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Laptop stories are faster stories.
Over the past few years, social media burnout has become more and more common among Instagram marketing professionals. In a job that requires social media managers to always be “on,” it can be difficult to put the phone down and unplug.
If you ask any social media manager, they’ll probably tell you they could use some time away from their Instagram accounts every now and then. In fact, taking ”technology breaks” or space away from our smartphones is downright necessary. It’s been shown to improve productivity, mindfulness, and even lead to better sleep! Learning to post on Instagram from your computer is an excellent way to help you turn your phone off and avoid the constant ping of notifications from various social media platforms.
Learning how to post on Instagram from a PC or Mac can also free up hours in your workflow and give you more flexibility. And what social media manager wouldn’t want that?
Keep reading to learn how to better protect your time and streamline your workflow by creating and scheduling IG Stories from your laptop.
Why Instagram Stories Are Valuable For Your Business
Before we get into the nitty gritty of how to make an Instagram Story from your laptop or desktop, it’s worth discussing why Instagram Stories are an absolute must for your small business.
The Instagram platform has received a lot of criticism over the past few years for promoting an overly curated and somewhat unrealistic picture of reality. If the popularity of TikTok has been any indicator, social media users are increasingly craving authenticity and a less polished, more human look at their favorite brands.
One of the best ways to show off a more real and organic side of your business is through Instagram Stories. IG Stories are a vital part of any social media marketer’s Instagram strategy - or at least they should be - and can add value to your business in multiple ways:
Can you post to Instagram from a Mac or PC?
The short answer is yes, but there are limitations.
In October 2021, Instagram announced that users could now create and publish posts to the browser version of the app. While this was welcome news to social media managers, the downside was that this new browser version didn’t include the ability to post Instagram Stories.
At present you cannot post Instagram Stories, Reels, or start a Live video without using the Instagram mobile app.
Thankfully, there’s a workaround! This is one of those tricks that feels illegal to know and makes you feel a bit like a hacker while executing.
Below, we’ll show you two different ways to create and post Instagram Stories right from your computer.
Option 1: Post Instagram Stories Through Your Mac or PC’s Web Browser
To create an Instagram Story from your laptop or desktop, follow these simple steps (screenshots included):
When you log in and look at the top-left corner, you’ll see there isn’t currently an option to upload directly to your story from the home page. But we can fix that!
Alternatively, you can also open this window by right clicking anywhere on the screen and clicking Inspect.
You should see a screen open that looks like this:
Presto! You should see a little + sign pop up next to your Instagram profile picture indicating that you can now upload your story.
Don’t forget to change your browser back to Responsive mode when you’re done to make sure that your webpages run normally again.
Option 2: Schedule Instagram Stories Using a Third-Party App Like Sked Social
Using this method might make you feel like a tech-savvy computer whiz. But for day-to-day posting, it’s not very practical. That’s where Instagram scheduling tools—like Sked—can make this process quicker and easier.
Our all-in-one Instagram tool lets you schedule and auto-post Instagram Stories from your computer with ease! The days of sitting by your phone waiting for annoying reminder notifications are behind you. You can even schedule feed posts alongside your stories to complete your social media marketing strategy.
Not only does Sked Social allow you to post Instagram Stories from your Mac or PC, it also allows you to cross-post your best Instagram content across other social networks like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and more - with only a few clicks!
Here’s how to auto-schedule Instagram Stories using Sked Social:
Don’t have an account with us yet? Start scheduling your Stories with our 7-day free trial.
Collaborate effortlessly, save time and spend less
Why settle for a lackluster social media management tool when you could be using Sked Social? With unlimited collaborator access, streamlined approvals and advanced auto-post technology that lets you schedule to all major platforms, Sked Social offers everything you need.
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Pro Tip: When it comes to Instagram Stories, size matters! For best results, Instagram recommends using the resolution of 1080w x 1920h, which suits most phones.
Note that some older phone models like the iPhone 11 don’t have a full 1080 pixels in width. This means that Instagram might crop, resize or resample the image to display on devices in ways that are out of your control. And we don’t want that.
To avoid the risk of Instagram cropping important components like texts or logos out of the frame, follow our handy sizing guide when designing assets for Instagram Stories:
You’ll also want to avoid compression of your story, which can happen when your file size is too high for the Instagram platform. This can result in your text or images looking fuzzy - not ideal.
To keep your images and text looking crisp and clean, make sure to:
- Use the Recommended Resolution: Stick to the 1080 pixels wide by 1920 pixels high resolution to ensure optimal quality and prevent Instagram from automatically cropping or resizing your images.
- Leave Buffer Space: Design with some buffer space around the edges to avoid important elements being cut off due to screen variations on different devices.
- Optimize Image Quality: Use high-quality images that are not overly compressed to maintain sharpness and clarity.
- Check on Multiple Devices: Preview your Stories on different devices to see how they appear and make necessary adjustments.
- Stay Within Safe Zones: Keep critical text and elements within the center of the screen, away from the edges, to ensure they remain visible and clear.
When you check the box below, you'll receive a push notification on the Sked app on your iOS or Android device at the time you assign and you'll be able to download the media and post with the native Instagram app.
Inside our manual Instagram Story scheduler, you can even add little notes, hashtags, or reminders for yourself for when the time comes to post, or save your Story captions in hashtags in one of our templates.
Quick note: Currently, there is no support for stickers like Link Stickers, Polls, Q & A, Music or other interactive elements. If you need to add one, select to Publish Manually and add your desired elements straight from your mobile device If you want to schedule it for later, select the date and time that you want it to post. If you’re ready to post now, hit Post Now and then Save and you should see your Story appear on the ‘gram in only a few short minute - That’s it - you’re done!
For a more thorough walkthrough of how to post Instagram Stories from your desktop using Sked Social, check out our video on how to schedule Instagram Stories.
Ready to put your phone on “Do Not Disturb” mode and start enjoying more work/life balance? Try out Sked Social with our 7-day free trial and enjoy the benefits of posting Instagram Stories directly from your laptop today!