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    Schedule & Publish Instagram Single-Photo Posts

    Tyler Lucas Barr
    • Updated

    In this Article:

    With Later, you can schedule single-photo posts to Instagram for Auto Publish or notification publishing. 

    This article covers how to schedule and publish Instagram posts containing one image. For other Instagram post types, see the following articles:

    Scheduling single-photo Instagram posts is available on all plans, including Free.

    Schedule a Single-Photo Post to Instagram

    Before you can schedule an Instagram post through Later, you’ll need to connect your Instagram business or creator profile. This authorizes Later to securely schedule posts on your behalf.

    Once connected, you can schedule single-photo Instagram posts through Later as follows:

    Desktop

    You can schedule single-photo Instagram posts through Later for desktop as follows:

    1. From Later for desktop, select your Instagram profile from the top of your Calendar:
    2. From the left sidebar, select Create Post
      Tip: You can also create a post by dragging a media item to a time slot on the Calendar.
    3. Choose your desired publishing method (Auto Publish or notification publish) from the dropdown menu, and select the date and time:
    4. Select Add Media
    5. Drag & drop the image you’d like to include in your post, or select Upload Media to upload a new file
    6. If needed, correct any formatting errors (for example, cropping to meet Instagram’s requirements) by selecting Edit Image:
    7. Enter a caption for your post
    8. [Optional] Configure the following under More Options:
      Note: Some of these options are available for Auto Publish posts only (not notification publishing). If you have notification publishing selected as your publishing method, these options won’t be shown.
    9. Select Schedule Post
      • Alternatively, select the down arrow next to the Schedule Post button > Save as Draft to save your post as a draft and come back to it later

    iOS

    You can schedule single-photo Instagram posts through Later’s iOS app as follows:

    1. From the Schedule tab of Later’s iOS app, tap your Instagram profile from the options at the top of the screen:
    2. Select the create post icon near the bottom right:

      Tip: You can also create a post by long-pressing any open time slot in the Calendar view.
    3. Tap the + icon to select or upload your image
    4. If needed, correct any formatting errors (for example, cropping to meet Instagram’s requirements) by tapping the highlighted (in red) image in the Post Builder:
    5. Enter a caption for your post > Done
    6. [Optional] Configure the following under More Options:
      Note: Some of these options are available for Auto Publish posts only (not notification publishing). Some options that are only available on Later for desktop, such as adding collaborators, won’t be shown.
    7. Tap Change next to the publishing method to update it, if desired:
    8. Tap Change next to No Time Selected to choose a date and time for publishing:
      • Alternatively, tap Now under Select a Time to publish now
    9. Tap Schedule Post
      • Alternatively, tap Save as Draft to save your post as a draft and come back to it later

    Android

    You can schedule single-image Instagram posts through Later’s Android app as follows:

    1. From the Schedule tab of Later’s Android app, tap your Instagram profile from the options at the top of the screen:
    2. Select the create post icon near the bottom right:

      Tip: You can also create a post by long-pressing any open time slot in the Calendar view.
    3. Tap the + icon to select or upload your image
    4. If needed, correct any formatting errors (for example, cropping to meet Instagram’s requirements) by tapping the highlighted (in red) image in the Post Builder:
    5. Enter a caption for your post > Done
    6. [Optional] Configure the following under More Options:
      Note: Some of these options are available for Auto Publish posts only (not notification publishing). Some options that are only available on Later for desktop, such as adding collaborators, won’t be shown.
    7. Tap Change next to the publishing method to update it, if desired:
    8. Tap Change next to No Time Selected to choose a date and time for publishing:
    9. Tap Save
    10. Tap Schedule Post
      • Alternatively, tap Save as Draft to save your post as a draft and come back to it later

    If you selected Auto Publish as your publishing method, your post will automatically go live at its scheduled time—no further action required!

    If you selected Send Notification as your publishing method, you’ll be sent a notification on your mobile device at your post’s scheduled time. You’ll need to open this notification to manually complete the publishing process. For more details, see below.

    Publish an Instagram Single-Photo Post Using Notification Publishing

    If you schedule your post for notification publishing, you’ll need to open the notification sent to your device at your post’s scheduled time and complete the publishing process, as follows:

    iOS

    You can publish an Instagram single-photo post through notification publishing on iOS as follows:

    Important: Make sure you’re logged in to the correct Instagram account before publishing your post.
    1. Open the push notification on your iOS device:

      Note: If you miss your post notification, you can still access and publish your post through Later’s mobile apps. See Missed Post Notifications for details.
    2. In the Later app, tap Open in Instagram
      Note: At this stage, you may be prompted to allow Later access to your Photo Library—if so, tap Allow Full Access (this is so Later can access the media items for your post).

      You may also be prompted to Allow Paste from Later (this allows you to easily paste your post captions, which Later will automatically copy for you).
    3. In the Instagram app, tap Feed for a feed post
    4. Tap Next
      • Your media item will already be selected
    5. Make any desired media edits from the Instagram app, and tap Next
    6. When you reach the caption screen, you can paste your post’s caption which Later will have automatically copied for you
    7. [Optional] Apply any other Instagram edits, such as tagging people and locations or adding music
    8. When you’re ready to publish, tap Share

    Android

    You can publish an Instagram single-photo post through notification publishing on Android as follows:

    Important: Make sure you’re logged in to the correct Instagram account before publishing your post.
    1. Open the push notification on your Android device:
      Note: If you miss your post notification, you can still access and publish your post through Later’s mobile apps. See Missed Post Notifications for details.
    2. In the Later app, tap Open in Instagram
      • Confirm you are logged in to the right Instagram profile, and tap OK
      Note: At this stage, you may be prompted to allow Later access to photos, media, and files on your device—if so, tap Allow (this is so Later can access the media items for your post).
    3. Tap Feed for a feed post
    4. In the Instagram app, crop or edit your photo if desired, then tap Next or →
    5. Make any other desired media edits from the Instagram app, and tap Next
    6. When you reach the caption screen, you can paste your post’s caption which Later will have automatically copied for you
    7. [Optional] Apply any other Instagram edits, such as tagging people and locations or adding music
    8. When you’re ready to publish, tap Share

     

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