How to Schedule Instagram Stories: An Easy Guide

Instagram Stories are a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes. They allow you to connect with your audience in a more personal and immediate way. However, creating and posting Stories consistently can be time-consuming.

In this blog post, I’ll show you how to schedule Instagram Stories so that you can be done with a month worth of stories in a day. I’ll also explain the benefits of scheduling Stories and share some tips on how to improve your Instagram marketing beyond Stories.

Benefits of Using Instagram Stories for Businesses

Increase brand awareness: 

Instagram Stories are a great way to increase brand awareness and get your brand in front of new people. When you post Stories, your content will appear at the top of your followers’ feeds, making it more likely that they will see it. Additionally, you can use stickers and hashtags to reach a wider audience.

Drive traffic to your website: 

You can use Instagram Stories to drive traffic to your website by including links to your landing pages or product pages. You can also use the “Swipe up” feature to link to Stories that are more than 10 seconds long. Additionally, you can create Stories that promote your latest blog posts or videos, or that offer exclusive discounts and promotions to your followers.

Generate leads and sales: 

You can use Instagram Stories to generate leads and sales by promoting your products and services, offering discounts and promotions, and running contests and giveaways. For example, you can create Stories that showcase your products or services in action, or that offer behind-the-scenes looks at your business. You can also use polls and quizzes to get feedback from your audience and learn more about what they’re interested in.

Interact with your audience: 

Instagram Stories are a great way to interact with your audience and build relationships with them. You can use features like polls, quizzes, and questions to get feedback from your audience and learn more about what they want to see from you. Additionally, exploring creative Instagram story ideas can help you keep your content fresh and engaging, encouraging more interaction from viewers. You can also use Stories to host live Q&A sessions or to give your followers a behind-the-scenes look at your business.

Promote your products and services: 

You can use Instagram Stories to promote your products and services more engagingly and creatively than traditional posts. For example, you can create Stories that show off your products in action, or that offer exclusive discounts and promotions to your followers.

Additionally, how to add multiple photos to an Instagram story can be a game-changer for businesses looking to showcase a range of products or tell a more comprehensive story in a single post. This feature allows you to create a dynamic and visually appealing narrative that can capture your audience’s attention and drive engagement.

You can also use Stories to create educational content about your products or services or to share testimonials from happy customers.

Stay top of mind: 

Instagram Stories are a great way to stay top of mind with your followers. When you post Stories regularly, your followers are more likely to think of your brand when they’re looking for products or services like yours. Additionally, you can use Stories to highlight new products or services or to promote upcoming events.

Measure your results: 

Instagram Insights provides detailed analytics on your Stories’ performance, so you can see what’s working and what’s not. This information can help you refine your Stories strategy over time.

Target your audience: 

Instagram allows you to target your Stories to specific audiences based on demographics, interests, and behaviors. This means that you can show your Stories to the people who are most likely to be interested in what you have to offer.

Collaborate with other businesses: 

You can collaborate with other businesses by featuring their products or services in your Stories, or by cross-promoting each other’s Stories. This is a great way to reach a new audience and grow your brand.

How to Schedule Instagram Stories

To schedule Instagram stories you need RecurPost. RecurPost is an Instagram scheduler that supports posting to an Instagram business as well as a personal profile. It will even give you the best time schedules so that you can reach maximum users with your posts. Looking for more tools to streamline your Instagram strategy? Check out our guide on the best apps to schedule Instagram posts

Here are the steps to schedule Instagram stories with RecurPost:

Create a RecurPost Account

To begin the scheduling process, you will need to create a RecurPost account. This can be done quickly and easily by visiting the RecurPost website and entering your name and email address. Once you have created an account, you will be able to log in and schedule Instagram posts in no time. However, you need to connect your Instagram account with RecurPost.

Connect Your Instagram Profile

Since you want to schedule a story on Instagram in particular, the upcoming step would be to connect your Instagram profile with the RecurPost interface. The below window will appear on your screen when you click on the “Add social account” option:

Choose the option saying “Instagram business profile”. Once you click on that, you will be taken to the Facebook login screen since Instagram and Facebook accounts are connected. Enter your username and password there. After this, you need to grant certain permissions to the RecurPost app for operating your account.

You do not have to worry about the privacy of your personal information because RecurPost guarantees the safety of your details. Select the option “Allow” and your account will be ready for scheduling and posting.

4. Start Creating Your Instagram Story

On the RecurPost main dashboard, there is an option saying “share a post.” Click on it to start creating your story.

Once you do that, a box will open up wherein you can add all the details about your post. The main content which will be in the form of a message or description needs to be added. It can either be a link or text. There is also the option of adding media like GIFs, images, or videos. 

On the left side, you will see the list of accounts added. Select your Instagram account from the list on which you want to schedule the story.

Once you have added all the details, click on the “Customize for each platform” button on the top right.

You’ll see the Instagram tab appear alongside the ‘Original’ tab. Click on it. 

Select the option of ‘Story’.

Next, you simply need to toggle on the ‘Schedule for later’ option and select the preferred date and time. You can also choose ‘Auto-schedule for best time’ for RecurPost to identify the best time to post on Instagram when your story is most likely to receive the maximum views and engagement.

After all the details are set, simply click on the ‘Schedule’ button and you’re done! Your story will go live on the selected account as per the timings selected. 

How to Improve Instagram Marketing Beyond Stories

Instagram Stories are a great way to connect with your audience, but there are other things you can do to improve your Instagram marketing. Here are 7 tips to do so:

1. Use high-quality images and videos

Your Instagram feed is a visual platform, so it’s important to use high-quality images and videos. Your content should be well-lit, well-composed, and engaging. You can use a variety of photo editing apps to enhance your images and videos.

Here are some tips for creating high-quality images and videos for Instagram:

• Use good lighting. Natural light is always best, but if you’re shooting indoors, try to find a spot with bright, even lighting.
• Use a tripod or other stabilizing device to avoid blurry photos and videos.
• Use a variety of angles and perspectives to make your content more interesting.
• Edit your photos and videos to improve the brightness, contrast, and color.
• Additionally, incorporating music into your Instagram posts can elevate the overall impact of your visual content.

2. Write engaging captions

Your captions are just as important as your images and videos. They should be informative, engaging, and relevant to your target audience. Use your captions to tell stories, ask questions, and encourage interaction.

Here are some tips for writing engaging captions:

• Start with a strong hook. This could be a question, a statement, or a funny story.
• Keep your captions concise and to the point. Instagram only shows the first two lines of your caption, so make sure your most important information is at the beginning.
• Use relevant hashtags to help people find your content.
• Ask questions and encourage your followers to interact with your post.

3. Use relevant hashtags

Hashtags are a great way to get your content seen by more people. When you use relevant hashtags, your content will show up in the search results for those hashtags. Be sure to use a mix of popular and niche hashtags.

Here are some tips for using hashtags on Instagram:

• Use a mix of popular and niche hashtags. Popular hashtags will help you reach a wider audience, but niche hashtags will help you target people who are more likely to be interested in your content.
• Use relevant hashtags. Don’t just use popular hashtags that aren’t relevant to your content.
• Use a limited number of hashtags. Instagram allows you to use up to 30 hashtags per post, but it’s best to use 10-15 hashtags per post.

4. Run Instagram ads

Besides creating and scheduling posts and reels, running Instagram ads is a great way to reach a wider audience and promote your products or services. You can target your ads to specific demographics, interests, and behaviors. Instagram ads can be very effective, but it’s important to create compelling ad copy and images.

Here are some tips for creating effective Instagram ads:

• Use clear and concise ad copy. Your ad copy should tell people what you’re selling and why they should care.
• Use high-quality images or videos. Your ad visuals should be eye-catching and relevant to your ad copy.
• Target your ads to the right audience. Instagram allows you to target your ads to specific demographics, interests, and behaviors.
• Set a budget and track your results. It’s important to set a budget for your Instagram ads and track your results so you can see what’s working and what’s not.

5. Collaborate with other users

Collaborating with other users is a great way to cross-promote your content and reach a new audience. You can collaborate with other businesses in your industry, influencers, or even your own customers.

Here are some ideas for collaborating with other users on Instagram:

• Host a joint giveaway or contest.
• Do a guest takeover on each other’s accounts.
• Create a co-branded product or service.
• Cross-promote each other’s content in your captions and Stories.

6. Post consistently

It’s important to post consistently on Instagram in order to keep your audience engaged. Aim to post at least once a day, but more often is better. You can use social media bulk scheduling to plan and schedule your posts in advance.

Here are some tips for posting consistently on Instagram:

• Create a content calendar to plan out your posts in advance.
• Use a social media scheduling tool to schedule your posts in advance.
• Experiment with different posting times to see when your audience is most active.
• Repurpose your content from other platforms, such as your blog or website.

7. Interact with your audience

Instagram is a social platform, so it’s important to interact with your audience. Respond to comments, answer questions, and participate in conversations. You can also use Instagram Stories to interact with your audience in a more personal way.

Here are some tips for interacting with your audience on Instagram:

• Respond to all comments promptly. This shows your audience that you value their feedback and that you’re paying attention.
• Answer questions thoroughly and informatively. This helps to establish yourself as an expert in your field.
• Participate in conversations in a genuine and authentic way. Don’t just be a salesperson.
• Use Instagram Stories to give your audience a behind-the-scenes look at your business and to connect with them on a more personal level.

How RecurPost Can Help Build a Presence on Instagram

• Schedule posts in advance. RecurPost allows you to schedule posts in advance, so you can save time and ensure that your content is published consistently.
• Manage multiple Instagram accounts. RecurPost allows you to manage multiple Instagram accounts from a single dashboard. This is ideal for businesses and individuals who have multiple Instagram accounts, such as personal and business accounts.
• Track your performance. RecurPost provides detailed analytics that can help you track your performance on Instagram. This information can help you identify what’s working well and what needs to be improved.
• Collaborate with team members. RecurPost allows you to collaborate with team members on your Instagram content. This is ideal for businesses with multiple people working on their social media marketing.
• Content categorization. RecurPost allows you to categorize your content, which makes it easier to find and schedule specific types of content.
• Hashtag generator. RecurPost’s hashtag generator can help you find relevant hashtags for your content.
• Post previews. RecurPost allows you to preview your posts before you publish them, so you can make sure that they look good and that all of the information is correct.
• Social media integrations. RecurPost integrates with a number of other social media platforms, so you can schedule posts and track your performance across all of your social media accounts. You can easily manage Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok, and YouTube accounts from a single dashboard!

Conclusion

Scheduling Instagram Stories is a great way to save time and ensure that your content is published consistently. By following the steps in this blog post, you can easily schedule your Instagram Stories in advance using RecurPost. 

In addition to using Instagram Stories, there are a number of other things you can do to improve your Instagram marketing, such as creating engaging content, posting consistently, using relevant hashtags, interacting with your followers, using Instagram Stories, leveraging Instagram Live, using Instagram Insights, collaborating with influencers, and running paid ads.

If you’re looking for a tool to help you build a presence on Instagram, RecurPost is a great option. It allows you to schedule posts in advance, create recurring schedules, track your performance, monitor comments and DMs, collaborate with team members, and maintain a content calendar.

So, don’t forget to take RecurPost’s free trial to experience the scheduling features!

Frequently Asked Questions