How to Schedule a Reel on Instagram

Scheduling your Instagram Reels in advance is one of the best ways to stay consistent, save time, and post content when your audience is most likely to see it. Thankfully, the days of setting alarms to post a Reel in real time are over. This guide will walk you through exactly how to schedule a Reel on Instagram using both the native in-app feature and other tools designed to make your social media workflow smoother.

Why Should You Schedule Instagram Reels?

Before getting into the step-by-step instructions, it helps to understand why this is a must-do practice for any serious creator or brand. Scheduling isn't just about convenience, it's a strategic move that directly impacts your growth and sanity.

• Maintain Consistency: Consistency is the single most important factor for success on Instagram. The algorithm rewards accounts that post regularly. Scheduling allows you to build a content pipeline and maintain a steady posting cadence without last-minute scrambling.
• Reclaim Your Time with Batching: The most efficient creators don't create and post on the same day. They "batch" their work - filming several Reels in one session, editing them in another, and then scheduling them all at once. This frees up your creative energy and gives you back hours every week.
• Post at Optimal Times: Your audience isn't always online when you are. Scheduling allows you to publish content at peak engagement hours - even if that’s late at night or early in the morning - to maximize your reach and interaction from the moment your Reel goes live.
• Improve Content Quality: When you aren't rushing to post, you have more time to refine your captions, research relevant hashtags, and double-check your video for any errors. Scheduling removes the pressure of on-the-spot posting, leading to higher-quality content overall.

Method 1: How to Schedule Reels Directly Within the Instagram App

Instagram now offers a native scheduling feature for professional accounts (Business or Creator). It’s a straightforward method that’s perfect for scheduling on the go right from your phone. The current limit allows you to schedule content up to 75 days in advance.

Here’s how to do it step-by-step:

Step 1: Create Your Reel as Usual

Start by creating your Reel just as you normally would. Open the Instagram app, tap the "+" icon, and select 'Reel'. You can either record a new video or upload pre-edited clips from your phone's gallery. Add your audio, text overlays, filters, stickers, and any other creative effects.

Step 2: Proceed to the Final Share Screen

Once you are happy with how your Reel looks, tap 'Next' to move to the final screen where you write your caption, tag people, and add your location. Do all of this now - craft your caption, add relevant hashtags, choose a cover photo, and tag any accounts or products.

Step 3: Open 'Advanced Settings'

Scroll down to the bottom of the Share screen. You’ll see an option labeled ‘Advanced Settings’. Tap on it. This is where several important features are located, including the scheduling tool.

Step 4: Locate and Enable the Scheduling Option

Inside the Advanced Settings menu, you will see a 'Schedule' section with a toggle. The option will read ‘Schedule this Reel’. Tapping it will open the scheduling calendar.

Step 5: Pick Your Date and Time

A calendar and clock viewer will pop up. First, select the date you want your Reel to be published. Next, set the exact time. Instagram defaults to whole hours, but you can manually adjust the minutes for a specific publishing time like 9:17 AM. Once you’ve chosen your desired date and time, tap ‘Set Time’.

Step 6: Finish and Schedule

After setting the time, you'll be taken back to the Advanced Settings menu. Hit the back arrow to return to the main Share screen. You’ll now see your chosen date and time listed next to the 'Schedule' option. All that’s left is to tap the blue ‘Schedule’ button at the bottom of the screen. Your Reel is now saved and will post automatically at the time you selected.

To view or reschedule your scheduled content, go to your profile, tap the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines), and select 'Scheduled content'.

Method 2: How to Schedule Reels Using Meta Business Suite

If you manage a business presence on both Facebook and Instagram, Meta Business Suite is a more robust, desktop-friendly tool for scheduling content. It provides a more comprehensive view of your content across both platforms.

Here’s the process for scheduling through Business Suite:

Step 1: Log in to Meta Business Suite

Navigate to business.facebook.com on your desktop browser. Select the correct account if you manage more than one. You can also do this from the Business Suite mobile app, but the desktop interface is generally easier to work with.

Step 2: Start a New Reel

From the main dashboard, click the 'Create Reel' button. A creation window will pop up. Make sure your Instagram account is selected (along with your Facebook Page, if you want to post there simultaneously).

Step 3: Upload Your Video and Edit Details

Click ‘Add video’ to upload your Reel from your computer. From here, you can add your caption and up to 30 hashtags. Business Suite even gives you trending hashtag suggestions, which can be useful. You can also choose your thumbnail or upload a custom cover image.

Step 4: Customize for Each Platform (Optional)

One of the benefits of Business Suite is the ability to tweak your content for both Instagram and Facebook. If you're posting to both, you can adjust the caption for each platform to better match the respective audience.

Step 5: Access the Scheduling Options

Once your content is ready, look for the scheduling options at the bottom of the creation window. Instead of clicking 'Publish', click the dropdown arrow next to it and select ‘Schedule’.

Step 6: Choose Your Date and Time

A calendar prompt will appear. Meta Business Suite will often suggest ‘Active Times’ - two or three time slots when your followers have been most active historically. You can choose one of these recommended times or manually select your own date and time. After you’ve made your selection, click ‘Save’.

Step 7: Confirm the Schedule

After saving, you’ll be taken back to the main composer window. The blue button at the bottom should now say 'Schedule'. Click it one final time, and your Reel will be added to your content calendar in the ‘Planner’ section of Business Suite.

Beyond Native Tools: The Advantages of a Social Media Management Platform

While the native scheduling options are a great start, they come with limitations. They work in a silo - you can only manage Instagram (or in the case of Meta Suite, just Meta platforms). For creators and businesses managing a presence across TikTok, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn, and more, juggling separate schedulers becomes a new kind of headache. This is where dedicated social media management platforms come in.

Using a centralized tool designed for modern social media has some major advantages:

• All Your Platforms in One Place: The biggest benefit is the ability to schedule Reels, TikToks, YouTube Shorts, and posts for every other platform from one dashboard. You upload your video once and can post it everywhere.
• A True Visual Calendar: Unlike the simple list view in the Instagram app, dedicated platforms offer a complete visual content calendar. You can see your entire month's content at a glance, spot gaps in your schedule, and easily drag-and-drop posts to reschedule them.
• Rock-Solid Reliability: Native schedulers can sometimes be finicky. Dedicated platforms are built with reliability as their top priority, ensuring your posts go live exactly when they are supposed to, every time, and that your account connections don't break.
• Deeper Analytics: Get a holistic view of your performance across all platforms. Understand which content formats are performing best and what your audience is responding to without having to piece together reports from five different apps. For example, you can easily analyze Instagram Reels performance.
• Centralized Community Management: Manage comments and replies for all your scheduled Reels and posts from one unified inbox. No more hopping between apps to reply to your community.

For anyone serious about building a brand on social media, moving to a centralized platform is a total game-changer for workflow and strategy.

Final Thoughts

Scheduling your Instagram Reels is a fundamental practice for gaining back time, posting consistently, and growing your account strategically. Whether you use the simple in-app feature or a more advanced planner like Meta Business Suite, getting your content planned and scheduled ahead of time will elevate your management process immensely.

Here at Postbase, we built our platform because we believe managing social media today shouldn't be so complicated. We designed a tool from the ground up specifically for video-first content like Reels, TikToks, and Shorts. With a clean visual calendar, rock-solid scheduling you can trust, and a unified inbox for all your platforms, our goal is to give you a simple, modern tool that just works, letting you focus on creating great content instead of fighting with your software.