Instagram Post Options

Instagram posts and reels have extra settings you can set before you schedule, like collaborators, a first comment, people tags, a location or music. You find them under Advanced options in the New Post composer on the Publish tab of the design editor.

How to create a post is covered in Scheduling a Post. This guide covers only the Instagram settings.

Advanced options only shows for Instagram Post and Reel. Instagram Story posts have no extra settings.

Quick start (5 minutes)

1. Open a design, click Publish, then Socials and New Post.
2. Under Post to, pick Instagram, then Post or Reel.
3. Pick your slides, write the caption and choose when it goes out.
4. Click Advanced options.
5. Add what you need, for example a collaborator under Collaborators (max 3): type @harborcoffee and press Enter.
6. Click the main button at the bottom. The preview lists each option you set, like “Collaborators: @harborcoffee”.
7. Click Confirm & Schedule.

Example: a bakery makes a carousel with its coffee supplier. It adds @harborcoffee as a collaborator, writes “Full menu at the link in our bio #fallbaking” as the First Comment, and schedules it for Friday at 8:00 AM.

Which options each post type has

A Post counts as a video post when it goes out as one video: one slide switched with Use video, or several slides joined with Merge into video. See Scheduling a Post.

Location and Music also need Instagram to be connected through Facebook. See Options that need a Facebook connection.

Collaborators

Collaborators are other Instagram accounts invited to share the post. If they accept in Instagram, the post shows on their profile too.

1. Under Collaborators (max 3), type a username, like @harborcoffee.
2. Press Enter. The name turns into a chip.
3. To remove one, click its chip.

• You can add up to 3.
• The @ is optional. Names are saved in lower case.
• Usernames can be up to 30 characters and use only letters, numbers, periods and underscores. Otherwise you see a message and the name isn’t added. Adding the same name twice shows “@name is already added”.

First Comment

First Comment is posted as a comment on your post right after it goes live. It’s a handy place for hashtags or a link to your bio, so the caption stays short.

• Type it in the First Comment box. The counter shows the limit, like 0/2200.
• It can be up to 2,200 characters.

Example: caption “New pumpkin loaf is here.” First comment “#fallbaking #localbakery #harborbakery”.

Paid partnership

Tick Paid partnership when the post is sponsored or you were paid to make it. Instagram adds its “Paid partnership” label.

When it’s ticked, a Sponsor brands (max 2) box appears:

1. Type the sponsor’s Instagram username, like @harborcoffee.
2. Press Enter.

You can add up to 2 sponsors, or leave the box empty.

AI-generated content label

Tick AI-generated content label if the post was made with AI, for example an image from AI Image Tools. Instagram then labels the post as AI-made.

Location

Location adds a place to the post, like your shop.

1. Under Location, type at least 2 letters in Search locations…, like “Harbor Bakery”.
2. Pick the place from the list. It shows the city and country where known.
3. To change it, click the place’s chip to remove it and search again.

If you see “Connect Instagram via Facebook to search locations”, your Instagram isn’t connected through Facebook. See Options that need a Facebook connection.

Tagging people

How you tag people depends on the post type.

Tag people on image slides (Post)

For an image Post, each slide can have its own tags, placed on the image.

1. Open Advanced options. Find Alt text & tags per slide.
2. If you ticked several slides, click a slide’s thumbnail to pick it.
3. Click the spot on the image where the person is.
4. Type their username, like @maya.bakes, and press Enter.
5. To remove a tag, click its chip under the image.

• Up to 20 tags per slide. At 20 you see “Tag limit reached (20)”.
• Tags only work on image slides. Slides set to Video in a carousel can’t have tags.

Tag people on a reel

For a Reel, use Tag people (max 20):

1. Type a username, like @maya.bakes.
2. Press Enter. Click a chip to remove it.

You can tag up to 20 people. Reel tags don’t have a position.

Alt text

Alt text describes an image for people who use screen readers.

1. Open Advanced options on an image Post. Find Alt text & tags per slide.
2. Pick a slide by clicking its thumbnail.
3. Type a description in Alt text for this slide (accessibility).

Each slide gets its own alt text, up to 255 characters.

Example: “Three pumpkin loaves on a wooden board next to a coffee cup.”

Off-ratio images: Fit or Crop

Instagram only takes certain image shapes. If your slides are a different shape, Off-ratio images decides what happens:

• Fit (pad): the whole image is kept, with padding added around it. This is picked to start with.
• Crop: the image is cropped to fit Instagram’s shape. Edges may be cut off.

This option only shows for image posts. To avoid it, design at an Instagram size like Instagram Post (1080x1350). See Choosing a size.

Share to feed

For a Reel, Share to feed is ticked to start with. That means the reel shows in your main feed and profile grid, not only in the Reels tab. Untick it to keep the reel in the Reels tab only.

For a Post, the option only shows when the post is a single video.

Cover slide and cover frame

A reel or video post shows a cover image before it plays. You have two ways to choose it:

• Cover slide: click any page of your design to use it as the cover. You see “Slide 3 will be used as the cover”. Click it again to unpick it.
• Cover frame (seconds into video): type a time, like 2.5, to use that moment of the video. This box only shows when no cover slide is picked.

If you set neither, Instagram picks the cover.

Example: a gym’s reel is three clips joined together. It adds a title page to the design that isn’t one of the reel’s slides, and picks it as the Cover slide.

Trial reel

A trial reel is shown to people who don’t follow you first, so you can test it. Tick Trial reel on a Reel, then pick how it’s shared with your followers:

• Manual: you decide in Instagram whether to share it with your followers.
• Automatic (performance): Instagram shares it with your followers if it performs well.

Music

You can add Instagram audio to a Reel.

1. Under Music, pick Music or Original sound.
2. Type at least 2 letters in Search audio…, like a song name.
3. Pick a track. The list shows the artist and the track’s length.
4. Set Music volume and Original sound volume. Both start at 100%.
5. To change the track, click its chip to remove it and search again.

If you see “Connect Instagram via Facebook to add music”, your Instagram isn’t connected through Facebook. See Options that need a Facebook connection.

Options that need a Facebook connection

Location and Music only work when your brand’s Instagram was connected through Facebook. Otherwise the composer shows one of these:

• “Connect Instagram via Facebook to search locations”
• “Connect Instagram via Facebook to add music”

Every other Instagram option works either way.

How your account was connected is decided on the connection screen when you click Connect. For Instagram connected through Facebook, your Instagram must be linked to a Facebook Page. See Instagram requirements.

Limits at a glance

The rest of Instagram’s rules, like story rules and image sizes, are in Platform Rules for Posts.

Check your options before and after posting

• Before: the preview after you click the main button lists every option you set, like “Location: Harbor Bakery” or “Trial reel: Manual graduation”. Click Back to change something.
• While scheduled: click Details on the post under Scheduled Posts. The Advanced section lists the options, and Slides lists each slide’s alt text and tags.
• After it’s live: open the Published to Instagram card and click Post settings. It says “Set at publish — change these on Instagram directly”.

You can’t change options on a scheduled post. Cancel it and create a new one. See Post Status and Failures.

Ideas for using Instagram options

A collab post with a partner business.

A florist and a café run a joint Mother’s Day giveaway. The florist adds @harborcafe under Collaborators, so the post shows on both profiles.

Keep the caption clean.

A salon writes a short caption, “Fresh fall colors, book this week”, and puts 15 hashtags in the First Comment.

Tag the team.

A restaurant posts a staff photo. On the image, it clicks each person’s face and tags their @username.

Test a new style first.

A gym tries a new reel format. It ticks Trial reel with Manual, sees how non-followers react in Instagram, then decides whether to share it.

Disclose a sponsorship.

A food blogger is paid to feature a coffee brand. She ticks Paid partnership and adds @harborcoffee under Sponsor brands.

Tips for the best results

• Design at Instagram’s shape. Then Off-ratio images doesn’t change your image.
• Write alt text for every image slide. It helps people using screen readers.
• Check usernames before you schedule. Usernames aren’t looked up as you type, so a typo is only caught by Instagram.
• Pick a cover slide for reels. Otherwise Instagram picks a frame for you.
• Connect Instagram through Facebook if you want to add locations or music.
• Check the preview. You can’t change options once a post is scheduled.

Common questions

I don’t see Advanced options. It only shows for Instagram Post and Reel. Stories have no extra settings.

I don’t see Tag people on my post. On a Post, tags are added on each image slide, under Alt text & tags per slide. Tag people is for reels.

I don’t see Alt text & tags per slide. It only shows for image posts with at least one slide ticked. Video posts, merged videos and reels don’t have it.

My username didn’t turn into a chip. Press Enter after typing it. Names longer than 30 characters aren’t added, and you can’t add more than the limit, like 3 collaborators.

Location or music says “Connect Instagram via Facebook”. Your Instagram wasn’t connected through Facebook. Location and music only work with that kind of connection.

My location search shows nothing. Type at least 2 letters. Try the place’s name as it appears on Instagram.

I don’t see Share to feed on my post. On a Post, it only shows when the post is a single video. Reels always have it.

I don’t see Cover frame. It’s hidden when a Cover slide is picked. Click the picked slide again to unpick it.

Can I change the collaborators after scheduling? No. Click Cancel Post and create a new post. After a post is live, change it in Instagram.

My collaborator doesn’t show on the post. Collaborators have to accept the invite in Instagram.