Dive Brief:

• Instagram will begin supporting social media marketing platform Buffer, according to Fortune.

• Buffer will allow users to schedule Instagram posts in advance, although they will still have to push the post live manually.

• Via Buffer’s desktop or mobile interface, marketers will now be able to create an Instagram post and schedule a reminder to push the post live at a set time.

Dive Insight:

Instagram doesn’t allow for third-party applications to post to the platform, so Buffer's new features are about as close as marketers can get. 

The integration gives Buffer users a measure of control over Instagram campaigns by allowing them to create posts in bulk and then schedule for when those posts should go live, rather than handling all the creative at the time of the posting.

Buffer Founder and COO Leo Widrich told Tech.Co: “Buffer for Instagram will support planning Instagram posts in advance from the web, an iOS device, or an Android device. When the time comes around for the post to go out, Buffer sends a push notification to whichever device has been connected. That reminder contains a preview of the Instagram post and takes the user right to Instagram with their photo pre-filled and ready to post.”​

Buffer users will also get access to analytics on the posts, such as the number of likes, comments, follower growth and other audience engagement stats.

Instagram has become more marketer-friendly in the last year. Advertising on the Instagram bears an increasing similarity to advertising on Facebook, from a shared ad platform to similar ad formats. Instagram also recently rolled out business pages for the first time, offering brands more control than the standard personal page.