The best social media scheduling tools for Instagram in 2024

Do yourself a favour and schedule that post

Scheduling tools are essential in today’s digital age, especially for social media managers looking after multiple accounts.

Managing content across multiple social media channels is an art form in itself and no matter how good you are at time management, it always helps to get some assistance to get the most out of the content you share.

These scheduling tools can help you share content consistently and at optimal posting times so you will always remember to post again.

There are so many great scheduling platforms out there, and we have compiled a list of some of the best to help you stay on top of your feed.

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Our favourite scheduling tool: Sked Social

Sked Social is a user-friendly platform and one of our favourite social media scheduling tools. Their customer support is unmatched; if you need to ask any questions or send feedback, a team member will respond in a few minutes. 

Another great feature of Sked is its user-generated content management. We all get those days when we need a little help with creating content, and Sked can help you search hashtags or tagged posts so you’ll never run out of content to post.

Other great features of Sked include: 

• The ability to answer DMs, comments, tagged posts and Google reviews from the Sked Inbox
• You can edit and resize your content within the platform
• You can schedule your first comment with the hashtags you want to use for the post
• The Link in Bio feature is easy to update and is easy for your followers to navigate 
• They have AI tools to help you brainstorm content pillars and campaign ideas
• Labels help you easily track insights for each post

Iconosquare

Iconosquare is among our top favourite scheduling tools thanks to its in-depth analytic and reporting tools. 

If you need to create regular reports on your social media performance, Iconosquare can help you create a report with over 100 metrics for multiple platforms. You can also compare your performance against competitors to monitor how you compare. 

In addition to these features, Iconosquare made managing your engagement straightforward. With its ‘Conversation’ tab, you can see all the comments left on your posts chronologically, allowing you to reply and send instantly. 

Here are some more awesome features on Iconosquare:

• AI tools to help you come up with new content ideas
• The calendar lets you know all of the optimal times to post your content 
• You can sign different social profiles for different team members.

Later

Later is a handy platform if you work with influencers (creators) or are a creator yourself. Later for Creators helps you stay on top of trends, create a media kit and join the creator database so brands can find you. 

If you are a social media manager, Later has all the scheduling tools you need to manage multiple accounts and keep track of their performance. You can also create and schedule Instagram Stories, including photos and videos. 

Other great features of Later include: 

• You can automatically publish Instagram Reels 
• There are hashtag suggestions so you can get your content in front of more people 
• The Later app is easy to use and lets you schedule on the go 
• The caption generator can help you nail your captions

Buffer 

With Buffer’s user-friendly interface, it’s undoubtedly one of our favourite scheduling tools. Buffer lets you customise your landing pages, navigate comments from your followers and easily collaborate with your team members. 

If you work in a big team, Buffer makes it easy to simplify your workflow. They have an “Ideas” space for you to chat with colleagues, and they let you change permission levels so you can choose who can post on each account. 

Other features of Buffer we like include: 

• The ability to cross-post your short-form videos as TikTok, Reels and Shorts 
• Access to Google Business Suite, allowing you to edit and schedule posts 
• Analytics from Shopify to see if your social media posts are converting to sales 
• Idea brainstorming and instant suggestions to help you efficiently create content

Hootsuite

Hootsuite says they’re “ the world’s first social media management platform”, meaning they’ve had plenty of time to refine their scheduling tools. 

Hootsuite lets you bulk schedule up to 350 posts at a time, allows you to oversee your paid ads easily, can help you come up with captions, has access to Canva templates and will let you know the best times to post. 

Other great features of Hootsuite include:  

• Their social listening tools help you track mentions, hashtags, feedback and more to mitigate crises 
• Paid and organic ads are all in one place 
• The ability to set up automated replies in your DMs for when you’re away from your desk

Sprout Social

Sprout Social is one of the more expensive social media management and scheduling tools, but that’s because its features and solutions are unmatched. Sprout Social suits large companies with the budget to elevate their social media presence. 

Sprout Social has the usual tools for automatic publishing, analytics, and community management tracking. It also helps you discover new trends, connects your social media to Shopify and encourages employee advocacy. 

Other great features of Sprout Social include:

• Tools to help your business find verified influencers 
• Deep and comprehensive insights that can differentiate between your paid versus organic performance 
• Automatic direct messages to your customers 
• Crisis notifications if the reputation of your brand is in trouble 
• Your customer reviews from Google, Yelp, the App Store and more all in one place

Final thoughts

Many social media management platforms are similar and have excellent scheduling tools to help you run your social media accounts. 

It’s up to you to decide on your budget and which features are the most important to your brand when choosing a scheduling tool, whether it’s influencer management, analytics reporting, community management or simply how easy the interface is to navigate. 

Most platforms offer a free trial if you want to try out a few before you commit!