As a small business owner and Instagram influencer with over 50k followers, I often use Instagram‘s useful draft feature to schedule and plan content in advance. Whether you manage a business account or share content as a creator, saving unfinished posts as drafts allows you to revisit them later when you‘re ready to finalize and publish.
Why Use Instagram Drafts?
Here are some key benefits of utilizing Instagram drafts for your business or brand:
- Schedule content in advance for times your audience is most active
- Manage multiple social accounts efficiently from one planning calendar
- Create content when inspiration strikes even if you don‘t have time to finish
- Avoid overposting by spacing out when drafts are scheduled
- Repurpose content by saving drafts of popular posts to reuse
According to Sprout Social, 62% of marketers say scheduling content in advance is crucial for social media success. With over 2 billion monthly active users on Instagram, drafts make it easier to keep up.
Accessing Your Post Drafts
To view your unpublished Instagram photo and video post drafts:
- Tap the + icon in the top right feed
- Select "Post" from the menu
- Tap "Drafts" at the top of the screen
This displays all saved post drafts chronologically. From here, you can:
- Select a draft to finish editing & publish
- Delete drafts you no longer need
- View helpful reminders about draft limits & expiration timing
Pro Tip: You can store up to 25 unpublished post drafts for a rolling 30-day period before they automatically expire.
Finding Your Story Drafts
Instagram stories only remain public for 24 hours, so drafting them ahead allows you to space out story content.
To see existing story drafts:
- Tap the + icon and choose "Story"
- Tap the small preview window in the bottom left area
- This opens your story draft gallery to view, edit or delete
Top Tip: Add relevant hashtags to story draft captions ahead of publishing for optimal discovery!
Locating Your Reels Drafts
Short-form vertical video continues to thrive on Instagram Reels. Here‘s how to access pending reels drafts:
- Go to your profile by tapping your profile picture
- Select the "Reels" tab
- Scroll down and tap on any video marked "Draft"
You can also delete or edit reels before sharing to your main reels feed.
I hope this complete guide helps you master Instagram drafts as a useful planning tool for your business Instagram account or creator content! Let me know if you have any other questions.
