How to Connect Instagram to Later
Later was built from the ground up as an Instagram-first social media tool, and it remains the platform where Later truly excels. With its visual content calendar, drag-and-drop scheduling, Linkin.bio feature, and Instagram-specific analytics, Later is a strong choice for creators and brands whose primary focus is Instagram. This guide covers connecting your account, setting up key features, and making the most of Later's Instagram tools.
Account Requirements
Like all third-party Instagram scheduling tools, Later requires:
- An Instagram Business or Creator account. Personal accounts have severely limited API access and cannot use auto-publishing. Convert your account in the Instagram app under Settings, then Account, then Switch to Professional Account.
- A connected Facebook Page. Your Instagram Business or Creator account must be linked to a Facebook Page. This is a Meta API requirement. Link them in Instagram Settings under Account, then Linked Accounts.
- Admin access to the Facebook Page. The Facebook account you use to connect must have admin privileges on the linked Page.
Connecting Instagram to Later
- Log in to Later at later.com.
- Go to Settings by clicking your profile icon or the gear icon.
- Select Social Sets (or Social Profiles).
- Click Add Social Profile and select Instagram.
- Choose Instagram Business Profile (not Personal).
- You will be redirected to Facebook. Log in and grant Later access to your Facebook Page and connected Instagram account.
- Select the Instagram account you want to connect and confirm.
- You will be returned to Later with your Instagram account connected.
The Visual Content Calendar
Later's standout feature is its visual content calendar, which lets you see your upcoming Instagram posts laid out visually. This is particularly useful for brands that care about maintaining a cohesive Instagram grid aesthetic.
- Media Library: Upload images and videos to Later's Media Library. You can organize them with labels and notes. Drag media from the library directly onto the calendar to start creating a post.
- Drag-and-drop scheduling: Drag a piece of media from your library onto a specific date and time slot on the calendar. A post creation window opens where you can add your caption, hashtags, and other details.
- Grid preview: Later shows a preview of how your upcoming posts will look on your Instagram profile grid. You can rearrange scheduled posts to find the most visually appealing layout before anything goes live.
- Week and month views: Toggle between weekly and monthly calendar views to plan your content at different time horizons.
Auto-Publish Setup
Later supports auto-publishing for Instagram feed posts (single image, carousel, and video), Reels, and Stories. To ensure auto-publish is enabled:
- Go to Settings, then Social Sets.
- Click on your Instagram profile.
- Make sure Auto Publish is toggled on.
- If auto-publish is not available, verify that your Instagram account is a Business or Creator type connected through Facebook. Personal accounts cannot auto-publish.
When auto-publish is enabled, Later posts your content at the scheduled time automatically. If auto-publish is off (or unavailable for a specific content type), Later sends a push notification to your phone reminding you to post manually.
Linkin.bio Setup
Linkin.bio is Later's link-in-bio tool, which creates a clickable, shoppable landing page that mirrors your Instagram feed. Each post on your Linkin.bio page can link to a different URL, solving Instagram's limitation of only allowing one link in your bio.
To set up Linkin.bio:
- In Later, navigate to Linkin.bio in the left sidebar.
- Click Set Up Linkin.bio if you have not already.
- Customize your Linkin.bio page: add a profile photo, bio text, and featured links (buttons that appear at the top of your page).
- When scheduling Instagram posts in Later, you will see a Linkin.bio field where you can add a URL for that specific post.
- Copy your Linkin.bio URL (it will look like linkin.bio/yourusername) and paste it into your Instagram profile's website field.
When followers tap the link in your Instagram bio, they land on your Linkin.bio page and can tap on any post to visit the associated URL. Linkin.bio is available on Later's free plan with limited features, and on paid plans with additional customization options like custom buttons, banner images, and analytics.
Best Time to Post
Later provides best time to post recommendations based on your audience's activity patterns. This feature is available on paid plans:
- Navigate to Analytics in Later's sidebar.
- Look for the Best Time to Post section.
- Later analyzes when your followers are most active and highlights the optimal time slots on a heat map.
- You can use these suggestions to set your posting schedule and drag content to those recommended times.
The recommendations improve as Later gathers more data from your posting history and audience engagement patterns.
Hashtag Analytics
Later includes hashtag analytics tools on its paid plans to help you optimize your hashtag strategy:
- Hashtag performance: See which hashtags drive the most engagement on your posts.
- Hashtag suggestions: Later can suggest related hashtags based on ones you are already using.
- Saved hashtag groups: Create and save groups of hashtags that you use frequently. Insert an entire group into a caption with one click.
- Hashtag search: Search for hashtags and see their popularity to find the right balance between reach and competition.
A common strategy is to test different hashtag groups on similar content and use Later's analytics to determine which combinations generate the best results.
User-Generated Content
Later includes tools for finding and reposting user-generated content (UGC) on Instagram:
- Search by hashtag or mention: In Later's content tools, you can search for posts that use a specific hashtag or mention your account.
- Save to Media Library: When you find UGC you want to repost, save it to your Media Library directly from Later.
- Credit the creator: When scheduling the repost, always credit the original creator in your caption. Later makes it easy to add the original poster's handle.
UGC features are particularly valuable for brands that encourage customers to share photos with branded hashtags.
Instagram Stories Scheduling
Later supports scheduling Instagram Stories with auto-publish:
- In the Later calendar or composer, select Story as the post type.
- Upload your Story media (image or video up to 15 seconds per Story frame).
- You can schedule multiple Story frames to be published in sequence.
- Add a caption or notes for reference (these will not appear on the Story itself).
- Schedule the Story for your desired date and time.
Note that interactive Story elements like polls, quizzes, question stickers, music, and location tags cannot be added through Later. If you need these, Later will send you a notification and you can add them natively in the Instagram app before posting.
Analytics Overview
Later's Instagram analytics (available on paid plans) include:
- Post performance: Likes, comments, saves, impressions, and reach for each post.
- Profile analytics: Follower growth, profile visits, and website clicks.
- Stories analytics: Views, exits, and replies for Stories.
- Linkin.bio analytics: Click-through rates for each post's Linkin.bio link.
- Audience demographics: Age, gender, and location data for your followers.
Plan Requirements
Later's free plan includes basic Instagram scheduling with a limited number of posts per month. For auto-publish, Linkin.bio with full features, best time to post, hashtag analytics, and detailed performance metrics, you will need a paid plan (Starter, Growth, or Advanced). The number of posts you can schedule per month increases with each tier.
Troubleshooting
- Cannot connect: Verify that your Instagram account is Business or Creator type and linked to a Facebook Page where you are an admin.
- Auto-publish not working: Check that auto-publish is enabled in your profile settings. Also ensure your Facebook Page connection has not expired.
- Media Library upload issues: Later supports JPG, PNG, and MP4 formats. Check file size limits based on your plan.
- Reconnection: If your connection breaks (common when Meta refreshes API tokens), go to Settings, then Social Sets, remove the account, and reconnect following the steps above.
