4 Ways to Schedule Instagram Posts (ChatGPT Included)

You’re juggling multiple client accounts. Deadlines are piling up. And somewhere between brainstorming captions and switching between apps, Instagram posting becomes just another headache on your to-do list.

Sound familiar?

Whether you’re a growing agency or a small business founder wearing too many hats, manually posting content, or juggling clunky schedulers, isn’t sustainable. You need something smarter, faster, and frankly, less exhausting.

Scheduling is your secret weapon against those blank-screen content blocks. This blog will show how to schedule Instagram posts using the native Instagram app, Meta Business Suite, an Instagram scheduling tool, and ChatGPT.

Let’s dive in.

How to Schedule Instagram Posts ( 4 Ways)

There are numerous ways you can schedule your Instagram posts. Here are different options you can use to schedule your post:

1. Native App: Instagram’s native feature can be used to schedule your posts. While it is successful, it comes with many limitations.
2. Meta Business Suite: The second good option is the Meta Business Suite. Meta users can use this to manage their posts, ads, and communications across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
3. SocialPilot: Perfect for agencies and social teams, SocialPilot makes Instagram scheduling seamless. With bulk scheduling, approval workflows, and direct Reel posting, it offers various advantages over native features and the Meta Business Suite.
4. ChatGPT: Last comes our very favourite AI tool, ChatGPT. But how can you schedule posts with ChatGPT? Is that even possible? Yes, it is using SocialPilot’s GPT Custom Scheduler. Keep reading to learn more about it.

Let’s dive in and explore these four ways you can schedule your Instagram posts – so you can choose what fits your workflow best.

How to Schedule Posts on the Instagram App?

Professional accounts on Instagram can use the Instagram mobile application to schedule their Posts, Reels, and Carousels. It is an easy way to schedule your posts while on the go.

Let’s break down the steps:

1. Open your Instagram mobile application and tap on the “+” icon to upload your Post or Reel.
2. Edit your Post or Reel as usual, using the inbuilt editing feature of Instagram, and tap next.
3. In the caption window, locate the “Advanced Settings” option and tap on it.
   
4. Toggle on the “Schedule Post” option.
5. Select your desired date and time for the post to go live.
6. After adding the time and date, tap on “Back (←)” and tap “Share.”
   

You can view and make edits to your scheduled posts by navigating to the “Schedule Content” section within your account’s “Settings and Privacy” menu.

How to Schedule Instagram Posts Using Meta Business Suite

If you have an Instagram business account, then you can use Facebook’s Meta Business Suite to craft and schedule Instagram posts.

Follow these steps to schedule your Instagram posts using Meta Business Suite.

1. Go to Meta Business Suite and log in to your Facebook account.
2. Click on “Create Post”.
   
3. From the ‘Post to’ box, select ‘Instagram.’
4. Upload your media and preview the post on the right-hand side of the screen.
   
5. Scroll down to the scheduling options and Select ‘Schedule.’
6. Enter the date and time as per your requirement.
7. Click on ‘Schedule’.
   

Now, you know how to schedule a post on Instagram using Meta Business Suite. However, the Meta Business Suite may not be sufficient if you’re looking for advanced features like collaboration, bulk scheduling, and more.

That’s where third-party tools like SocialPilot can help. SocialPilot’s comprehensive social media management tool offers advanced features to manage and schedule your social media content across multiple platforms, including Instagram.

So, if you’re an individual, brand, or agency handling multiple Instagram accounts, SocialPilot is the perfect tool to streamline your social media management and take your Instagram strategy to the next level.

How to Schedule Instagram Posts Using SocialPilot

When you have a great marketing strategy to execute that requires you to post cross-platform, it is convenient to use a third-party Instagram scheduling tool like SocialPilot.

As one of the best Instagram automation tools, SocialPilot goes a step further in scheduling and allows you to create content drafts by directly uploading files from Google Drive. It also enables hassle-free automated posting with advanced functionalities. You can schedule feed posts, reels, carousel posts, and Instagram stories using SocialPilot.

Before we see a step-by-step process of seamlessly scheduling an Instagram post, sign up on 

SocialPilot and start your free trial (no credit card details required!) and follow the steps with us as we proceed.

Let’s dive in.

Step 1: Connect your Instagram Profile

First things first, you need to log in to SocialPilot and connect your Instagram Personal or Business account by clicking on “Connect Personal” or “Connect Business or Creator.”

Step 2: Create Post

Once the accounts are connected, go to the “Create Post“ option in the SocialPilot sidebar. You can create a draft for all platforms or customize it for a particular platform.

You can also use SocialPilot’s AI Pilot to generate post captions and hashtags at lightning speed. Even if you’re experiencing a creative block, this tool has got you covered. 

Simply click on the ideas to generate prompts or type a prompt to generate results. Additionally, you can rewrite, rephrase, change tone, translate, and even generate hashtags for your IG posts using AI Pilot, and this all churns out in seconds.

If you are specifically looking to generate some captions, simply hop over to our Instagram caption generator, give it your topic, select a tone, and watch it whip up captivating captions that keep your audience engaged and drive them to take action.

Now, let’s come back to the steps. Since we are scheduling posts for Instagram, select the Instagram icon beside the original draft.

You can customize your post by selecting “Post,” “Story,” or “Reel.” With SocialPilot, you can directly schedule all formats of content without any mobile reminders for a business Instagram account.

To further enhance your post, you can use advanced features like:

1. Image Editing: Use the built-in editor to fine-tune, crop, or apply filters to your images before publishing.
2. Creating Posts with Canva: Get creative by designing posts in Canva and exporting them directly to SocialPilot.
3. Adding a Custom Field: You can create account-specific fields to automatically add any preset information (franchise address, legal disclaimer, tagline, hashtags, etc.) to your captions.
4. Instagram Post First Comment: Keep your captions neat by adding hashtags in the first comment instead of the caption itself.
5. Location Tagging: Boost your post’s reach by tagging a relevant location, leaving comments, and collaborating on posts before they go live.

Step 3: Select Account and Scheduling Post

After customizing your post, it’s time to choose the Instagram account. 

If you are a marketer managing multiple social media accounts, then you’ll see a list of accounts on the right-hand side – simply select the Instagram account(s) where you want to publish your post.

Your post is created, and the accounts are selected; now, it’s time to schedule this post.

Enter the date and time when you want your post to go live, and click “Schedule.”

And that’s not all, when scheduling social media posts for your personal profile, you’ll receive a push notification on your phone via the SocialPilot app two minutes before the scheduled time.

How to Schedule Instagram Posts in Bulk [Upto 500 Posts]

As a social media marketer, you have to deal with multiple things like events, campaigns, product launches, etc. Naturally, you’d have already planned a month’s posts in a spreadsheet to be published. In that case, scheduling posts individually would be a hassle.

Fortunately, SocialPilot’s bulk scheduling feature allows you to schedule up to 500 Instagram posts at once, saving you time and effort.

Let’s break down the process of scheduling multiple Instagram posts at once with bulk scheduling using SocialPilot.

Step 1: Upload your CSV file

Bulk scheduling is as easy as drag-dropping your CSV file.

Step 2: Review your Posts

Before publishing, it’s better to check again at the last minute for any errors in the posts.

So after uploading your CSV file, you will be directed to the preview page.

You can review all of the posts alongside their images and text content. You can make any required changes here.

Now, click the “Select an Account“ button on the top right.

Step 3: Schedule All Your Posts with One Click

Next, click on “Schedule Posts.”

Your posts are all scheduled and ready to be published at their scheduled time.

By scheduling Instagram posts with SocialPilot in advance, you will:

• Save time by automating the tedious task of manual posting.
• Use the extra time for brainstorming and creating effective campaign strategies.
• Focus on crafting high-quality posts that truly resonate with your audience.
• Generate engaging captions effortlessly with the help of AI Pilot.
• Have more time to connect with your audience and build stronger relationships.

As a result, almost all of the pro-marketers schedule Instagram posts using third-party tools like SocialPilot.

Let’s come back to the steps now and discuss how to schedule Instagram posts on mobile.

Scheduling Instagram Posts Using the SocialPilot Mobile App 

To schedule your Instagram posts using your mobile device, you can either use Instagram’s native platform or the SocialPilot app. While the native platform has its own limitations, we recommend using the SocialPilot app for a more seamless experience.

Here’s how you can use the SocialPilot mobile app to schedule your posts:

Step 1: Log In to Your SocialPilot Account

After downloading the SocialPilot mobile application, log in and tap on the Create Post button on the home screen. You’ll be directed to a page where you can add text, images, or videos for your Instagram post.

Step 2: Create the Post and Select Your Instagram Account 

Once you have your post ready, select the Instagram account where you want to post and finally click on “Apply.”

Step 3: Preview the Post and Pick the Scheduling Option

After composing the post, you can check for possible errors by clicking on the “Preview” option at the top right corner and previewing the post. 

Then just pick your scheduling option by clicking on the “Next” button at the bottom.

And done. Your posts will go live at the time you set.

How to Schedule Instagram Posts with ChatGPT

While ChatGPT can help you create a post, it alone cannot help you schedule it.

So, we at SocialPilot supercharged it by integrating our AI scheduler to give it the agentic functionalities for scheduling. No extra work needed from you—just use ChatGPT, and you’re good to go.

Our AI Scheduler will help you plan, create, and schedule content without ever leaving your ChatGPT dashboard. Everything you need to manage posts is now just a few prompts away!

Let’s see how.

Step 1: Open ChatGPT Pro to Access SocialPilot’s AI Scheduler

First things first, open the SocialPilot AI Scheduler in ChatGPT. Then type in a simple prompt like, “Log me into my SocialPilot account to start managing my posts.” Then you must use your SocialPilot credentials (email and password) to authenticate.

The tool will ask for permission to schedule and post.

Step 2: Generate Content for Your Instagram Posts  

Now comes the content part, we all know how to do that. Just prompt the tool to create the content that you want for your post.

Additionally, you can also prompt ChatGPT to generate hashtags and even a first comment to boost engagement. Here is a prompt that we tried: 

“Create an engaging and festive Instagram post for my business offering Christmas discounts. The post should highlight the holiday spirit, mention a special discount or offer (e.g., 20% off on all products or free shipping), and encourage followers to take advantage of the deal before it expires.” 

Step 3: Get an Image for Your Post

No need to stress about finding creative post images. Just ask the AI scheduler to “Generate images for this post,” and it’ll create the perfect graphics to match your content.

But this tool doesn’t limit you to AI-generated visuals.

You can also upload your own media, whether it’s custom-designed images, branded carousels, or even Reels. Simply attach the files, and the scheduler will help you craft and plan the post around them.

From single images to multi-slide Instagram carousels and dynamic Reels, you have complete creative control without ever leaving the ChatGPT dashboard. All you have to do is give the right Instagram prompts.

Step 4: Schedule Your Post on Instagram

Once you’ve got your content and graphics ready, it’s time to schedule the post. You can either prompt the tool to schedule it at a date and time of your choice or use its insights to suggest the best posting times for your audience based on your niche.

Then simply prompt the tool to schedule the post at the selected time, and SocialPilot’s AI Scheduler will take care of the rest. 

And don’t worry if you have different time zones to account for – this tool has got you covered.

Step 5: Save Your Posts as Drafts

Don’t want to post it yet? Well, you also have the option to save your post as a draft. Just prompt the tool to save your Instagram post and graphic to your drafts.

This lets you keep everything in one place, so you can easily make final tweaks before scheduling. Plus, you’ll always have time to review your posts!

Step 6: Check Your Pending Draft Posts

This tool also lets you check all your existing post drafts, using a simple prompt like, “How many drafts are pending for publishing?”

This will give you a clear overview of all your saved content, so you can schedule it later. 

With SocialPilot’s AI Scheduler, you can now streamline the entire process of post planning, creatio,n and scheduling, thus saving yourself a lot of time. 

How to Find and Edit Scheduled Posts on Instagram

What if, after scheduling, you need to edit your Instagram post? Knowing how you can find and edit your post is equally necessary.

Here’s how you can edit your scheduled posts:

Edit Posts on Your Instagram App

If you have scheduled your posts using the Instagram native application, follow the steps below.

• Step 1: Open your Instagram profile.
• Step 2: Tap the menu icon in the top right corner and select “Scheduled content.”
• Step 3: Find the post you want to modify and tap the options icon next to it.
  
• Step 4: Choose to reschedule, share now, or delete the content.
  

Edit Posts through Meta Business Suite

If you have scheduled your post with Meta Business Suite, you can also edit and reschedule it on the same platform. Here’s how you can edit a scheduled Instagram post through Meta Business Suite:

• Step 1: Navigate to Meta Business Suite, then go to Content > Posts & Reels > Scheduled.
  
• Step 2: Locate the post you wish to edit, and click the three dots icon.
• Step 3: Select Edit Post from the dropdown menu.
  
• Step 4: Edit the post text or change the scheduling options, and then click on “Schedule” to confirm.
  

Edit Posts or Reschedule Using SocialPilot 

SocialPilot allows you to not just edit but also reschedule your Instagram posts. Here’s how:

• Step 1: Open SocialPilot and locate the queued posts, which include all your scheduled Instagram posts.
  
• Step 2: Click on the post you want to edit, then click the edit button displayed over it.
  
• Step 3: A pop-up will appear, allowing you to edit the post. Additionally, you can click on the scheduled date and change it to any date or time of your choice.
• Step 4: Click “Done” and “Update” to finish the process.

Edit Instagram Posts with Mobile

You can also reschedule your Instagram post with the SocialPilot app. Follow these steps to reschedule your posts on mobile.

1. Step 1: Log in to your SocialPilot dashboard and go to the queued posts section, which will include your scheduled Instagram posts.
2. Step 2: Find and click on the Instagram posts you want to edit. Then click on the three-dot icon displayed over them.
3. Step 3: A pop-up will appear, allowing you to edit and reschedule the post.
4. Step 4: Click on the date to select a new time and date for when you want the post to go live.

How to Delete a Scheduled Instagram Post

What if, after scheduling an Instagram post, you realize that you do not need it? You may want to delete it because of a change in plans or a campaign.

Delete Scheduled Instagram Posts on the Instagram App

To delete a scheduled Reel in the Instagram native application, go to your profile and navigate to settings.

1. Step 1: Tap the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner on your Instagram profile.
2. Step 2: Select Scheduled Content from the menu.
   
3. Step 3: Find the scheduled post you want to delete and tap the three dots next to it.
   
4. Step 4: Tap Delete at the bottom of the screen.
   
5. Step 5: Confirm by tapping Delete again in the confirmation window that appears.
   

Delete Scheduled Posts on Meta Business Suite

Deleting your Instagram posts through Meta Business is almost similar to how you edit it. Just log in to your account and go to your content.

Here are the steps that you can follow to delete your scheduled Instagram post via Meta Business Suite.

1. Step 1: Go to the Scheduled section.
2. Step 2: Choose the Instagram post you want to delete.
   
3. Step 3: Tap the three dots next to the post overview.
4. Step 4: Select Delete Post.
   
5. Step 5: Confirm that you want to delete the post.
   

Delete Scheduled Instagram Posts on SocialPilot

While you can edit and delete your scheduled post with the Instagram native app and Meta Suite, you can do it much more easily with SocialPilot.

Here is how you can delete Instagram posts on SocialPilot:

1. Step 1: Log in to your SocialPilot account.
2. Step 2: Go to Posts, and from there, progress to Manage Posts.
   
3. Step 3: Go to the Pending Review section.
   
4. Step 4: Select the posts you want to delete. Then, click the delete button on the top menu bar.
   

Delete Scheduled Instagram Posts on Mobile

If you find it easier to delete posts on mobile, you can do it with the SocialPilot mobile application. Here are the easy steps:

1. Step 1: Log into the SocialPilot mobile application and go to the queued posts section.
2. Step 2: Find your scheduled posts. Click on the three-dot menu.
   
3. Step 3: A pop-up will appear with the option to delete the post. Go ahead and click on the delete button.
   

Why Can’t I Schedule a Post on Instagram

The Instagram business account offers many tools that are beneficial for content management. However, many users encounter issues while trying to schedule posts. This can be frustrating when you are trying to streamline your post scheduling. 

In this section, we’ll explore the most common reasons why you might be unable to schedule a post on Instagram.

1. You Don’t Yet Have an Instagram Professional Account

While you can schedule posts and reels on Instagram, having a professional account gives you access to scheduling features. These scheduling features help you to manage your content more efficiently.

2. Your Version of the Instagram Application is Outdated

You may not be able to schedule Instagram posts if your version of the application is outdated. Old versions can cause various functionalities to malfunction, including the ability to schedule posts. Updating the application can help you fix bugs, add new features, and provide essential enhancements for seamless performance.

3. Lack of Sufficient Permissions to Use Scheduling Features

Sometimes you may not have the necessary permission to schedule posts. Access to all features, including post scheduling, is limited to account administrators or users with designated roles.

Tip for Scheduling Instagram Posts

Now that you know how to schedule posts on Instagram, you can finally sit back and let the tool do the publishing, right?

Not quite.

You can’t line up posts on the calendar ahead of time and expect your Instagram to flourish automatically. You need to keep a few things in mind if you want your Instagram account to prosper.

But what are they?

Don’t worry! We have curated a list of best practices and tips for Instagram scheduling for you guys.

1. Find Your Best Time to Post on Instagram

Creating quality content and scheduling your Instagram post won’t fetch you any engagement if you publish them when your audience is inactive. You must post when your audience is most active to engage with your post.

Using SocialPilot’s Followers Online Activity in Analytics, you get a heat map that analyzes the average number of followers active at each hour and day of the week in the given time range to provide you with the best time to post on Instagram.

You can even access the analytics of several Instagram accounts using the advanced reports feature. This will allow you to combine the analytics of multiple social accounts so you can track them from one place.

2. Keep a Close Eye on Content Calendar

As mentioned earlier, don’t schedule your content and forget about it. There may be times of crisis, or your content may not align with the current social space scenario.

In such cases, you should pause your Instagram scheduling and rethink.

With SocialPilot, pausing scheduled posts is as easy as clicking the pause icon of the account in Manage Accounts.

3. Don’t Bombard with Content

The benefit of scheduling Instagram posts is that you can increase the number of your posts without sacrificing their quality.

But that doesn’t mean you over-schedule your posts. If you increase your number of posts per day, your engagement will decrease. It is important to understand how often to post on Instagram so you don’t bombard your audience with content without giving them time to engage with it.

The below graph talks about the posting frequency on Instagram for optimal engagement. As it mentions you should ideally be posting more than 6 times on Instagram weakly to get 7.3% engagement. 

While posting volume is important to maintain engagement, the impact of your post is equally important. Remember that quality beats quantity every time.

And to strike that balance right, you must understand what’s working, what’s changing, and how your audience behaves.

So, don’t be spammy. Be strategic.

4. Pay Attention to Your Captions

Even if Instagram is a visuals-focused platform, captions are equally important and deserve the attention you pay to your image posts. However, writing captions in bulk when scheduling can become difficult and draining after a point in time.

If you’re facing writer’s block, using AI caption generators is one of the quickest ways to create an effective Instagram caption. Nowadays, AI writing assistance can be utilized to create hundreds of copies at once. Besides creating, you can also repurpose and translate your well-performing captions, saving you a ton of time.

5. Consider Keywords for Content

If you are going about marketing your business on Instagram, it’s very important that you show up in the search results of your target audience. Alas, Instagram is the new Google Search for Gen-Z.

To make your posts search-optimized, add relevant keywords to your captions. This is similar to adding hashtags, which is also a given.

6. Tag Other Profiles

It is a very good idea to tag other Instagram profiles to your posts, as it gives a considerable boost to your content. Firstly, it brings in engagement by drawing attention to specific individuals or brands, and fostering interactions and discussions. It also boosts the reach of your posts, as the followers of your tagged users may discover the post, leading to increased visibility and potential followers.

Third-party Instagram schedulers like SocialPilot can help you add tags to your posts before scheduling them. So you can publish readily optimized content on the go.

Overall, tagging users on Instagram posts is a powerful tool for building relationships, amplifying content reach, and fostering a sense of community within the platform.

Conclusion

You need to start scheduling if you want to build a better presence on Instagram and free up more time in your busy day.

Although Instagram scheduling might seem simple, truly maximizing its potential requires a solid understanding of your account analytics and strategies to effectively engage your followers.

With the tips above and powerful tools like SocialPilot, you can not only master scheduling but also elevate your entire Instagram strategy!

So, what are you waiting for?

Get Set Schedule!