These days, there are many social media platforms that are essential for businesses. Also, businesses must stay very active on these platforms or they risk being forgotten by consumers with short attention spans. It can be difficult for marketing professionals, even those that specialize in social media management, to stay on top of things.
This is where platforms like Hootsuite come in. Hootsuite enables social media managers to create posts and schedule them for publication with one app. Otherwise, they would have to create posts and schedule them through each social platform individually. Social media marketing professionals can save a great deal of time by using Hootsuite.
Instagram is one of the biggest and most important social media platforms for businesses. It is one of the many platforms that Hootsuite supports, so many people are wondering how they can post on Instagram from Hootsuite. Thankfully, the app makes it quite simple.
Read on to learn more about posting on Instagram from Hootsuite.
Table of Contents
Scheduling Instagram posts (for businesses)
Add your business's account to Hootsuite
Create the post
Determine the post time to publish the post
Set the time when the post will be published
Scheduling Instagram posts (for personal accounts)
Add your Instagram account to Hootsuite
Create the post
Schedule the post
Publish the post
Final thoughts on using Hootsuite to publish Instagram posts
Scheduling Instagram posts (for businesses)
If you are planning to use Hootsuite for Instagram, you are likely managing a corporate social media account. Hootsuite is designed to accommodate such accounts. The app makes it easy to add the account, create the post, choose the best time to publish, and schedule the post.
Add your business's account to Hootsuite
If you want to use Hootsuite to post to Instagram, you must first add your business's account. The account should be set up as an Instagram Business account for these steps to work. Otherwise, you should refer to the section on using Hootsuite to post to a personal Instagram account.
The first step is navigating to the Hootsuite dashboard. Once you are in the dashboard, click the profile icon. Select Social Networks & Teams. Click +Private Network.
You will see a list of social media networks. Select Instagram. After you've selected Instagram, click connect with Instagram and input the account name and password.
Once you've completed adding your business's Instagram account to Hootsuite, you are ready to create your first post.
Create the post
After you've confirmed that you have successfully connected your Instagram Business account to Hootsuite, you can create the post directly in the app. You can even create Instagram stories.
The process is very similar to creating a post on Instagram. This means that you do not have to deal with much of a learning curve when it comes to creating an Instagram post in the Hootsuite dashboard.
The first step is clicking the Create icon in the dashboard and selecting Post. The app will ask you which platform you want to post to. Select your Instagram account. If you are managing multiple Instagram accounts, you should double-check to ensure that you have selected the correct account.
Next, you need to add the post's content. You must select the image, write a caption, and add relevant tags. You should also make sure to add the business's location.
Before you publish the post, take a look at the draft on the right side of the dashboard to ensure that everything looks right. You can edit the image in Hootsuite if necessary.
Now that you have created your post, it's time to find the optimal time to publish the post.
Determine the best time to publish the post
Hootsuite makes it easy to determine the best time to publish your post. The Best Time to Publish feature shows the times that your previous month's worth of posts were published. You can easily see when your posts had the biggest reach and got the most interactions.
This is when you will want to schedule your post. Keep in mind that the best times are often very different for weekend days than they are for business days.
You can find this feature in the Analytics menu. This menu is located on the left side of the dashboard. Make sure to select the correct Instagram account when using this feature.
Set the time when the post will be published
The final step to schedule Instagram posts for a business account is to set the time when the post will be published. If you studied the analytics to determine when the best time to schedule Instagram posts is for your business, you likely already have a good idea of the best time.
Hootsuite has you covered even if you did not study the analytics to determine the best time to schedule posts. The app will automatically suggest several times based on your account's analytics. You can select one of these times or type in a different time if you prefer.
If you need to make changes to scheduled posts, you can do so in the Hootsuite Planner. The Planner allows you to edit the content or change the time that the post will be published in the Instagram app.
Scheduling Instagram posts (for personal accounts)
Add your Instagram account to Hootsuite
The vast majority of Hootsuite users have an Instagram Business account set up. Even if you are a sole proprietor, it's a good idea to set up an Instagram Business Account because this offers numerous extra features, such as advanced analytics.
You can still use a personal Instagram account to Hootsuite. The process is very similar to using a business account.
To add a personal account, open the Hootsuite dashboard and select profile icon. Click on Social Networks & Teams, then select +Private Network. Choose Instagram and click on Connect with Instagram. Put in your username and password and your account will be connected.
Create the post
Composing the post is exactly the same as it is with a business account. Make sure to use plenty of hashtags, write a head-turning caption, tag account, and input your location. You can also edit Instagram photos when posting to a personal account, just as you can when posting to a corporate account.
Schedule the post
The key difference between using Hootsuite with a business account and using it with a personal Instagram account is in scheduling and publishing your posts or Instagram stories. You should use the analytics when scheduling the post to find the best time.
However, schedule the post at a time when you can publish it manually. It will not publish automatically.
Publish the post
You will receive a push notification on your phone at the scheduled time. When you receive this push notification, you will have to open up both Hootsuite and Instagram. To publish the post, copy everything from the draft in Hootsuite into Instagram and click publish.
This process takes much longer than publishing an post with an Instagram Business account. If you are using your Instagram account for your brand, even if it's an unincorporated sole proprietorship, you should strongly consider changing your personal account to a business account.
The process takes only seconds and has no downside. You can keep the same account, but you gain numerous handy features. You can also switch back to a personal account in the future.
Final thoughts on using Hootsuite to publish Instagram posts
Both businesses and individual should use Hootsuite to publish their Instagram content. It's also a good idea to use it to publish Facebook posts and other social content. Hootsuite has far more features than the Facebook Creator Studio.
In the increasingly competitive world of corporate social media, the Hootsuite app provides you with an edge that you can't afford to miss out on. You should ensure that you use all of the app's features to give you an advantage of your competitors. After all, they may be using Hootsuite but it's unlikely they are using all of its features effectively.
Hootsuite is very well designed, and it is relatively easy to use. However, there is certainly a learning curve. This is especially true when you are trying to use every feature to the fullest extent.
However, promoting your business on social media is so important that it is certainly worth it to invest the time in learning the app thoroughly. You should also stay current with Hootsuite's updates, which are released quite frequently.
Sources: Hootsuite |