Guides / Scheduling

How to Schedule Instagram Stories: Step-by-Step Guide

Instagram Stories disappear after 24 hours, so a steady flow of stories needs a plan. This guide shows how to prepare story media, schedule it, and let it publish automatically.

Updated October 29, 2026

Why schedule Instagram Stories

A story stays on your profile for 24 hours. After that, it leaves the story tray. It stays visible only if you add it to a Highlight.

If you post stories by hand, you must be at your phone at the right moment. A scheduling tool solves that problem. It publishes the story at the time you choose, and you can be busy with other work.

When you schedule stories, you can:

  • Prepare a full week of stories in one session.
  • Publish at times when your audience is online, even when you are not.
  • Keep a regular rhythm, so followers see new stories on the days they expect.

What you need first

Automatic story publishing uses the official Instagram API. This API works only with professional accounts. Before you schedule your first story, make sure that you have these items:

  • An Instagram Business or Creator account. You can switch a personal account to a professional account in the Instagram app settings, at no cost.
  • A Facebook Page with a link to that Instagram account.
  • Story media in a vertical 9:16 format.

Storylink guides you through the account switch and the Facebook Page link during onboarding.

Prepare your story media

Instagram shows stories full screen on a vertical phone. Use a 9:16 frame, for example 1080 × 1920 pixels. Media in other shapes can appear with bars or with cropped edges.

Keep text and important details away from the top and bottom edges. Instagram puts the profile name at the top of a story and the reply bar at the bottom.

Storylink accepts these files for a story:

  • Images: JPEG or PNG, up to 30 MB each.
  • Videos: MP4 or MOV, up to 500 MB each.
  • Up to 5 slides in one scheduled story. Each slide publishes as a separate story, one after the other.

If a video is not vertical, Storylink can adjust it to 9:16 for you. Storylink can also split a long video of up to 5 minutes into shorter parts. Each part then publishes as its own slide.

Plan a week of stories

A short plan makes the scheduling step fast. Before you upload anything, write a list of the stories for the week.

  1. Choose one goal for each story, for example a product, an offer, or a moment from your work day.
  2. Give each story a day and a time.
  3. Make or collect the media for each story.
  4. Write the web address for each story that must link to a page.

Put related slides into one story sequence. A sequence with a clear order is easier to follow than many unrelated single slides.

Examine public holidays and local events before you fix the dates. A holiday can change when your followers use Instagram, and it can also give you a reason for a special story.

Choose a time

No single time works best for every account. The right time depends on where your followers live and when they use Instagram.

Start with times when your audience is likely to be awake and free, such as early morning, lunch, or evening. Then compare the results of each story and adjust your times.

Schedule in the time zone of your audience. If your followers live in a different time zone, convert the time before you schedule. For a full method, read how to find the best time to post Instagram Stories.

After the story publishes

A story is live for 24 hours. During that time, Instagram counts its views, reach, replies, and shares.

Record these numbers before the story expires. The Instagram API gives story metrics only while the story is live. After the 24-hour window, a tool that did not save the numbers cannot show them.

To learn what each number means, read Instagram story insights explained.