Scheduling Instagram posts, reels, stories, and notifications on the Buffer mobile app

When you're using Buffer to publish to Instagram, you can either publish automatically to Instagram or set a notification to finish the post in the Instagram app yourself. This applies to reels and stories, too. Learn more about how to use notification based publishing here.

:::info Looking for the web version of the Scheduling Instagram posts, reels, stories, and notification based publishing article? :::

Automatic vs. notification publishing - which is right for my post?

Certain features (like scheduling a first comment) are available when publishing automatically to Instagram Professional accounts, while others (like stickers on a story, or music on a post or story) can only be added if you are scheduling to an Instagram Personal account or you set a notification and finish the post yourself on Instagram. Music on Reels is the exception. If your channel is connected through Facebook, you can add it in Buffer and still publish automatically. Learn more about how Buffer works on Instagram Personal accounts vs. Professional accounts here.

Every time you create a post, story, or reel in Buffer, you can choose:

🟢 Automatic - Buffer will automatically post on your behalf so that you can focus on other things, like replying to comments or creating new content.

🟡 Notify Me - Add story stickers, music on posts and stories, product tags, story links, and enjoy more creative control. Buffer will set up your post, send you a notification, and help you finish the post yourself on Instagram. Learn more about the process in our guide to notification based publishing.

Creating your Instagram post, reel, or story

1. Tap Publish at the bottom of the app.

2. Tap the green + icon at the bottom right of your screen. This will open up the composer. On Android, you'll need to tap the blue pencil icon at the bottom of your screen to open the composer.

3. Tap the channel icon to see a full list of your channels and then select Instagram.

4. Tap to choose your post type: Story, Reel, or Post.

   

5. Upload the image(s) or video you'd like to include in your post.

   :::info Notes

   • Images and videos must be within Instagram's accepted aspect ratio range (between 3:4 and 1.91:1 for images and between 4:5, 16:9 for videos, and 9:16 for reels), in order to be published automatically. If the image or video falls outside of this range, the post will be scheduled as a notification instead.
   • Videos must be between 3 and 60 seconds. Reels must be between 5 seconds and 15 minutes. If your video is not within this range, you'll see a message letting you know. You'll need to adjust the video and then re-upload it. :::

6. Type in or copy and paste the caption you'd like to use. (Note: to include a caption for a story, you'll need to use the Notify Me option. See the next step for details. To add music to a Reel, see Adding music to Instagram Reels below.)

7. Tap Change to choose whether to use Automatic publishing or Notify Me to send a notification to finish posting later.

   :::info Note: If you choose Add Sticker and select a feature that is not supported for automatic posting, such as Tag Product, Text, Link, or Topics (or Music on a post or story) we'll switch your post to Notify Me so you'll get a notification and you can finish posting in Instagram.

   • We'll also generate a text box for each Sticker so you can leave yourself a placeholder note about what music, text, story links, products, or topics you want to add in the Instagram app when you finish publishing your post, reel, or story. :::

   

   :::tip Tip: Visit our Notification based publishing guide for a walk-through of how to finish publishing your post once the notification comes to your phone. :::

8. Schedule your post using one of our scheduling options, and you're done!

Adding music to Instagram Reels

If your Instagram channel is connected through Facebook, you can add music to a Reel in the app and still publish automatically. Find the steps for web and mobile in Adding music, stickers, and other effects to Instagram and TikTok posts.

Adding a location

If you'd like to add a location to your post or reel, start typing any location name or type the name of a Facebook Page you'd like to point to the location of.

Tagging users in images

:::info Note: User tagging is only available on automatically published posts. It’s not available for reels or stories. :::

1. After uploading an image to your post, tap the three vertical dots in the lower corner of the image.

2. Tap the Add Tags button on the image.

3. Tap the location on the image you’d like to add a tag, enter the @ handle and then click Add Tag.

   

4. You can add up to 20 tags on an image for a single image post.

• For carousel posts, the tagged accounts in the image are carried over for each image in the carousel. When this happens, each image tag is added together for a total. If your draft has more than 20 tags, you may see an error and will need to edit the tags down for the carousel post to successfully publish.
• All tags in the first image automatically carry over to all other images in the carousel, counting towards the limit.
• If you need to remove a tag, click the x icon to the left of it on the right-hand side. Once you’ve finished adding your tags, click Save, then continue scheduling your post as usual.

:::info Notes

• Due to limitations in Instagram's API, we can't auto-complete the @ handle, and you will need to enter the exact @ handle of the Instagram user you’d like to mention.
• We strongly encourage you to check each link on the right-hand side to ensure the correct @ handle has been entered.
• Posts with tags for private or non-existent users will fail. :::

Adding collaborators

You can invite up to 3 Instagram accounts to collaborate on a post, Reel, or carousel. Collaborators aren't available on Stories.

1. In the composer, select your Instagram channel and choose Post or Reel.
2. Tap Add next to Collaborators.
3. Type an Instagram username, then tap the + button next to the username to add it.
4. Repeat for up to 3 collaborators. Tap the x next to a name to remove it.
5. When you're done, tap the checkmark in the upper right corner to save your collaborators.
6. Schedule your post as usual.

:::info Note: Collaborators need your Instagram channel connected to Buffer through a linked Facebook Page. Check each username before you schedule. If Instagram rejects a collaborator, the post will fail to publish. You can't change collaborators after the post is published. For more details, see Scheduling Instagram posts, reels, stories, and notifications. :::

Scheduling a trial reel

A trial reel is shown to non-followers first so you can test your content before your followers see it.

1. In the composer, select your Instagram channel, choose Reel, and upload your video.
2. Turn on the Trial Reel toggle. Turn it off to share with everyone as usual.
3. Choose Manual or Automatic. With Manual, you share the Reel with everyone yourself in Instagram. With Automatic, non-followers see it first and, if it performs well, Instagram shows it to your followers after 72 hours.
4. Schedule your Reel as usual.

:::info Note: Trial reels and collaborators can't be used together. For more details, see Scheduling Instagram posts, reels, stories, and notifications. :::

:::warning The features below are on our paid plans. :::

Using hashtag manager and adding first comments

Hashtags are a great way to make your posts more discoverable on Instagram. Our hashtag manager makes it easy to create and save groups of hashtags so that you can build a library of options, experiment with different variations, and easily reuse your top-performing hashtags. Learn more about how hashtags work in Buffer here.

Adding a first comment is helpful if you want to incorporate any information ‘t ideally shown in your caption. Use hashtag manager to share your favorite hashtag group or add your own comment!

1. Tap Add to include a first comment with your post.

   

2. Type your first comment into the extra box displayed. Alternatively, tap the hashtag symbol in the bottom left corner to open the hashtag manager.

   

3. You'll see all of your hashtag groups listed here in the hashtag manager. You can use one of your existing hashtag groups or create a new one.

   To select a group of hashtags to add in to your post's first comment, tap the + icon to the right of the group you'd like to add. You can insert multiple groups, but be mindful of Instagram’s hashtag limits (see note below).

:::info Notes

• Instagram allows up to 5 hashtags in the caption and up to 30 hashtags in the first comment. Buffer enforces both limits in the composer: if you add a 6th hashtag to the caption, or a 31st to the first comment, you'll see an error before you can save the post.
• Edit existing hashtag groups and create new ones by tapping your mobile settings cog ⚙️ in the upper right-hand corner of your app. You can also create new hashtag groups from your hashtag manager directly in the Instagram first comment composer (as shown in the screenshot above). :::

Adding Shop Grid links

If you're using Shop Grid, add the link you'd like to direct users to within the URL field.

When you're using Buffer to publish to Instagram, you can either publish automatically to Instagram or set a notification to finish the post in the Instagram app yourself. This applies to reels and stories, too. Learn more about how to use notification based publishing.

:::info Have other questions about scheduling your Instagram content? Reach out to us at hello@buffer.com, and we'll be happy to help! :::