instagram tool

7 Instagram Business Tools to Stay Effective in 2019

April 22, 2019 By Ana Isabel

In today’s social media era, having an Instagram business profile has become a popular choice for any new company or entrepreneur.

It’s no wonder, too – statistics show that over 200 million users visit a business profile on Instagram at least once a day, and 60% of them discover new products that they’re open to buying or learning more about.

With that in mind, it’s no surprise that almost every relevant brand has its own Instagram business profile.

Optimizing Instagram for commerce has proven fruitful with efficient and effective marketing strategies the app lets you employ.

At the same time, with the billions of daily users active on Instagram, it’s the perfect hub for any new business to establish themselves a loyal, engaged following.

While offering huge social media marketing potential, growing your Instagram business profile can be quite difficult in its first few weeks (or months… or even years!).

Luckily, there are lots of Instagram business tools available that can make things much easier as you start out, helping you successfully develop your Instagram for business.

Instagram Business Tool #1: Later

Raved about by Instagram users everywhere, Later is one of the most valuable Instagram business tools you can have.

Traditionally, You can update your Instagram profile by manually uploading photos into your feed. If you’re blessed with time, you can simply stick to this practice and continue posting your content on the fly.

Courtesy of Later.

Unfortunately, most businesses are simply too busy with other responsibilities to remember updating their profile with a new post – much less set aside time to sit down, craft out an engaging photo or video, and share it with a witty, well-thought-out caption.

This is where Later comes in.

Gone are the days of remembering to manually share a new Instagram post – with Later, you can map out your entire profile feed for days, weeks, and even months in advance.

As a company or entrepreneur, this saves you time posting to your Instagram feed and more time growing your actual business.

How Later Manages Your Profile

Later is much more than a simple third-party scheduler. With their visual content calendar system, you can plan out the overall look of your feed.

This lets you see how each post visually fits in with the rest to create a coherent aesthetic that distinguishes your brand.

Courtesy of Later.

With a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface, analytical tools and the ability to repost user-generated content, Later is a must-have for managing any Instagram business profile.

Instagram Business Tool #2: Hashtagify.me

Did you know that posts with optimized hashtags receive 12.6% more engagement than those without them?

If you’re using Instagram for business, you’ve got to level up your hashtag game. This involves knowing what hashtags are popular in your particular niche – which ones can give you immediate exposure, and which ones can get your content seen over time.

Hashtags are an effective way of helping the platform categorize your content. They help get your posts seen by the right audiences – for example, photographers will want to use the “#photography” hashtag to get their posts seen by fellow photography enthusiasts.

Some of these hashtags can break their niche down even further: “#photography” has sub-hashtag categories of “#photographersofindia” and “#photographersofcanada”, for instance.

Without hashtags, it can be difficult for starting Instagram business profiles to find the online exposure they’re after.

The feature is thus mandatory to Instagram marketing – but can be intimidating to master if you’re new to the whole practice.

Luckily, tools like Hashtagify will turn you into a hashtag champ in no time. With their top-notch research tools and competitor analysis, the platform gathers all the necessary data to generate the optimum hashtags for your content.

How Hashtagify Manages Your Profile

By simply searching for your niche, you can discover the top-trending hashtags in your category, along with their engagement rates and post-competition.

The service also allows you to track fellow influencers in your niche to learn from their performance on the platform.

On top of this, you can even download reports on hashtag and competitor data to help refine your monthly marketing strategy.

Those who plan to grow their Instagram for business will find great value in learning how to use their hashtag feature to its fullest potential.

Instagram Business Tool #3: Upleap

There’s no doubt that growing an Instagram following takes up a significant amount of time and effort – but what if you’ve got a ton of other business tasks to tend to?

Wouldn’t things be so much easier if you had someone else take care of all the social media stuff for you?

Introducing Upleap: a service that provides you with your very own Instagram account manager.

Courtesy of Upleap.

With all the other tasks you’ve got to worry about as a business owner, your online marketing is likely to take a backseat.

That can’t happen if you’re looking to grow your Instagram for business – the platform isn’t just about the pretty content, but the marketing skills to get your brand seen.

How Upleap Manages Your Profile

Upleap takes this weight off your shoulders by connecting you with a virtual assistant that manages your Instagram profile for you.

Simply sign up and the service pairs you up with your account manager, dedicated to growing your follower count with the right audience.

Based on your niche and business goals, your manager will target your best potential followers by engaging with their content.

This will help get your brand on their radar, leading to engagement on your account and a possible increase in followers.

Courtesy of Upleap.

Over time, your account will see organic growth in both its audience and engagement rates, boosting your influence as an online business.

The service also helps track your progress and provides you with dedicated customer support when you need it.

Upleap customers have reported experiencing up to 300% faster growth on Instagram than if they were to go about their brand-building alone.

So, if you’re looking for some quick brand exposure, get these guys to manage your Instagram profile today.

If you aren’t totally sure, no worries – users are provided with a 3-day free trial to get a feel of their service.

Instagram Business Tool #4: Shortstack

What’s a fun, effective way of keeping your Instagram fans engaged? Apart from obviously posting regular content, having contests and giveaways are a great way of getting your brand out there.

You can get as creative as you’d like with Instagram contests, though some of the easiest and most popular ones to host include ‘like’ contests, comment contests, and hashtag contests.

The incentive to participate is typically a gift of some sort – be it a gift card or a product freebie.

Courtesy of labtobeauty (Instagram account).

Having large amounts of people commenting and liking your posts lead to a generous boost in your content engagement, increasing their chance of popping up on the “Discovery” feed.

If you’ve got a brand-specific hashtag used by entrants across the platform, this gets viewers curious; having a popular hashtag is sure to raise your profile visibility.

Like any new marketing strategy on the platform, hosting contests can initially be tricky. Once you’ve got your campaign off the ground, it may be difficult to keep track of all user entries and the overall online performance of your contest.

Shortstack is an online Instagram business tool that helps make the process a whole lot easier. From the campaign creation to the entry collection to the competition’s analytical reports, hosting a contest on Instagram for business has never been easier.

How Shortstack Manages Your Profile

With Shortstack, users can create entry forms for easy contest submissions, collecting the contact information of your entrants and growing your list of business leads.

Depending on your campaign objectives, you can also offer your participants a higher chance of winning by providing them the option of referring a friend.

Courtesy of Shortstack.

Upon gaining new entrants, the tool additionally has an email automation feature, letting you instantly connect with potential customers once they participate.

If your contest involves photo entries, Shortstack allows you to manually approve these submissions and curate a gallery of user-generated content to share on your feed.

By valuing their engagement, you further build positive relationships with your audience and you’re likely to convert them into loyal customers.

Courtesy of Shortstack.

With the high success rate of most Instagram contests, they’re a marketing opportunity you can’t pass up.

If you haven’t got enough time to host your own contests – Shortstack can even pair you up with an account manager to do all the campaign work for you.

Instagram Business Tool #5: Kenji

Liking Instagram posts are a great way to get noticed by other accounts. They see your name in their notifications, and chances are – they’ll give it a tap to see what you’re about.

Kenji is a powerful Instagram bot that knows this all too well. By signing up for their service, the tool automates all your outgoing likes on content specified by your niche preferences.

Since Kenji works fast on a 24/7 basis, you’ll witness significant growth on your Instagram business profile in no time.

Courtesy of Kenji.

How Kenji Manages Your Profile

The system is in two ways: through targeting hashtags, or through “copying” competitors and successful influencers in your niche.

By entering specific hashtags related to your industry, Kenji gets to work on liking these posts and getting you discovered by audiences relevant to your brand.

Using their HyperTarget™ feature, you can also specify Instagram accounts that have gained a successful following in your niche.

Kenji targets their audience’s content, getting you on the radar of more potential followers. With their cutting-edge A.I. technology, the tool uses machine learning to pick the best accounts to engage with that are likely to be interested in your business.

Courtesy of Kenji.

Because bots have gained themselves a bad rap on Instagram, often resulting in profiles getting “shadowbanned”, it’s understandable to be hesitant in adopting an automated ‘like’ tool.

But here’s the great news…

Kenji is 100% safe to use, working within Instagram’s restrictions.

By veering away from auto-comments and auto-DMs that are likely to get accounts in trouble, you can rest assured knowing you’re amplifying your online presence with zero repercussions.

Instagram Business Tool #6: Buffer

Just like Later, Buffer works as a third-party scheduler to ensure consistent Instagram content, minus the hassle of having to post manually.

How Buffer Manages Your Profile

Whether you’re on desktop or mobile, Buffer allows you to schedule single image or video content in advance, at any specific time you choose.

With an easy to use schedule queue, simply upload your media and enter your desired caption in the corresponding text box.

Your post is then automatically uploaded to Instagram at the scheduled time, keeping your feed updated as you go about other daily tasks.

For those who prefer to use Instagram’s internal features, such as their filters and photo editing tools, you can simply plan your posts ahead of time without automated publishing.

Courtesy of Buffer.

Just go through the Buffer process of uploading your content and preparing a caption, and the app will send you a phone notification at your scheduled time.

Buffer then loads your photo or video to Instagram, caption and all, and you get to add your final tweaks before manually sharing it to your feed.

Over time, you can track the performance of your Instagram posts using Buffer’s key metrics.

From here you can determine which type of content resonates best with your audience.

Courtesy of Buffer.

While another great tool to manage Instagram profiles, Buffer can only share a single image or video posts directly onto your feed.

Gallery images still need manual posting on the actual Instagram app, though you can plan these posts on Buffer, and they’ll send you a reminder to manually share them at a scheduled time.

Instagram Business Tool #7: IG:dm

Using Instagram’s direct messaging feature is an incredibly useful way to communicate with your followers, whether to resolve business inquiries, perform online networking, or simply as a channel for general conversation.

Since plenty of us running an online business do so on our desktops, it’s vital to access this messaging platform from our laptops or computers.

Thankfully, IG:dm makes this possible. You can easily continue all your Instagram conversations through their downloadable software. All you have to is install it, log into your account, and you’re ready to go!

How IG:dm Manages Your Profile

The app works just like its mobile version, displaying your recent messages, allowing you to search for users, and providing the option to send images.

You can also quote certain messages to send replies to and view users who aren’t following you back.

From the comfort of your desktop keyboard, users are better able to type out thoughtful replies and messages, than from the small screen of a smartphone.

Courtesy of IG:dm.

It’s important to note that this app is an open-source project, and is not affiliated with Instagram in any way.

Manage Your Instagram Business Like A Pro!

With all the valuable tools available for Instagram, developing an online marketing strategy has never been easier.

Having top-notch customer service and an excellent product are both mandatory for building your business – but having an active social media presence is also imperative to get ahead.

With Instagram being the top choice for brand discovery, it’s important to take advantage of their high customer potential.

Luckily, from content schedulers to virtual assistants, even the least-savvy of Instagrammers now have easy, efficient ways of getting their name out there.

Get on board with your profile today, and launch your business to Instagram success.

8 Instagram Photo Editors You Should Be Using

April 19, 2019 By Ana Isabel

Once you’ve planned your social media strategy, decided on a feed aesthetic and got content ideas ready to go, there’s only one skill left to master on Instagram: edit pictures like a pro.

As a primarily visual platform, it’s imperative to display high-quality, eye-catching photos on your profile to capture viewer interest.

Attractive imagery bears higher engagement, potentially leading to more followers who are curious to see more.

If you’re a brand, it’s important to use this to your advantage.

With 83% of Instagrammers discovering new products and services on the platform, it’s a high-traffic, online channel for free “billboard marketing”.

Give your business a boost of free advertising through single photos or image galleries that endorse your product in creative, potentially viral ways.

An appealing Instagram feed created using photo editors — Courtesy of forever21 (Instagram account).

But how does one maintain a feed of appealing, high-quality visuals?

Of course, your first step is to invest in a high-quality camera (whether standalone or in a smartphone) – then level up your photos with a handy Instagram photo editor.

These apps will help you tweak your images to perfection, adding just the right color, lighting, and airbrushing to make them look as share-worthy as possible.

Gone are the days of dull, poorly-lit images; these top apps should turn you into a visual pro in no time.

Instagram Photo Editor #1: VSCO

While a simple photo editor, VSCO works wonders in making your images appear as professionally as possible.

By taking your photos through the app itself or uploading your media onto its studio library, VSCO treats users to a wide collection of preset filters.

Simply tap on the preset you’d like to use, and tap again to adjust the strength of the filter.

VSCO Instagram photo editor tools — Courtesy of Google Play.

You can also access a toolkit of basic photo-editing options, including sliders that adjust the contrast, saturation, brightness, and sharpness of the photo.

Experiment with these until you achieve the desired look for your photo.

When you’re done, you can instantly share it onto your feed.

VSCO photo editor filter feature — Courtesy of Google Play.

This Instagram photo editor also allows you to explore other VSCO-edited works through their own “Discover” feed.

You can filter through this section by searching image keywords, people, and even journal posts.

VSCO cam photo editor gallery — Courtesy of VSCO.

With a user-friendly interface and the ability to connect with other photography-inspired users, VSCO currently stands as one of the most popular go-to apps for Instagram users of any niche.

Instagram Photo Editor #2: Adobe Lightroom

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is a well-renowned holy grail for digital photographers. The software boasts plenty of advanced editing options, allowing users to fine-tune their graphics to every picture-perfect detail.

While a desktop option is available, the mobile version provides users with a much simpler, straightforward interface that allows for quick and easy photo editing anywhere you go.

Editing an Instagram photo with adobe lightroom — Courtesy of Google Play.

To get started with Adobe Lightroom, you’ve got to have both the desktop and mobile versions installed on your devices.

Your desktop Lightroom then syncs all of your recently added photos and saved presets to your mobile app – and now the editing fun begins!

Simply through your saved collection of presets and select the one you’d like to use, adding any fine-tuning with additional photo-editing tools (i.e. exposure, contrast, brightness, highlight adjustments) to achieve the desired appearance.

Changing the look and feel of an Instagram photo using Adobe Lightroom — Courtesy of Google Play.

When you’re done, tap on “Export”, and your newly-edited photo is now available for sharing on your feed or Instagram Stories.

Instagram Photo Editor #3: Snapseed

Snapseed has easily become an Instagram favorite in recent years, and it’s easy to see why. The app offers users a ton of unique editing tools, thus allowing them to design a feed with plenty of creative flexibility.

Along with your basic editing toolkit and collection of filters, Snapseed also offers selective retouching, perspective enhancements, and even the removal of certain image details.

Through their “brush” function, users can target specific portions of their photo and adjust certain aspects such as temperature, exposure, brightness, and saturation by dragging their finger along the desired area.

Similarly, the “selective” function allows you to tap dots onto the image, enhancing only those areas of the photo via brightness, contrast, and saturation sliders.

Snapseed Instagram photo editor brush tool

The “perspective” function allows you to make objects seem further from the camera. Simply pinch at your photo until your subject is at its desired size, and Snapseed fills all the empty space around your photo for you.

It works like magic, but should the edits look a bit choppy – this is where the “healing” tool comes in.

Snapseed Instagram photo editor perspective tool

Snapseed’s “healing” tool is probably its coolest feature yet, allowing you to eliminate any unwanted subjects or details in the background of your photo.

The app covers them up by reusing the surrounding image elements, consequently making these unwanted details disappear.

Snapseed is both a fun, powerful and yet simple photo editor that’s sure to get any Instagrammer addicted.

For some of the best Instagram photo editor tools on the market, this app certainly won’t disappoint.

Instagram Photo Editor #4: Prisma Photo Editor

If you want to add some artistic flair to your photos, Prisma Photo Editor is the way to go.

With a library of over 300 filters (and new ones added every day!), you can transform your Instagram photos into works of art with the tap of a finger.

Quite literally, in fact – these aren’t your average filters found on Lightroom or VSCO. The presets offered by Prisma revamp your images in the style of a Picasso, Van Gogh, or Dali painting that’s sure to draw attention from modern art lovers on the platform.

Prisma photo editor features — Courtesy of the Apple Store.

Apart from applying general filters, Prisma also lets you refine your images with basic photo-editing tools.

These enhancement options grant you control over the finer details such as sharpness, hue, and saturation.

Like with any artist, you can get inspired by other users in the Prisma community through their feed of other user works.

You can also choose to follow or chat with these people, growing your network of online connections.

Prisma app community photo gallery — Courtesy of Prisma-ai.

If you’re looking to add a quirky sense of style to your feed, Prisma may just be your app.

Try out their photo-editing magic for yourself, and turn your Instagram feed into an art gallery of its own.

Instagram Photo Editor #5: Camera Plus

If you’re someone who’s into taking exquisite, high-quality photos with the least amount of editing possible, Camera Plus has got your back.

Snapshots like a pro through the convenience of your smartphone, with features that allow you to adjust shutter speed, sensitivity, and resolution.

The app also provides options for “Burst” or timed shots, as well as the option to “stabilize” your image – leaving you with crisp, clear photos every time.

Camera Plus stabilize photo feature — Courtesy of Camera Plus.

If you like getting up close and personal with your subjects, you can also take beautifully detailed shots through the app’s “Macro” focus mode.

Flaunt your skills in being able to capture sharp images of flowers, insects, and even raindrops.

Camera Plus macro mode photo feature — Courtesy of Camera Plus.

For those tricky group photos, Camera Plus also provides the option for remote-controlled photography.

By hooking two devices onto the app, you get one as your camera, while the other lets you remotely trigger the shutter.

Camera Plus remote controlled photography feature — Courtesy of Camera Plus.

Similarly to all other quality Instagram photo editors, the app also provides its fair share of enhancement tools, letting you fine-tune the final image to your liking.

It also comes with a generous set of filters that let you set the mood on your images, from melancholic to colorful and vibrant.

Sadly, Camera Plus is only available on Apple at this current time.

Instagram Photo Editor #6: Facetune

Though it’s conjured up a fair dose of controversy over the years for its social effect on young, impressionable users – Facetune remains as one of the most useful apps in making your photos look the best they can be.

It boasts an array of editing features dedicated to your subject’s facial details, from the ability to retouch their skin, to their makeup, to even their facial structure.

Facetune photo editor app features — Courtesy of the Apple Store.

Got eyebags in your selfie? No problem; Facetune can fix that right up. Want to show off a red-carpet smile? Simply use their “Whiten” feature to brighten those pearly whites.

Makeup out of place? No worries; you can easily adjust your brows, lip color, blush, and even eyeshadow – or apply new shades altogether.

As a result, the app truly is a game-changer for Instagram portraits, while remaining a simple photo editor that anyone can easily get into.

With its overabundance of customization options, it doesn’t take long to get one addicted. It’s Photoshop without having to learn Photoshop and displays you (or your subjects) in the best light possible.

Facetune photo editing app features — Courtesy of Google Play.

However, excessively fine-tuning your face to the point of obvious distortion is a practice to be wary of.

Filtering your image to an exaggerated degree will not only sway the trust of your followers – but it can also lead to high rates of anxiety and facial or body dysmorphia.

Still, it’s effective in creating gorgeous, picture-perfect portraits.

For Instagram brands or influencers in the fashion or beauty industry, this app is definitely a popular go-to.

Instagram Photo Editor #7: Afterlight

For the nitpicky photographers that love precision in their imagery, Afterlight can provide you with just that.

By importing your existing photos into the app (or taking new ones through their built-in camera), you’re given an advanced toolkit that allows for detailed color correction, lighting adjustments, and even “dust and light leaks” that add a vintage touch to your final image.

Afterlight photo editor effects — Courtesy of Google Play.

If you’re feeling especially fussy, the app also grants you “full quality zooming”, letting you edit fine details with maximum precision.

Some photo tools also allow for “selective” editing. Like Snapseed, this allows you to adjust specific elements in your photo without disturbing the rest.

While the editing canvas provides a selection of filters to choose from, you can create your own, or customize existing ones.

Afterlight photo editor preset filters — Courtesy of Google Play.

If you’re feeling experimental, the app also has a “double exposure” feature. This allows you to super-impose two images together for an interesting, artistic effect.

You can additionally add text, stickers, or even a frame on top of your image.

Afterlight photo editor double exposure effect — Courtesy of the Apple Store.

It’s a simple photo editor, yet leaves your images looking as fun or as elegant as you’d like them to be.

For those who easily want to spice up their Instagram feed with aesthetically pleasing photos, Afterlight’s got all the user-friendly features you’d need.

Instagram Photo Editor #8: Typic

Apple users wouldn’t want to miss on out this editing app – especially if your brand aesthetic involves eye-catching typography.

For Instagram profiles that love sharing text on images, such as memes, posters, quotes, or carefully designed ads; Typic flaunts a library of over 300 dazzling fonts to play around with.

Couple that with the fact that they’ve also got over 500 design elements, 93 filters, animated stickers, and the ability to draw right on your images – and you’ve got the perfect app for creating an engaging, Instagram-worthy photo.

Typic photo editor features — Courtesy of the Apple Store.

Additionally, you get access to a basic photo-editing toolkit that allows you to adjust the colors, lighting, and ratio of your photo.

To be sure you’re adding a personal touch on each image, Typic also lets users add their own logo to the photos.

The app lets you save up to four versions of your business logo, and you can easily sign off each image with your distinct, branded watermark.

Courtesy of Typic.

If you’ve got a fun, artistic, quirky Instagram image to uphold, Typic is great choice to start off in building on your brand appearance.

It’s easy to use, worth every cent, and you also get beautifully-designed images as a result.

Got All Your Photo Editing Tools Ready?

Now that you’ve got a selection of top-notch photo editors to choose from, it’s time to pick one and start developing your Instagram feed.

It’s a no-brainer that images should be your number-one priority on the platform, along with establishing a distinct brand personality.

What better way to market your business charm than through a consistent, unique visual theme? With each of the tools listed above, not only will this be quick and easy to achieve – but you’re guaranteed a gallery of crisp, high-quality photos that’ll turn a newbie smartphone photographer into an instant pro.

So get to it; build a professional Instagram feed today with some of the addictive photo editing apps on the market. You’ll impress your followers, and potential new ones too.

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Automate Instagram – The 5 Best Tools For Your Instagram Automation

April 16, 2019 By Ana Isabel

Building a brand on Instagram gets tough when you’ve got other commitments – whether personal or business – demanding your attention.

Yet, how does one juggle it all, when building an Insta-following requires a whole lot of time, patience, and marketing effort?

In this post, I’ll walk you through the 5 tools to automate Instagram so you can have the time for other stuff that need your attention

When you’ve got a busy day ahead of you, setting aside precious time to manually update and maintain your Instagram activity can turn into a chore.

Thankfully, we live in the world of the internet. The consistent development of automation tools has become absolute lifesavers, especially for businesses on social media.

Thanks to third-party apps and services, Instagram users are no longer left to do all the heavy lifting. There are now plenty of options to automate your Instagram – whether it’s posting on a consistent schedule or maintaining interaction with others in your community.

Running these menial, yet, necessary tasks in the background while you tend to other tasks, saves you valuable time and effort, keeping you productive in your business.

The best Instagram automation tools you should try out

1. Kenji

While an effective way to automate your Instagram, bots have gotten a bad rap on the platform over the years. This is due to their notorious tendency for being spammy, flat, and oftentimes inappropriate in their ‘interactions’.

An extreme case on the platform involved an Instagram user who made a post talking about her miscarriage. Soon enough, the post was flooded with obvious bots leaving comments such as “Brilliant!” or “Very nice!”, having a blatant disregard for the serious context of the post.

This was all likely done with no knowledge from bots’ original accounts, but it nevertheless makes you and your brand look bad.

a-case-of-a-bot-used-wrongly-to-automate-instagram — A case of a bot used in automating Instagram

At the very worst, users might even think you’re leaving unseemly comments on purpose.

Thankfully, the advent of Kenji finally provides users with an Instagram-friendly bot that grants you the social exposure you need – without the consequences of unprofessional or offensive.

How Kenji Works

With their cutting-edge AI technology, Kenji serves as a bot to for setting your likes on autopilot.

Through their easy sign-up process, you will be asked to identify the hashtags used by your niche and target demographic.

Once that’s done, Kenji works its magic to like content relevant to your specified tags, increasing your visibility among users.

kenji-an-instagram-automation-tool — Kenji – A tool for Instagram Automation

Along with hashtag targeting, you can also identify competitors in your niche whose audiences may be interested in your content.

With their HyperTarget™ feature, Kenji selects the best users from their following to engage with, getting you on their radar. You can also adjust Kenji’s targeting process by user location.

The best part is, this tool is 100% safe to use within Instagram’s guidelines. You can thus rely on its service without fear of getting the Instagram “shadowban”.

As it solely works through ‘liking’ other people’s content, you also needn’t worry about awkward DMs or comments.

Kenji-instagram-automation-is-within-guidelines — Kenji automation tool is 100% safe within Instagram’s guidelines

After a period of time, you can even track your account performance through data charts that analyze your progress.

Manually interacting with other accounts can get incredibly tedious, but Kenji takes this weight off your shoulders as you focus on other, more meaningful tasks.

For brands or influencers just starting out on the platform, this is one of the best automation tools for Instagram that can get you, followers, quickly and organically.

Kenji-automates-your-instagram-interaction — Kenji automates your interactions on Instagram

Try Kenji for free – you can get started today on a 3-day free trial.

2. Hootsuite

Forgetting to update your Instagram feed is easy to do, but when building your brand on the platform, it’s a responsibility you don’t want to neglect.

Wouldn’t it be easier to plan out and automate your Instagram posts in one sitting? You can knock out all your creative ideas in one go, have them ready to post on a consistent schedule, and not have to worry about manually posting at specific times in the week.

Good thing third-party services like Hootsuite help you do just that.

How Hootsuite Works

Hootsuite is a one-stop platform for all your social media accounts – including Instagram.

Simply connect your social media accounts to your Hootsuite profile, and you can create and schedule posts for automated publishing.

Automated-publishing-of-instagram-posts-using-hootsuite — Hootsuite automates how your Instagram posts are published

The platform has a user-friendly interface that gets you started in seconds. You can post directly to your Instagram account without having to leave their site; simply upload your media directly onto Hootsuite, type up your caption and hashtags, and you’re ready to go.

Or, you can schedule your post at the desired time, helping you target optimum times of the day for best engagement. This immediately adds your post to the Hootsuite Instagram queue.

Hootsuite-helps-you-automatically-schedule-dates-to post-on-instagram — Hootsuite helps you schedule Instagram posting date and time

For those who want to edit the size of their images, Hootsuite also comes with a cropping tool to finalize the look of your post.

you-can-resize-your-pictures-with-hootsuite-before-automating-your-instagram-post — You can resize your Picture with Hootsuite before automating your Instagram post

It’s important to note that these direct-publishing options are only available on an Instagram business account.

Those managing a personal Instagram account will be sent mobile notifications prior to their scheduled posting times, prompting them to manually post onto Instagram.

Instagram-direct-publishing-option — Instagram direct publishing option

Still, it’s an effective Instagram automation tool that keeps you on top of your Instagram content.

Consistently maintaining an active feed is vital for growing your account, and it’s never been easier with Hootsuite’s scheduler.

3. Upleap

We’ve discussed the effectiveness of Instagram-friendly bots like Kenji, and how it works well to grow your following without risking your brand reputation.

But what if you’d rather place this responsibility in the hands of real people?

Outsourcing account managers have become an attractive option for businesses, and it’s easy to see why.

While you focus on the more creatively-driven aspects of your business, such as generating valuable media content for your audience, it helps to have a virtual assistant carry out the routine tasks required to grow your online engagement.

you-can-outsource-instagram-automation-to-account-managers — You can outsource your Instagram to account managers

Upleap provides just this – matchmaking new Instagram users with a social media expert who knows all the right methods to grow your following and content reach.

Because you’re working with real people, the service isn’t a literal “Instagram automation” tool; though it’s an option that works just as well in maintaining an active Instagram presence.

How Upleap Works

Simply sign up to their service, and you’ll be designated your very own Instagram account manager.

You’ll then be asked to answer a few quick questions on your brand’s target demographic, including their locations, relevant hashtags, and even competitors they may follow.

steps-to-signing-up-to-outsource-the-management-of-your-instagram-account — Signing up to get an Instagram Account Manager

With all the given information, your manager gets to work on interacting with the best users who are interested in your content.

As they take care of engaging with exclusively organic accounts who are most likely to interact with your profile, you can ensure your brand growth is in safe hands – and is taken seriously.

In time, you are sure to see an increase in your account’s social exposure, engagement, and follower count.

And the best part is, these are all real, interested people likely to interact with your content in the long-term.

Automating-your-instagram-with-upleap — Automate your Instagram with Upleap

Of course, your manager is prevented from posting content on your behalf. This is a responsibility that remains under your control, as brand design and aesthetic are best left to your own, personal style.

Those who have worked with Upleap account managers have reported up to 300% faster growth on their Instagram account.

However, the speed of your growth depends on the responsiveness of your target audience, and results may therefore vary.

testimonials-from-people-who-used-upleap-account-managers

Even so, Upleap is an Instagram “automation” service that makes your business life easier, leading to real, organic results. The service offers a 3-day free trial, no credit card required.

4. Later

If you like the idea of a third-party scheduler, how about one that’s specifically tailored to the Instagram interface?

While Hootsuite is a multi-featured scheduling app that caters to a range of different social media platforms, Later.com provides automation options exclusive to Instagram and its visual presentation of content.

later-an-instagram-automation-tool — You can automate your Instagram with Later

Those who favor pre-planning their posts yet wish to preview the overall, final look of their feed, will find both needs accommodated with this app in their toolkit.

Later.com is a platform accessible on both mobile and desktop.

Established in 2014, it’s since become one of the best automation tools for Instagram, with its ease of use and generous array of scheduling features.

How Later Works

Jumping onto their service is easy – just sign up and connect your Instagram account, and import the media you wish to post (this can include both images and videos).

You’ll be presented with their innovative visual calendar, where you can drag and drop your media to a desired date and time.

There’s also the option of previewing your Instagram feed to see how each of these posts visually fit with the rest.

automate-your-instagram-posting-time-with-later — Automate your posting time with Later

Later comes with an easily-organizable media library that’s accessible to anyone on your Instagram management team.

You can label each of these media items any way you wish for convenient future searches.

With their Chrome extension, you can additionally collect and curate images from anywhere on the web, saving them into your library as you go.

Curate-photos-from-anywhere-on-the-web-and-automate-their-posting-on-instagram — Curate photos and automate how you post them on Instagram

Their analytical data also provides you with the best times to post, helping you schedule your content for optimum engagement.

You can also monitor the performance of your last 10 Instagram posts within the last 30 days – their premium (paid) features allow for monthly and weekly tracking.

find-out-the-best-time-to-automate-your-posts-on-instagram-for-optimum-engagement — Find out the best times to publish posts

As for your comments, Later further comes with a “Conversations” feature that allows you to engage with your audience, responding to and managing their feedback without ever having to leave Instagram.

you-can-engage-with-your-audience-on-instagram-with-Later — Engage with your Instagram audience with Later

Once your engagement blows up and keeping track of comments becomes an increasingly difficult task, Later provides you with an inbox that archives all recent comments on your posts, so you’ll never miss a follower interaction.

Later is a service that can’t be recommended enough among avid Instagrammers; a tool that’s bound to save you loads of time, effort, and marketing hassle.

5. RoboLike

As mentioned previously, liking posts on Instagram isn’t necessarily considered a “spammy” activity.

Unlike empty, valueless comments that often run along the lines of “Cool! 👌😍” or “🔥 🔥 🔥” (where it often doesn’t take an expert to realize they’re interacting with a bot) – likes are a generally welcomed gesture on Instagram that works as a win-win strategy.

Robolike-helps-you-automate-your-activities-on-instagram

The user receiving a ‘like’ gets a boost of engagement, while you get your profile name on their radar.

Like Kenji, Robolike is an Instagram automation service that works with this mindset. They’ve got one mission: to grow your following in the fastest, most Instagram-friendly way possible. And what better way to do this, than with “likes”?

How RoboLike Works

By signing up to their service, you’ll gain access to Robolike’s “liker bot”.

Using the tool is incredibly simple; all you’ve got to do is run Robolike in the background as you go about your daily tasks.

Your bot will be sending out up to 90 likes per hour, growing your social exposure with each one.

robolike-instagram-automation-tool — RoboLike – Instagram automation tool

The process works through hashtag targeting, where you specify the tags of content your bot will search and engage with. You can also choose time limits (ex. letting it run for 24 hours or less according to your preferences.)

how-to-set-up-robolike-for-instagram-automation — Setting up RoboLike for automation

Unlike Kenji, Robolike does lack the option of targeting competitor audiences in your niche or filtering out your auto-likes by location.

While you’re running your bot exclusively through hashtag filters, it’s still nevertheless an effective tool for automating your Instagram.

Time to Automate Your Instagram!

Now that you’ve got a list of the best automation tools for Instagram, you can save tons of precious time and effort for other, more demanding management responsibilities.

The most Insta-savvy users out there benefit from these handy, third-party apps by gaining focus on the more creative aspects of maintaining an Instagram account.

After all, creating a profile of unique, original content should be at the forefront of your profile goals; undivided attention that is easily achieved by outsourcing your menial background tasks.

So, give your Instagram marketing the upgrade it deserves, and get on board with some of the best automation services available.

You May Also Like: A complete guide to scheduling Instagram posts

How to Schedule Instagram Posts – The Complete Guide

April 10, 2019 By A J

Want to know how to schedule Instagram posts for the best chance of #Instafame?

You’ve come to the right place.

While there’s no magic strategy for Instagram success, if there was one, it would focus on things like high levels of engagement, quality, and consistency.

The good news?

You can accomplish all of those things by learning how to schedule Instagram posts. Knowing when to publish your posts each day will help you to rise above the noise on Instagram, making it one of the best marketing strategies out there.

Here’s what you need to know about scheduling your Instagram posts.

Why Schedule Instagram Posts?

Today, changes to the Instagram algorithmmean that the exact time and day you post your content will matter a little less than it used. However, it’s still essential.

Ultimately, the more active you are on Instagram at the same time as your customers, the better your account will perform. After all, your followers want to see great content, and they want to see it on your account as regularly as possible.

If you know that most of your audience is online on Saturdays at 3 pm, then it makes sense to post at those times and potentially gain more engagement as a result. Unfortunately, if you don’t know how to schedule Instagram posts, then sharing your content on time would mean hanging over your computer and smartphone, waiting for the right time to click “send.”

Scheduling your posts allows you to up your Instagram game with more of a “set it and forget it” approach to marketing.

The Benefits of Learning How to Schedule Instagram Posts

Until recently, there was no way to schedule your posts on Instagram.

The only option was to set up a tool that would remind you to publish at a certain time – which isn’t as convenient as it sounds. Fortunately, Instagram updated its APIsin 2018 to make scheduling posts with third-party tools easier. Now, with the help of the right system you can:

Save time: Scheduling a week’s worth of posts in advance allows you to spend more time on other aspects of your business or personal brand growth.
Be more consistent: Want people to believe in your brand? Make sure you’re consistent. Posting at the same time each day allows you to build a rapport with your target audience, and helps customers understand what they can expect from you.
Measure your performance: Post scheduling allows you to gather relevant data about how people respond to your posts at certain times of day. This is particularly important when you’re adjusting your strategies after new Instagram updates.
Post content from your desktop: Learning how to schedule Instagram posts also means that you can upload posts directly from your computer after you’ve finished editing them. Better quality photos = more followers.
Plan a stunning Instagram feed: When you schedule your posts ahead of time, you can see a bigger picture of how they’ll play out on your feed. You can even organize your posts to create a stunning pattern on your branded page.

How to Schedule Instagram Posts with Third-Party Tools

You don’t need much to learn how to schedule Instagram posts, but you will need at least these two things:

A business profile
A scheduling tool

If you’re unsure what kind of account you have, check on your settings page before you start building your scheduling strategy.

Once you’re sure you’re set up with a business account, its time to look at your options for third-party publishing tools. Some of the most popular software solutions include:

1. Later

Later is a highly visual content planner that offers scheduling and direct publishing options for Instagram users. You can also publish on other channels like Pinterest and Facebook too. Later provides free accounts for when you’re managing just one profile at a time, and as soon as you set up the app, you should find it very easy to use.

Later’s system allows you to drag and drop photos from your computer into your calendar so that you can create an easy-to-follow publishing strategy.

Later #1 Marketing Platform for Instagram

2. Buffer

Buffer is a social scheduling tool excellent for those who want to learn how to schedule Instagram posts. You can manage up to ten posts for your account without paying anything, but you will need to set up a plan for additional content.

Once you connect your business profile on Instagram to Buffer, you can use their posting feature to queue, schedule and publish posts with your carefully structured captions. Your content will appear on your field automatically, with no need for reminders.

3. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is another social media management tool that allows you to publish content directly to your Instagram account without confirmation from your phone. With HootSuite, you can also post on a range of other channels like Facebook, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

HootSuite comes with a free plan, like many of the other options on this list, and with it, you can manage up to 3 social profiles at a time, with 30 posts scheduled at a time. Of course, you might need a lot more than that if you want to get the most out of your Instagram account.

4. Sendible

Sendible makes it easy to figure out how to schedule Instagram posts by giving you a complete calendar overview of your social strategy. To get started with Sendible, you’ll need to set yourself up for an account that starts at $29 per month for up to 4 social profiles.

You can track your Instagram campaigns on Sendible, monitor hashtags to improve your chances of trending and more.

5. Sprout Social

Finally, Sprout Socialis one of the most significant up-and-coming social media management tools, compatible with many of the major social networks on the market. Sprout Social comes with a content calendar that allows you to measure various aspects of engagement and schedule your posts according to your needs.

The unique social listening abilities from Sprout Social will help you to identify significant trends in your social media content, and potentially grow your Instagram following as a result.

Top Tips on How to Schedule Instagram Posts

There’s more to learning how to schedule Instagram posts than knowing which tools to use or understanding that you need a business profile.

If you want to be successful with your campaigns, then you also need a strategy for how you’re going to share your content.

1. Find the Best Times to Post

First, you need to know the best times to post on Instagram to improve your chances of success. Remember, the Instagram algorithm prioritizes posts with higher engagement. The more people online when you publish your posts, the more likely your content will be to gain likes and engagement.

Additionally, the Instagram algorithm also prioritizes when a post was published when determining who should show up on the top of the feed. This means that the times you publish are more critical than ever.

2. Curate and Create Content

With your schedule of when to publish on Instagram completed, you need to start creating incredible content to post for your followers. Look at your calendar and set aside days when you can devote your time to shooting and editing the perfect pictures. Once you have a great selection of photographs to show off, you can organize them into a schedule that will make your Insta feed look incredible.

Some Instagram scheduling tools even let you see what your post will look like when you publish it, making it easier to plan your feed.

3. Don’t Depend Too Much on Scheduling

Finally, just because you know how to schedule Instagram posts, doesn’t necessarily mean you should be doing it all of the time. Don’t shift your strategy so that everything is automated. Otherwise you could run the risk of losing engagement with your target audience.

People still want to feel like they’re part of your community, and if your feed starts to feel robotic and predictable, you could lose out on followers. Remember that trends change quickly on social media, and if you schedule too far in advance, you could miss out on essential evolutions.