It’s finally here! the new Instagram Creator Studio is designed to help you manage all of your Instagram posts, get insights from your desktop, monetize your content and more.
Before now, Creator Studio was only available for Facebook pages.
Using the new Instagram Creator Studio, content creators get access to a variety of new features and tools, including the ability to schedule their IGTV videos.
Here’s what you need to know about how to use the Instagram Creator Studio.
What is the Instagram Creator Studio?
In late 2017, Facebook launched its Facebook Creator app and Facebook for Creators website to help influencers and content creators manage their presence on Facebook. In August 2018, Facebook announced the launch of the Creator Studio which gave creators the ability to manage and publish content for Facebook.
In December 2018, Facebook said they were testing a new Instagram Creator feature that would allow users to access flexible profile controls, simplified messaging and additional growth tools.
Facebook has now incorporated Instagram into Creator Studio so that creators can post, manage, measure and monetize content across their Facebook Pages and Instagram accounts.
Facebook has recently discontinued the creator app, but the Creator studio is still available on desktop.
“Creator” refers to anyone who creates and publishes original content to Facebook or Instagram. A Facebook press release says one of their biggest goals is to help their creators earn money from the content they create through the support of fans, brand collaborations, and ad revenue.
Though the tool is fairly limited in terms of analytics, team collaboration, and visual planning, it is still useful For those who have already optimized their overall Instagram strategy.
1. Connect Your Instagram Account to Creator Studio
Before you can manage posts, see your Instagram analytics, or publish Instagram content from your desktop, you must link your Instagram account to the Creator Studio.
Before you get started, make sure you have an Instagram account and Facebook Page that your Instagram is connected to. if you haven’t already done so, switch your Instagram account to a business profile or Creator account.
Open Creator Studio on your desktop. Click the Instagram icon at the top of the page. The next steps depend on the relationship between your Instagram accounts and Facebook Pages.
- If you manage a Facebook page that’s already connected to the Instagram account you want to use in Creator Studio, click to connect to that page.
- If you’re not already managing a Facebook page that’s connected to an Instagram account, click connect to Instagram. Then follow the on-screen instructions to log into the Instagram account you want to connect.
- if you manage a Facebook page this connected to an Instagram account, but want to use a different Instagram account you do not see listed, click “Connect another Instagram Account” and follow the on-screen instructions.
- If you have multiple Instagram accounts that are already connected to your Facebook pages and you want to manage them in Creator Studio, click “Continue with Connected Accounts.”
Once someone has connected to an Instagram account and Creator Studio, anyone else with a roll on the Facebook page connected to that account will automatically have access to it in Creator Studios Instagram section so this is good for Instagram accounts that are shared by multiple people for an organization.
after you complete the steps to connect your Instagram to Creator Studio, you’ll automatically get access to the new Instagram tools in the platform.
2. Manage Your Instagram Content Using the Instagram Content Library
The Content Library tab in Creator Studio provides you with an overview of all your Instagram videos, photos, stories, carousel, and IGTV posts.
Use the search bar to find content quickly or use the filters to organize the content by your post status or date.
You also have the option to click any of the items on your list to get a more detailed view of the content and its performance.
This includes inside and how many people have seen the post and how they’ve interacted with it. You’ll also be able to see what actions people have taken when engaging with the post.
Generally speaking, you’ll see the same individual post analytics that you would see within the native Instagram app. However, Creator studio is lacking when it comes to evaluating your content as a whole.
The information you see when clicking on an item in your Content Library will vary depending on the type of post you click on. You’ll see different information about a story you posted compared to the information you see about a video you posted.
3. Post Content
One of the greatest things about Instagram’s Creative Studio is that it adds publishing tools for both Instagram feed posts and IGTV. Creators now have a unified place to manage their presence across both Instagram and Facebook.
To use it to manage your own content, all you have to do is click “Create Post” in the top left of the page. You should see options for both the Instagram Feed and IGTV.
The publishing flow very slightly between Instagram posts and IGTV videos. Let’s start with Instagram posts.
Instagram Feed
Select “Instagram Feed.” A window opens on the right of the screen where you can upload your image, or images if you’re making a carousel post. You also be able to write your caption and add a location. If desired, you can crop your images to different dimensions.
Once you’re happy with the post, click the down arrow located beside of the publish button and select “Schedule.”
From here, you’ll see a calendar and time settings box. All you have to do is add the day and time you’d like your post to go live on. when you’re happy with that setting, press the schedule button. The Creator Studio will publish your photos to your feed at the selected time.
IGTV Videos
At this time, IGT videos are not included in the Instagram API so no third party platforms are currently available to schedule or publish IGTV videos, Making Creator Studio the best option right now.
From the Instagram dashboard, press the “Create” button in the top left-hand corner of your screen and select “IGTV.”
A new window appears on the right side of your screen where you’ll be able to upload a video, add titles and captions. You also set the time you want your video to go live.
You can either upload a video from your computer or choose the video that already exists on your Instagram profile. If you’re uploading from your computer, you will need to choose an MP4 file.
You cannot upload a .MOV file, which is a problem if you save your Instagram Stories to your camera roll. You’ll need to upload them from your phone to your computer and convert them to MP4 if you want to use them with Creator Studio.
After it has been uploaded you can add all of the video details. You can also choose your IGTV cover image.
Take time to set your publishing settings. Decide if you want to share a one minute preview to your Instagram feed. This is a great chance to get more people looking at your videos, boost engagement and drive even more traffic to your channel so it’s worth it in most cases.
Select the “Share preview to feed Button” if you’re ready to share a preview on your feed. You also have the option to schedule your igtIGTV video to your Facebook Page too. Just select the “Your Page” button to do it.
Once you’re ready to schedule your “IGTV” video, click the down arrow beside the publish button and select “Schedule.” From here you’ll see a calendar and time settings box so you can add the time and the day you’d like your post to go live on. You can schedule your videos up to six months in advance.
Once you’re happy with the date and time, press the schedule button and you are good to go. Your video will publish to your feed when the time comes.
If you want to take a look at your scheduled posts and IGTV videos in the Content Library, click the “Scheduled” heading in “Post Status.”
4. Track Your Instagram Insights
The last thing you can do within Creator Studio is look at your Insights to help you understand your audience and how people are interacting with your content. Creator Studio only collects insights from the past 7 days and only at the account level. Other Instagram analytics platforms provide you with up to 3 months worth of data.
You can see the activity at the post level and get audience insights with information about your followers such as their age range, location, and gender.
Instagram’s Creator studio is a wonderful tool for creators to manage their presence and engage their fans.