📹 How To Schedule Single Image Story Posts To Instagram

Also, check out our steps for posting single-video and multi-image Story Posts.

Instagram Stories are like a trusty sidekick that helps you not only link up and get cozy with your dream audience but also do it in a super authentic way 🚀📸

And creating and scheduling an Instagram Story takes just a few steps in SmarterQueue 💪

For your Business Profiles, you'll be able to directly publish (⚡), while your Creator and Personal Profiles posts will require our quick notification workflow (🔔) via the SmarterQueue Mobile App. 

The App will show your posts as soon as they've reached their scheduled posting times, and a notification has been received, so you can finalize posting. 

Note: You can easily convert your Personal Profile into a Business one to directly publish your Instagram Single Video Story Posts, as well as many others, such as Video/Reels or Carousels.

In This Article

Video Walkthrough

How To Create Your Instagram Single Image Story Post In SmarterQueue

With SmarterQueue you can easily create and publish Instagram single-image Story posts.

1. Click "Create a Post" to open the Post Editor.

2. Next, choose a Category.

Note: Be sure to select a Category you've enabled for your Instagram Profile!

3. Then select the Instagram Profile you'd like to create a post for.

Note: Instagram Profiles marked with a lightning glyph (⚡) have "Direct Publishing Enabled" in the Profiles section, while Instagram Profiles that will publish via the notification workflow will be marked with a bell glyph (🔔), making it easy to figure things out. That said, keep in mind that Story posts can only be published directly on Business Profiles.

Note: In this example, we selected Business, Creator and Personal Instagram profiles. For the Personal Profile we're unable to see the profile picture. Read more about the benefits of switching to and using a Creator or Business profile.

4. You will now see an option to select the "Instagram Post Type". Select "Story".

This will update the Preview pane on the right-hand side to show your future Post in the Story format. 

Note: Switching to Story not only ensures the posts are published correctly, but will also change how your content is displayed when using the Visual Instagram Planner. Stories will show above your feed inside of circle icons instead of crowding the feed. They will also be displayed as Story posts in the Queue, to help you easily keep track of things.  

  1. Under "Instagram Publishing Method", select how you'd like your content to publish - directly or via a notification workflow.

By default, all posts will use “⚡ Attempt Direct Publishing”. Leaving this on will ensure that SmarterQueue will try to directly publish your post where possible. No worries, if that's not possible due to the type of Instagram Profile or media, we'll fall back to the notification workflow.

You can also select “🔔 Get a Reminder” to publish manually, even where direct publishing is possible, just in case you'd like to add a caption, crop the image, zoom in or out, apply any stickers, filters, or use any other fun effects before publishing!

Note: Based on your selection, types of Instagram Profiles you've selected, as well as the type of post you're creating, you'll notice helpful messages explaining how your content will publish.

  1. Write your caption.

Note: Instagram Stories that are published directly will not include the caption! If you want to include a caption in your Story, choose the “🔔 Get a Reminder” publishing method.

Note: If you choose "⚡ Attempt Direct-Publishing" for a Story post with a text caption, the text will be displayed in red in the Queue with a red triangle to notify you that the caption will not be published. The Story will be directly published without the caption, or you can switch to “🔔 Get a Reminder” and publish it through the SmarterQueue mobile app.

7. Now add your media.

NOTE: Keep in mind that 9:16 (tall) is the optimal size for Story posts. Any image between 9:16 (tall) and 1.91:1 (wide) will directly publish, but images that aren't the optimal size can be cropped or zoomed in by Instagram when the post goes out.

8. Once you're done creating your post, choose your "Post Timing" and "Evergreen Post Recycling" settings and save the post to your Queue.

Note: While in the Queue, you will be able to spot your Instagram Stories right away, as they appear as circle icons. 

How To Directly Publish Your Single Image Story Post To Business Profiles

Here's what you need to do to ensure that your Single Image Story Post directly publishes:

1. Make sure your Instagram Profile type is eligible.

Publishing directly only works with Business Profiles that are connected to a Facebook Page:

  • If you have a Personal or Creator profile, we recommend converting it to a Business one instead.
  • If you already have a Business Profile, make sure that it's connected to a Facebook Page.

2. Enable direct publishing in the Profiles section.

3. Set your posts to attempt direct publishing in the Post Editor.

By default, all posts will be set to “⚡ Attempt Direct Publishing” under "Instagram Publishing Method" in the Post Editor. Leaving this on will ensure that SmarterQueue will try to directly publish your post where possible.

Note: Keep in mind that images should be between 9:16 (tall) and 1.91:1 (wide) to ensure that you will be able to directly publish without any changes. If the image is too tall, the Story will be cropped to 9:16. If it is too wide, the Story post will be cropped to 9:16, with black bars at top/bottom.

How To Publish Your Single Image Story Post Via The SmarterQueue iOS App

If your post is set to go out via our quick notification workflow (🔔), make sure to download the SmarterQueue Mobile App for your iOS device, enable notifications, and check the steps below to easily publish your Story posts 💪

1. When it's time to post your Story you'll receive a push notification on your mobile device. Tap it to open the app.

Note: You'll want to ensure that you're logged into the Instagram profile you want to publish the post to first. 

2. Tap the corresponding Post to view the preview (this step might be skipped automatically if you access the SmarterQueue Mobile App through the notification).   

3. Tap "Post To Instagram".

Note: Your caption will be copied to the clipboard

4. Your image will then automatically be opened inside the Instagram app where you can then tap "Story" 💪

5. You can now use the stories editor to paste your caption back in, apply any stickers, additional text, filters, or other fun effects before publishing!

5. Congratulations, your Story post is now live! ✨

How To Publish Your Single Image Story Post Via The SmarterQueue Android App

If your post is set to go out via our quick notification workflow (🔔), make sure to download the SmarterQueue Mobile App for your Android device, enable notifications, and check the steps below:

1. When it's time to post your Story you'll receive a push notification on your mobile device. Tap it to open the SmarterQueue Mobile App.

Note: You'll want to ensure that you're logged into the Instagram profile you want to publish the post to first. 

2. Tap the corresponding Post to view the preview (this step might be skipped automatically if you access the SmarterQueue Mobile App through the notification).   

3. Tap "Post To Instagram".

Your caption will be copied to the clipboard!

4. Your image will then be pulled directly into the Instagram app.

You can now use the stories editor to paste your caption back in, apply any stickers, additional text, filters, or other fun effects before publishing!

Once you're done, publish your Story! 

5. Congratulations, your Story post is now live! ✨

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