Labels and Notes

Before diving into publishing, you probably want to take a second to organize all that fresh, new content with Labels and Notes. Setting yourself up for success will take a couple minutes upfront, but once you do, scheduling will be quick and straightforward.

Labels are a great tool to organize content based on color, mood, product, or anything else.

To add and edit Labels:

1. Navigate to Media Library
2. Select MANAGE next to My Labels
3. Add a Label to the text box and select + to add
4. Select Done or click the X in the top right to exit

Here, you can also delete, search, or rearrange Labels so they continue to suit your needs.

Adding Labels can be done individually or in bulk. To Label multiple media items, select all the content you’d like to Label from your Media Library, click Label on the top right, then select any and all Labels you want to apply.

To Label a single photo or video, select the item and either apply a Label that’s already set up or add a new one.

Media notes are another great way to organize and prepare your content for publishing. Like Labels, it takes a little work at first but it’s worth it in the long run.

Notes are attached to specific media items, making them an easy way to communicate information with teammates, draft captions, or save hashtags. When you schedule a media item for publishing, your note will automatically be added as the post’s caption.

Add Notes from the side library on the Calendar page or from the Media Library.

To add a new Note:

1. Select a media item
2. Click EDIT
3. Add your note or caption
4. Select Update

TIP: If you get stuck trying to manage your notes, check out this quick guide on Media Notes.

Auto Publish or notification publish

With Later, publishing to Instagram is easy and convenient — schedule with Later on the web or on the go from mobile. Now that you have media uploaded, head to the Calendar to schedule some posts.

There are two main publishing methods: Auto Publish and notification publish. Notification publishing can be used for all accepted media types and all Instagram profiles.

Auto Publishing to Instagram is only available for business profiles and single image or video posts. Due to limitations from the Instagram API, Multi-Image posts and Instagram Stories cannot be Auto Published.

To publish your post through notifications , you will need to have access to the Later mobile app. When it’s time to publish, a notification will be sent to your mobile device from the app. When you open the notification, the media will be automatically saved to your camera roll and the caption will be copied to your clipboard.

All that’s left to do is open the Instagram app, select your media, and paste in the caption. Then, you’re ready to publish!

Refreshing credentials

Every once in a while you may need to refresh your social profile credentials with Later, including after setting up Auto Publish. These credentials are how Later and Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest interact with each other.

Your credentials will need to be updated every two months. They may also expire if you change your Instagram or Facebook passwords or if unusual activity is suspected (as a security measure).

To refresh your credentials:

1. Open your Settings
2. Select Social Sets & Access Groups and then Details
3. Click Refresh next to the social profile you want to refresh
4. Login to the social network using that platform’s username and password

If nothing happens after selecting Refresh, ensure all pop-up blockers are disabled before trying again.

Improve your post’s performance

Gone are the days when Instagram marketing was just image posts and captions. Using Later, you can optimize your posts to have a wide reach while, most importantly, targeting the right audience.

Tagging users and locations

Tagging relevant accounts and locations will share your post with other people and increase its discoverability. Any users or locations tagged in scheduled Auto Publish posts will be included when it’s published.

To tag users:

1. Select +Tag People
2. Type username (without a @)
3. Set tag placement on image
4. Click Save User Tag
5. Optional: tag additional users
6. Select Done

Note: Tagged users must have a public Instagram account.

To tag a location:

1. Click Tag Location near the bottom left of the pop-up
2. Begin typing the location name
3. Select from the list of suggestions

Keep in mind that you can only apply one location tag per post. To remove a location tag, click the location button again and select Remove Location.

Saved Captions

With Saved Captions you can draft captions in advance when creativity strikes. Use Saved Captions to standardize posts and keep your written content organized. They can be slotted into post captions or First Comment, making them a great way to save high performing hashtags, too.

To create a new Saved Caption from a post:

1. Open Saved Captions
2. Click + in the top right corner
3. Add a title and a caption
4. Select Save Caption

You can search, edit, or delete Saved Captions from here, too.

Best Time To Post

Like many things in life, marketing is all about timing. Sharing content with your audience at just the right moment can impact who engages and how. The Best Time To Post feature inspects your top Instagram posts for high-performing days and times and adds them directly into your Calendar.

To enable Best Time To Post:

1. Head to the Calendar
2. In the top right corner, click the gear to open Calendar Settings
3. Turn on Best Time to Post
4. Select Update Settings

It may take a little time — up to an hour — for your Best Time To Post to be calculated. Once Best Time To Post is enabled, the Calendar page will need to be refreshed. The Best Time To Post suggestions will be highlighted in the week view on the Calendar once it’s ready to go.

Note: Best Time To Post is only available on Later Business accounts with at least 50 posts in the past 6 months. Learn more about Best Time To Post with this article.

Visual Instagram Planner

Ever wanted to see how your posts will look on your feed before you publish? Plan your profile’s aesthetic with Visual Instagram Planner.

Your Instagram profile is like a website for new followers and potential customers. You want to communicate who you are and what you do with a quick glance and scroll. Most importantly, you want an aesthetic that is well planned, polished, and on-brand.

Visual Instagram Planner will show you a preview of how your content will appear on your profile. It also allows you to drag and drop scheduled posts to arrange the perfect look.

Head to the Calendar page and select Preview to launch Visual Instagram Planner.

To use Visual Instagram Planner:

1. Select media from the side library
2. Click Add to Preview or drag and drop the media on to the Visual Planner
3. Rearrange media by dragging it to the preferred position
4. Delete media by selecting the x in the top right corner of the image
5. Click Save Changes

The day and time of the publishing schedule is on the right side of your screen. When scheduling with Visual Instagram Planner, posts will be set to notification publishing even if you have Auto Publish enabled. Edit the publishing method, captions, and other details from the Calendar view.

Some things to keep in mind:

• Posts that are already published to Instagram cannot be rearranged
• Only 60 posts can be shown at one time on Visual Instagram Planner
• Published posts cannot be deleted from Visual Instagram Planner
• Notes added to media before scheduling with Visual Instagram Planner will be automatically converted to captions

Scheduling to multiple networks

Publishing media to all your social networks is a great way to build brand and trust. When done right, your audience will begin to expect consistent and platform-specific content. To save time with Later, you can schedule media across multiple networks at once while adding the necessary edits to make it really pop.

To schedule for multiple social networks:

1. Click + on the Social Set icon for each network you’d like to schedule to
2. Select the media item you wish to schedule from the side library
3. Drag it to the Calendar
4. Drop on the day and time you wish to publish the posts
5. Edit the posts for each social network in the pop up

Every network has its own quirks and it’s important to optimize each post for maximum engagement. Some things to keep in mind when scheduling posts to other social networks:

• Publishing to Pinterest requires a board to be selected
• Cropping media to each platform’s size with the editing wizard
• You can add text to images when editing

Navigating the world of social media marketing doesn’t have to be complicated. If you’re unsure about what to post to each network, check out this guide. It’ll walk you through how to set up a cross-platform social media plan that targets your ideal audience.