How to schedule Instagram posts, Reels and carousels
A step-by-step walkthrough, plus the format mistakes that quietly cost you reach.
By the Sosial team
Scheduling Instagram is straightforward once you know which formats the API accepts and how the caption is cropped. Here is the whole process.
Requirements first
- A connected Instagram business or creator account linked to a Facebook Page.
- Images at 1080×1350 for feed, 1080×1920 for Reels.
- Caption up to 2,200 characters; carousels can hold up to 20 items.
The steps
- Write the caption. Front-load the hook — roughly the first 125 characters show before "more".
- Attach media in the order you want a carousel to read.
- Pick the time in your audience's timezone.
- Choose draft, schedule, or publish now.
The mistakes that cost reach
The most common one is reusing a 16:9 upload. Instagram letterboxes it, which wastes vertical space and reads as recycled. The second is posting an X-length caption to Instagram, where the audience expects a little more.
Carousels are the underused format
A carousel keeps people in the post longer than a single image because each swipe is a fresh impression. Turn each section of an article into a slide and the closing slide into a soft call to action. One article becomes a week of posts.
Schedule this in Sosial
Write once, adapt for every channel and let the queue post on time.
Try Sosial freePut it to work
Schedule this week in one sitting.
Draft with the AI writer, adapt to all ten channels and let the queue publish on time.
