A practical guide to Instagram
A practical guide to Instagram feed posts, carousels and Reels: formats, specs and what performs. Scheduling Instagram from our calendar is coming soon, once Meta's app review passes.
Plan feed posts, carousels and Reels that feel native
The formats Instagram expects, and what each is good for. Publishing to Instagram from Social Media Digital Marketer is coming soon, once the platform's app review passes.
- Reels: Vertical video at 9:16 (1080×1920). Under 30 seconds tends to hold retention; the cover doubles as your grid thumbnail.
- Carousels: Up to 20 slides at 1:1 (1080×1080) or 4:5 (1080×1350). Save-worthy, multi-slide teaching posts earn the most reach.
- Single image: 4:5 portrait takes the most feed real estate. 1:1 stays safe for grids.
Plan a week of Instagram on one calendar
Once Instagram is live, its posts sit on the same calendar as every other account. Today you can schedule Bluesky, Mastodon, LinkedIn, Reddit, Telegram and Discord there.
- A visual calendar and queue for the whole week
- Schedule for an exact time or add posts to the queue
- One place for every account, not a tab per platform
What you can do on Instagram
What Instagram will look like in Social Media Digital Marketer once app review passes, plus when to post today.
Every post type that matters
Reels, Carousels, Single image, Stories. The formats Instagram expects, explained above, ready for when publishing arrives.
When to post on Instagram
Business and Creator accounts see the steadiest reach late morning and early evening on weekdays; check your own audience-active hours, they beat any generic chart.
Reliable publishing, coming soon
Instagram publishing is coming soon. It arrives once Meta's app review passes; until then, use this guide to plan. When it lands, failed publishes retry with backoff and trigger a failure alert.
Instagram analytics
Basic analytics for Instagram — reach, engagement and top posts — arrive with publishing, next to every other network.
Questions about Instagram
Can I auto-publish Reels and carousels yet?
Not yet. Instagram publishing is coming soon and arrives once Meta's app review passes. Instagram's API supports Reels, carousels and single images for Business and Creator accounts, and that is what we are building towards.
Do first-comment hashtags work?
They are a common Instagram tactic that keeps captions clean while staying discoverable. We will confirm first-comment support when Instagram publishing goes live.
Do I still approve every post?
If your workspace uses approvals, yes. Posts wait for a person to approve them, in the app or through an approval link, and you can approve a whole week at once.
Instagram pairs with reliable publishing, a visual calendar and queue, and cross-network analytics. Publishing to more than one place? See all channels.
Start with the networks that are live
Scheduling is free. Connect your live accounts now, and Instagram joins the same calendar once app review passes.