A great idea when managing an Instagram page is to use a scheduling app. This saves so much time in the long run and means you can more easily plan how you want your content to look visually and set your post and forget about them. 

Today, I am going to go over the pros and cons of two scheduling programs (that I have used), so you can make an informed decision about what suits you and your business best.

UNUM

Pros

• UNUM is one of the cheapest scheduling platforms. You can either get a membership for free, or you can pay $5 a month (billed yearly) to gain Elite access, which offers you more spaces, and access to the creative, scheduling, and analytics suite.
• This platform makes it really easy to plan your feed and see how it will look visually.
• It is very easy to use and has more basic features (you can’t tag your location or add in ‘first comments’ or anything), which makes it perfect for those who are just starting out with scheduling apps.
• It tells you the best times to post (based on audience interaction) and also the best hashtags to use based on your past history of used hashtags.
• You can integrate your Instagram with your UNUM account, so you can see your posted and unposted content (this is really handy to see how your Instagram account is going to look overall).
• You can add multiple grids for different Instagram profiles.
• You can add multiple team members on ‘teams.’

Cons

• I have had a lot of issues with this app in the past (especially with their mobile app, which is newer), and this has meant that I have had to contact them on multiple occasions about missing/deleted captions and even entire grids, which have disappeared!
• Their customer service is not great. You can only speak to people over email, and in my experience, it takes a lot of emails for the customer service team to work out what your problem is and how to fix it.
• You can only post to Instagram (and not Facebook).
• You can’t plan stories.

Later

Pros

• Later has more features than UNUM, for example, you can save entire blocks of hashtags, search up related hashtags to add to your post, add your hashtags in the first comment, and even add a location to each post.
• You can schedule to Instagram and Facebook simultaneously (or just one or other). 
• Their analytics are really good! They show you blocks throughout the day and give you exact numbers of how many people are expected to engage with your content at that given time.
• You can easily add multiple grids, switch between grids, and add team members to select grids.
• You can upload different content for your grids, and the content will stay there until you delete it or use it. You can also search ‘unused’ or ‘used’ content to easily find an image you want.
• You can search Unsplash images to use images directly from the site, and you can use them for free (or you may have to credit the artist, but UNUM will tell you if you need to do this). 
• You can search up Instagram images with relevant keywords and upload them directly to Later.
• I have never had a single problem using Later, so I have never had to contact their customer service team.
• You can integrate your Instagram with your UNUM account, so you can see your posted and unposted content (this is really handy to see how your Instagram account is going to look overall).
• You can share social media calendars so other people (or yourself) can see how content will look visually, and you can also see the captions as you scroll through (which is handy).

Cons

• You can plan stories, but you have to post them manually. 
• Their plans are more expensive- you can create a free account that includes one social set, 30 posts per social profile, and one user. Or you can create a starter account ($12.50 /month) that includes one Social Set, 60 posts per social profile, and one user. A growth account ($20.83 /month) includes 1 Social Set, 150 posts per social profile, and three users. Lastly, an advanced account ($33.33 /month) includes 1 Social Set, Unlimited posts, and six users.
• If you want to move images around once you have scheduled them to both Facebook and Instagram, you have to preview them and move them around on the Instagram layout. This can create problems because you could easily forget to move around your Facebook content too (and then they won’t line up).

Conclusion

In conclusion, as someone familiar with both platforms, I prefer using Later. However, I would definitely recommend UNUM for someone who is just starting out and doesn’t want to invest so much time and money into their scheduling app. Later has a lot more features (which can make it more difficult to use when you are starting out), so it is perfect for those of you who want to take your social media account/accounts to the next level and see how to improve your performance.