HeyOrca makes creating IG Reels effortless so you can collaborate, plan your content, and get feedback in your calendar!
In this article, you'll learn how to create and schedule IG Reels, tag users and upload your own custom thumbnail!
Note: Reels direct publishing is available for Instagram professional accounts (business and creator). Learn how to get your account connected as a professional account!
Guidelines
Here are some things to note when publishing Instagram posts and Reels:
Direct publishing is required to publish Instagram posts, reels and stories.
Reels are shared on your feed automatically and will appear in the Grid view, as long as they are directly published
Only Instagram professional (business and creator) accounts that are enabled for direct publishing will be able to show upcoming Reels in the Instagram Grid Preview
Instagram Stories can be directly published through professional business accounts.
You can choose a thumbnail from the video and upload your own custom thumbnail as your cover photo
Reels published through HeyOrca will be original audio (we aren’t able to choose trending audio at this time)
You can publish Reels up to 15 mins, but between 5 seconds & 90 seconds is recommended
Create and Publish Feed Posts
Instagram feed posts include single image, carousel and video posts!
Create a new Instagram post.
To create a new post, you can create a post directly by using the Create Post button, or by dragging and dropping media directly into the calendar! From there, select the Instagram account you want to create the post for!
With your post now created and your media added, you can add in the rest of your information including your caption, any hashtags and schedule your publishing time.
Once you're happy with your content, you can change the post stage to Approved to schedule your post or sent it off to your team for review!
Create Carousel Posts
To create a Carousel post, you can upload multiple images to your post by pressing the + icon
You can upload up to 10 images for an Instagram carousel post using direct publishing!
Change your Video Post Thumbnail
To change your video thumbnail, select the three dots located on the media preview in the post scheduling page.
This will open up your thumbnail selection menu. From here, you can use the slider to select a frame from within the video to be your selected thumbnail!
Once selected, press Save. Your post will publish with the selected thumbnail!
Tag Users in your Single Image Posts.
To tag a user, click on the Photo Tagging icon on the bottom left corner of your image.
In the user tagging tab, enter the handle of the account you'd like to tag.
Next, you’ll need to place your tag on the image.
Click anywhere on the photo to select your tag placement. This is where your tag will appear once published to Instagram.
Once done, click Add Account Tag to confirm your placement and tag, and click Save on the bottom right corner of the window to save your changes.
You can edit your current tags or add new ones at any time by using the pencil icon or clicking Add Another Tag.
Learn how to add a collaborator to your IG post, and learn how to add a product to your post!
Create and Publish Reels!
Step 1: Create an Instagram post.
To create a new post, you can create a post directly by using the Create Post button, or by dragging and dropping media directly into the calendar!
Step 2: In the post type section, click the drop-down menu and change the Post to Reel.
This will update your content so that it is in a Reel format.
Your Reels will be labelled on the calendar to differentiate them from other Instagram posts.
Step 3: Edit your Reel!
You will be able to add multiple pieces of media. You’ll be able to get your approvals from your team as well as make comments or leave feedback!
Tag Users on IG Reels
Tagging IG Reels has a very similar workflow to tagging a user for a photo! To tag your Reel, select the user icon located next on the bottom of your Reel video.
Once you've pressed that button, you'll be greeted with the Reel tagging page where you can search for the user you'd like to tag.
Note: Similar to tagging images, we can only tag publicly available profiles.
Once your post has been tagged with your desired account(s), you can press 'Save' to finalize your post.
You can also hover over the user tagging icon located on your reel, to see who has been tagged.
Change your Reel Thumbnail
You can easily add a custom thumbnail for your Reels or select a frame from the video to use with direct publishing!
Upload a Custom Thumbnail
Select Choose Thumbnail to open up the thumbnail selection menu. Once pressed a new window will open that you can use to upload your chosen thumbnail!
Upload your thumbnail from your device, one of the platforms or by directly dragging and dropping your image into the upload menu!
Before you upload your image, you can also crop, circle or rotate it as needed! When you're happy with the results, press the Upload and Save button!
Your chosen thumbnail has now been applied!
Select a Frame from your Reel as a Thumbnail.
Along with custom thumbnails, you can also select a frame from within your Reel to be the chosen thumbnail. You can use the slider located above the upload button to select a frame! Once you're happy, press Save to keep your changes!
Your selected frame will be displayed as the thumbnail for your Reel!
Pro Tip: For Reels, the recommended format is 1920 by 1080 pixels.
Once you're happy with your content, you can schedule it for publishing by changing it to Approved, or send it to your client for approval!
Sit back and relax while HeyOrca takes care of the rest!
Create and Publish Stories!
Once in the post creation page, select Story from the drop down menu to set the post type.
You can also drag and drop media directly to your calendar to create a new post!
With your Story now created, you can upload your image or video and add your additional post details such as setting a scheduled publishing time.
