As a brand, influencer or creator on Instagram, you know how convenient it is to manage your profile in the app and on a device in your pocket. However, if you ever wanted to see it on a bigger screen like your desktop, you probably had to use an external third-party tool.
Head to Instagram Creator Studio, where you can manage accounts with the familiar in-app tools, but on yours Desktop. Plus, a bonus: the ability to schedule posts. This post will walk you through how to use Instagram Creator Studio to manage your profile, from planning content to understanding your analytics to monetizing your content.
What is Instagram Creator Studio?
Instagram Creator Studio allows you to manage your profile and publish and schedule content to be shared later, gain insights into your account, and monetize your content on a desktop website instead of the mobile app. Creator Studio is available to any Instagram user with a Creator or Business account.
In particular, advertisers can use Creator Studio to:
- View all the contents of your account (IGTV, photos, stories, etc.) on a desktop.
- Schedule all of your Instagram content to be published at a later time so you can be active on your feed all the time.
- Understand insights into your profile and posts such as performance metrics, follower data, and interaction type to ensure you’re creating content that your audience likes.
- Eligible accounts with over 10,000 followers can monetize content and manage brand collaborations.
Below we describe everything you need to know in order to use Instagram Creator Studio to manage your profile.
How to Connect Instagram to Creator Studio
Note that you need a work or creator account to use Creator Studio and link your account to a relevant Facebook page. Once you’ve done all of these things, here’s how you can connect your Instagram account to Creator Studio:
1. Go to the Creator Studio website.
2. Select the Instagram icon at the top of the screen (as shown in the image below).
3. Click the green Instagram login button and follow the instructions in the pop-up window to log into your account.
4. As mentioned above, you need to link your account to an appropriate Facebook page. If you haven’t already, follow the on-screen instructions to link one to your account.
As soon as you have successfully linked your account, you can use the platform.
How to use Instagram Creator Studio
You can use Instagram Creator Studio to post content, schedule content, and get insights into your account. Below we explain how to do all of these things.
The first time you connect your account, you will land on the Creator Studio dashboard (as shown in the image below), where you will see an initial overview of your profile content library, including Video, Photo, Carousel, Stories, and IGTV content. You can click specific tabs to view each type of content individually.
Please note that your page should display all of your posts and content; This is only an example.
The menu on the left side of the screen (as shown in the image below) has the following options: Content Library, Calendar, Insights (described below), and Monetization.
Under the tab “Calendar” you can see an overview of the contributions that you have planned for the future. Below we discuss how to schedule posts to appear on the calendar.
You can manage your brand collaborations on the Monetization tab. To access this feature, you need an active public account, 10,000 followers, continuous interaction over the past month, and no history of content violations.
The other tab in the Creator Studio dashboard is the Create a post Button, and we’ll discuss how to use it below.
How to post on Instagram Creator Studio
1. Click the green one Create a post in the top left corner of the Creator Studio menu as shown in the image below and select the type of post you are creating: Instagram Feed or IGTV.
2. When you select Instagram Feed you should see the pop-up shown in the image below. Upload the photo you want to post and add a description of your picture.
3. If you want to turn off comments on your post, select the Advanced settings on the right side of your screen and turn on the Deactivate comment function Button in the on position.
Add alt text in Instagram Creator Studio
The accessibility features in the Instagram app are also available in Creator Studio. To add alt text to your content, follow the steps above to upload your preferred content type.
Before you post or schedule a post on your Instagram feed, navigate to the Accessibility section on the Advanced Settings tab as highlighted in the image below and add your alt text.
4. When you are happy with your upload, choose the blue one Publish Button at the bottom right of the pop-up window.
To upload an IGTV video to Creator Studio, do the following:
1. Click the green one Create a post in the upper left corner of the Creator Studio dashboard and select IGTV from the drop-down menu. You should see the pop-up window shown in the image below with an upload, title and description field.
2. Upload your favorite video and add a title and description.
3. If you want to share the IGTV video in your feed, select the check box Share preview to feed under the Choose where you want the title of your post to appear.
4. Select the cover photo Tab on the right side of your screen and choose whether you want Instagram to create an auto-generated image, upload your custom frame, or use a video frame preview.
6. When you are satisfied with your selection, click the blue one Publish Button at the bottom right of your screen to share your post on Instagram.
The steps above will help you share a post on Instagram right after it’s uploaded. Here’s how to upload your content and schedule it to be published to Creator Studio later.
How to schedule posts in Instagram Creator Studio
To schedule a post in Instagram Creator Studio, follow the same steps as if you were uploading content to your Instagram feed or an IGTV video. Then,
1. Navigate to the blue Publish button in the lower right corner of the screen and select the down arrow.
2. Follow the on-screen instructions in the pop-up window and select the date and time you want your post to be published.
3. When you’re satisfied, click the blue Schedule button and schedule your contribution. You should then see a list of your scheduled posts in your content library, as shown in the image below.
After you’ve shared your content, you’ll want to understand the success of your content based on your insights. Below we explain what insights you can get and how you can access them.
How to Get Insights from Instagram Creator Studio
The Creator Studio Insights tab provides more information about your audience and how they are interacting with your posts. Here are the specific metrics you will get:
- Audience: Information about your followers and their gender, age group and location (top countries and cities). They will also see when they are most active so you can schedule your posts when they are most active on the platform.
- Activity: Information about how people interact with your account. This includes the reach of your posts, the number of impressions they get, and the actions taken by users (website clicks, taps to get directions, etc.).
1. Select the Insights on the right side of the Creator Studio dashboard, as shown in the image below.
2. Choose either activity or audience from the drop down menu.
3. Navigate through one of the two tabs to learn more about engagement with activities on your profile.
For example, if you select Activity, you should see the number of actions taken on your account over seven days, including website visits, profile visits, emails, accounts reached, and overall impressions. The image below is an example of an Insight into Creator Studio Activity page.
If you select Audience, you’ll see a bar chart with a breakdown by age and gender of your followers if they’re active on the app, as well as two location breakdowns.
Instagram Creator Studio offers a unique feature not available in the mobile app: posting scheduling. If you want to switch from managing to a desktop only on your mobile device, use the tips in this list to get started using the tool.
