Using Instagram with Buffer
Using Instagram with Buffer
With Buffer, you can plan and schedule your Instagram posts, carousels, stories, and reels, get posting strategy recommendations, and engage with your community, all in one place.
These features are available for Instagram
- Publishing: Yes
- Analytics: Yes
- Engagement: Yes
How Instagram works with Buffer
Instagram works slightly differently from other social networks in that posts can either be:
Posts can be published to Instagram automatically if:
- You have an Instagram Business or Creator account. (Not sure which type of account you have? Let our guide help: Finding your Instagram account type)
- The posts are within Instagram's accepted aspect ratio range and the following type of post:- a single image- multiple (carousel) images- single video posts- reels- stories
Posts will be scheduled as a notification if any of the following conditions are true:
-
you connect an Instagram personal account to Buffer (Not sure which type of account you have? Find out here!)
-
they contain an image or video that falls outside of Instagram's accepted aspect ratio range
-
you want to add features that aren't supported for automatic publishing such as:
- music for stories or reels
- links on stories
- text on stories
- product tags
- collaboration posts
- topics
Notification posts don’t publish automatically. Instead, we send a notification to your phone that guides you in taking the final publishing steps manually. Learn more in the article: Using notification based publishing
You'll also see an option in the composer where you can either choose Automatic (if your post can be scheduled automatically) or Notify Me (if you either choose to get a mobile notification for your post or if it contains content that can't be published automatically, such as videos that are over the duration limit).
<br />:::warning If you have an Instagram account connected and wish to use notification based publishing, you must set up notifications on your mobile device to ensure you don't miss any posts. (Download our mobile app on iOS or Android). :::
Connecting and refreshing your Instagram account
Head to your Channels area to connect your Instagram account to Buffer: https://account.buffer.com/channels
You can connect multiple Instagram accounts to Buffer. To make sure Buffer knows which one want to connect, log in to that Instagram account in another browser tab before trying to connect it to Buffer.
To see a step-by-step guide and troubleshooting steps, check out the following articles:
- Connecting your Instagram account to Buffer
- Getting advanced analytics and locations for your Instagram account - for troubleshooting the process to link Instagram to Buffer via the Facebook page (required for using Analyze or adding locations to Instagram posts)
If your connected Instagram channel requires a refresh, head to the article Refreshing a channel in Buffer.
<br />:::info Notes:
- Not sure what type of Instagram account you have? Check out the steps below to find your account type.
- Instagram has a limit of five active accounts per device, so if you are managing more than five Instagram accounts in Buffer, we recommend checking out our guide to Working with multiple Instagram accounts.
- For the best experience with Buffer, accept any permission requests that appear during the connection or refresh process. Skipping them may prevent certain features from working as expected. :::
Finding your Instagram account type
Use these steps to determine whether you have an Instagram Personal, Business, or Creator account:
- Open the Instagram app on your mobile device and go to your profile.
- Tap on the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) in the upper right corner of the app.
- Here's what you will see at the bottom of the list of options, depending on your current account type:
- If you currently have an Instagram Business account, you'll see Business tools and controls.
- If you currently have an Instagram Personal profile, you'll see Account type and tools.
- If you currently have an Instagram Creator account, you'll see Creator tools and controls.
:::info If your account is a Personal account and you’d like to post automatically using Buffer, you’ll need to follow the steps below to convert your account to a professional account. :::
Converting your Instagram account to a Professional account (Creator or Business)
The main reason to convert is because your Instagram account must be a Professional account in order to post automatically. Due to API limitations, Instagram personal accounts can only publish via notification publishing.
:::info Note: If you are trying to link your Instagram account to a Facebook Page (required to use Analyze), please follow these steps instead. :::
- Open the Instagram app on your mobile device and tap the menu button in the upper-right corner.
- Scroll down to For professionals and tap Account type and tools.
- Tap Switch to professional account. 📝Note: If you don't see "Switch to professional account," but do see "Business tools and controls," you're already set up and can try connecting or refreshing your Instagram channel in Buffer again. If you're still experiencing trouble, let's check the connection between Facebook and Instagram.
- Tap continue until you reach the category page. Select a category.
- Select creator or business. Your Instagram account will now be a professional account.
- Head to the Channels area in Buffer.
- Click three vertical dots on the desired Instagram account.
- Select Switch to a Professional Account.
- Complete the steps, and you're all set!
Scheduling Instagram posts, reels, and stories
Check out a quick overview of scheduling features available for Instagram below, or check out our full guide to Scheduling Instagram posts, reels, and stories.
:::tip Tip: Check out our blog, The Best Time to Post on Instagram for tips on setting up your Instagram posting schedule. :::
| Features & good-to-knows | Notes |
|---|---|
| Scheduling posts, reels, and stories (web) | Check out our step-by-step guides to Scheduling Instagram posts, reels and stories. Plus, check out some good to knows below. |
| Scheduling in the mobile app | Check out our guide to Scheduling Instagram posts, reels, stories, and notifications on the Buffer mobile app. |
| Tagging / mentions | To tag / mention another Instagram account in your post or reel caption, type in the exact handle (we are unfortunately unable to search @usernames as you type). Once published to Instagram, the account you mentioned will become hyperlinked. Learn more about adding @ mentions (tags) here.- Tagging users in images is only available on automatically published posts. It’s not available for reels, stories, or posts scheduled as notifications.- You can include up to 20 mentions within one post. |
| Instagram Shop Grid | Add a link to each of your posts, and then view all of your posts in a clickable grid via the link in your Instagram bio. Learn more about Instagram Shop Grid here.Instagram Shop Grid is not available for Instagram Personal accounts. |
| Daily posting limit | 50 posts per 24 hours (this includes all posts, stories, and reels shared within a 24 hour period). Learn more about Daily posting limits here. |
| Character limit | - 2,200 characters per post- 2,196 characters per first comment- 120 characters per story (scheduled as a notification) |
| Image descriptions / alt text | At this time, we are only able to add alt text to image posts (single images and carousel posts). We are not able to add alt text for Instagram videos, Reels or Stories. |
| Reposts | Unfortunately, it is not possible to schedule Instagram reposts. However, you can share one of your own posts again using Buffer’s Duplicate feature. |
| Adding a location | Learn more here: How locations work when scheduling Instagram posts through Buffer. |
| Carousel posts | Enjoy publishing carousel posts through Buffer. Instagram carousel posts do not support mixed media, meaning you will not be able to create a post containing both an image and video. Note: You can rearrange carousel posts in Buffer and directly in Instagram after publishing your post. |
| Hashtags | In the composer, type the hashtags you'd like to use, keeping in mind that Instagram limits posts to 5 hashtags. When the post is published, the hashtags will hyperlink just as if they were sent from the native platform itself. Learn more about How hashtags work in Buffer. |
| Collaborator posts | Collaboration posts are not supported within Buffer at this time. However, if you schedule the post using the Notify Me option, you'll finish publishing your post in Instagram and can use their collaboration feature at that time. |
| Music, Story Stickers, Polls & Links, Reels Topics, Product Tagging | By selecting these options in the composer, your post will get scheduled for notification based publishing, as these options are not available with automatic publishing. Learn more about notification based publishing here. |
Scheduling good to knows
- Due to API limitations, we're not able to add trending music to posts or reels at this time.
- If you are sharing the URL of an Instagram post to another social network, we are unable to generate a link preview. Learn more about Sharing Facebook and Instagram links through Buffer.
- If you have Instagram settings to auto-share on Facebook, your Instagram posts sent via Buffer won't auto-publish on Facebook.
- If you are trying to schedule an Instagram story with multiple videos or images, you will need to schedule each image or video as a separate story in Buffer.
:::warning If your Instagram posts are not being published automatically when they should be, check out our troubleshooting guide here: Why aren't my Instagram posts sending automatically? :::
Image, video, and feature specifications by post type
| <br /> | Post | Reel | Story |
|---|---|---|---|
| Images | ✓(up to 10, between 4:5 and 1.91:1 aspect ratio)* | X | ✓(suggested aspect ratio is 9:16) |
| Image size | 8MB | X | 8MB |
| Videos | X | ✓ (1)(video must be between 4:5 and 9:16 aspect ratio) | ✓(recommended size is 9:16; frame rate must be between 23 fps and 60 fps) |
| Video length | X | 5 seconds and 15 minutes for reels | between 3 and 60 seconds |
| Video size | X | 300MB or smaller | 300MB or smaller |
| Video bitrate | X | 25Mbps maximum | 25Mbps maximum |
| Audio bitrate | X | 128kbps maximum | 128kbps maximum |
| Adding a location | ✓ | ✓ | X |
| First comment (paid plans only) | ✓ | ✓ | X |
| Hashtag manager | ✓ | ✓ | X |
| Shop Grid | ✓ (not available for Instagram Personal accounts) | X | X |
How to add a thumbnail to your video
By default, the first frame of the video (0 seconds) will be used as the thumbnail. If you'd like to change your thumbnail, you'll follow these steps:
- Once your video has finished uploading, click Edit Thumbnail.
- Drag the slider to the position in the video you'd like to use as the cover/thumbnail image.
- Click Save.
Engaging with Instagram posts
Engagement features are available for Instagram professional accounts within Buffer's Community feature (available on the web version of Buffer and in Buffer's mobile app).
To use Community on the desktop version of Buffer:
- Select your Instagram channel on the left menu
- Click Community in the menu that appears, and start replying to your comments.
:::tip Tip: Prefer to reply to comments on the go? Check out our guide to Engaging with Community comments in Buffer's mobile app. :::
Instagram analytics
We can post all day, but the real payoff is seeing how those posts land. Insights gives you a quick view of your Instagram performance right inside Buffer, no need to leave your publishing dashboard.
There are two places to check your Instagram stats:
- For a quick look at an individual post's likes and comments, head to the Publish tab, then the Sent tab.
- For a full performance view, select your Instagram profile in the left sidebar, then click Insights beneath the channel name.
From your Instagram Insights dashboard, you can:
- Get a Summary of your recent performance, including reach, impressions, saves, reactions, comments, follows, and engagement rate, compared against a previous period.
- Sort your Performance per Post table by engagement rate, reactions, comments, views, impressions, reach, shares, or saves to spot your best content.
- Track trends with the Metrics chart, including Posts, Content Impact, Audience Growth, and Visibility views.
- Get AI-powered Takeaways, including repost suggestions for older posts and "Start with AI" prompts based on what's working.
:::tip ✨ Tip: Use Share as Post in the Summary section to turn your top stats into a ready-to-publish image post, pre-filled and ready to schedule. :::
:::info 📝 Notes:
-
To see Instagram data in Insights, your account needs to be connected as a Professional account (Business or Creator). Personal accounts have limited data due to Instagram API restrictions. See Connecting your Instagram Business or Creator account to Buffer.
-
How much post history you see when you first connect depends on how you connected:
- Instagram Login backfills your last 50 posts
- Facebook Login backfills 30 days of posts.
- Stories are only collected from your connection date onward, regardless of connection method.
-
If your numbers look different from what you see natively in Instagram, that's expected. See Why your data in Buffer Insights might look different from native analytics for the most common reasons. :::
Instagram error library
If you're (unfortunately) hitting Instagram errors in Buffer, the Instagram error library is the place to go for solutions.
:::info Do you have an Instagram feature suggestion? We’d love for you to submit or upvote it here on our feature suggestions board. :::
More resources from our blog
- How to Increase Your Reach on Instagram
- How the Instagram Algorithm Works
- Instagram Stories: The Complete Guide
- How to Get More Followers on Instagram
Last updated on July 25, 2026