How to Schedule Social Media Posts in 2023

Using a social media scheduler to plan and share your content is the best way to save time, stay organized, and post consistently. 

You can plan all of your posts (for Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok) from one centralized dashboard, and schedule them ahead of time.

When it's time to post, the social media scheduling tool does all the hard work for you.

Here's how to schedule social media posts in advance — say hello to work-free evenings and weekends! 🎉

Why You Should Schedule Social Media Posts in Advance

Scheduling social media posts in advance comes with tons of benefits. Here are just a few of them:

Reason #1: Save Time (and Set Work-life Boundaries)

Manually posting all of your social content can be a time-consuming process, especially when you have other business tasks to check off your list. 

But when you schedule all of your content in advance, you save tons of time. 

It leaves room to focus on other tasks like building out your monthly report, creating content, or diving into your analytics. 

Plus, it means that when you close your laptop for the day, you can actually log off. No late-night posting required.

Reason #2: Post Consistently Across All Platforms 

Ask any social media manager or creator, and they’ll say one key reason for their success is having a consistent social media posting cadence. 

While it doesn’t have to be every day (we know that’s not always realistic!), it’s important to post content throughout the week that your audience can engage with. 

Plus, with scheduling, you can ensure that you’re posting to all important channels and no platform gets left behind.

Reason #3: Keep Your Content Calendar Organized 

Another reason for scheduling your social media posts? 

To keep your content calendar organized! 

When you use one content calendar, you’ll have a holistic view of all your content. See all of your upcoming Tweets, Pins, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok posts in one dashboard.

Having it all in one place helps you spot any gaps or opportunities for the upcoming weeks. 

It’s an easy (and effective) way to make sure you aren’t posting for the sake of posting, and that your content is always on point across all channels.

How to Schedule Social Media Posts

Some social media platforms have their own built-in social media scheduling tools — but it's easier and more efficient to use a single app, like Later, to schedule all your social media posts.

Here’s how to get started: 

Step #1: Connect Your Social Profiles

With Later, you can schedule posts for every major social platform: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Pinterest. 

To connect your social profiles, log on to Later on the web, head to your Settings and go to “Social Sets & Access Groups.”

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Select “Add Social Profile” and then press the “+” for the social platform you want to connect. You will then be prompted to complete the necessary steps per platform.

Step #2: Upload Media to Media Library 

Drag photos and videos from your desktop, Dropbox, or Google Drive and drop them directly into your Later Media Library. 

You can also upload media by clicking “Upload Media” on the left-hand side of the Later dashboard.

Step #3: Select the Social Media Platforms You Want to Schedule Content On

Next, pick which social media platforms you want to schedule your post for.

If you want to schedule a post to one channel, check off that single platform at the top of your calendar.

You can also schedule one piece of content to multiple platforms at once — simply press the check icon for each platform.

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NOTE: Multi-profile scheduling can only be done through Later on the web and Later's iOS app (not available on Android).

Step #4: Drag the Content You Want to Schedule from Your Media Library Onto Your Calendar

Drag and drop the content you'd like to schedule (an image, multiple images, or a video) from your Media Library onto the content calendar. 

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If you're scheduling to multiple platforms, select “Customize 2 Posts” to change the captions and hashtags, crop the media for the specific platform, and set the publishing time for each channel.

Step #5: Optimize Your Social Media Posts

Write your caption, include emojis (if applicable), and insert relevant hashtags to help maximize your reach and engagement. 

With Later’s Saved Captions tool, you can save caption templates or curated lists of hashtags that mirror your content themes and add them to your caption drafts in one click.

Tap “Edit Image” or “Edit Video” to add some additional design elements to your post.

You can also use the crop tool to can make sure your content meets each social platform’s approved dimension sizes. 

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Step #6: Schedule Your Post

Once your post is optimized for the relevant social platform, set the date and time you want your post to go live. 

Click “Save” — and voilà!

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For Auto Publish posts, your post will go live at your set time. For Notification posts, you will receive everything you need when it's time to post via the Later mobile app.

Ready to improve your social media workflows? Join the millions of other users using Later and get started today — for free!

5 Best Practices for Scheduling Social Media Posts

Scheduling social media posts is a major time-saver in its own right, but these five best practices will make your life even easier, too.

#1: Organize Your Media 

Rather than storing your photos and videos on several different devices, use Later’s Media Library to keep all your content stored, labeled, and accessible from a single place — even when you’re on the go.

Think of it as a home for all of your social content. Plus, you can label, star, and segment your content so that you can find exactly what you need, when you need it.

You can upload and store as many photos and videos as you like — there’s no limit!

#2: Use Notes as Content Placeholders

Did you know that if you right-click on the Later content calendar, you can add a note?

Just like a post-it note, Later’s Calendar Notes feature helps you bookmark editorial moments before you have your media ready — which is great for forward planning and keeping everyone on the same page.

Got a last-minute influencer campaign coming up but no content yet? Pop a note in the calendar to avoid any unwanted calendar clashes.

Plus, you can easily rearrange your notes by dragging and dropping them on the weekly calendar view, making it easy to switch things up on the fly.

Want to learn more? Here are our top 4 ways to use the Calendar Notes feature for your brand or business.

#3: Share a Preview With Your Stakeholders

If you have to get your social content approved before sharing, Later’s Share Calendar feature is a game-changer. 

No logins, accounts, or training needed — just one shareable link with a preview of your Instagram feed aesthetic and a view of your scheduled posts (media, caption, date & time).

#4: Preview Your Instagram Feed in Advance

Make sure your Instagram aesthetic is always on point by using Later's free Visual Planner tool before you post. 

You can rearrange your posts directly in the Visual Planner on desktop or mobile to find the perfect balance for your grid. 

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When you’re happy with how your feed looks, click “Save Changes.” Your posts’ dates and times will automatically update based on their new order. Easy. 

Later’s Visual Planner helps keep your profile looking on point. And the best part? It’s free.

#5: Curate Lists of Hashtags and Keywords You Can Add in One Click

Adding hashtags and keywords to your captions is still one of the best ways to increase your exposure in 2023.

With Later’s Saved Captions, you can create curated lists of high-performing hashtags and keywords that you can add to captions in seconds. You can even organize them by topics and social platforms.

TIP: Use Later’s Hashtag Suggestions feature when you need to source new hashtags for your posts. We recommend typing in niche community-orientated hashtags with less than 100k hashtags to get the best results.