to guide you through.
Frequently asked questions
When you’re ready, you can make the conversion via the Instagram mobile app by tapping the gear icon on your profile and choosing “Switch to Business Profile” at the next screen.
You do not need a Buffer for Business account in order to connect an Instagram business profile. Instagram business profiles and Instagram personal profiles are free to connect to any of our Buffer plans, free or paid.
Aspect ratio is the ratio of an image’s width to its height. You can calculate the exact ratio for any of your photos by taking the width in pixels and dividing by the height in pixels.
You can learn more about aspect ratios in our full FAQ.
If the image is outside the allowed aspect ratio, your post will be scheduled as a reminder rather than a direct post. You will receive a push notification via the Buffer mobile app at your chosen posting time, and you’ll be able to finish the publish process through the Instagram app.
A note about re-uploading: The image will need to have an aspect ratio within the range of 4:5 (portrait) and 1.91:1 (landscape) to be sent directly. If you do delete and re-upload the photo for a previously scheduled post, the photo needs to be within this aspect ratio range.