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How to Schedule and Auto-Post Reels with Loomly

How to schedule and automatically post Facebook and Instagram Reels with Loomly

Updated over 6 months ago

Loomly supports direct publishing of Facebook and Instagram Reels!

  1. How to Schedule Reels from Loomly

  2. Video Requirements for Reels Direct Publishing

    1. Instagram

    2. Facebook

  3. How to Publish Reels with the help of reminders

    1. Publishing to an Instagram account

    2. Publishing to a Facebook Page

  4. Instagram Reels Post and Grid Preview

How to Schedule Reels from Loomly

  1. Upload a video in Post Builder (1080 x 1920 is the recommended video dimension for Reels).

  2. In the Fine-Tune Content step of Post Builder:

    1. For Facebook, you can select the Reels toggle to schedule your video as a Reel

    2. For Instagram, we will detect a single-video post as a Reel

Facebook:

  • Add a video title in Attachment Settings by clicking the gear icon

Instagram:

  • Add first comments, location tag, and select whether you'd like to share the Reel to your feed.

Instagram and Facebook Reels that can be automatically published will be published by Loomly at the scheduled time. You can also select a cover image from the video timeline or upload a custom cover image for both Instagram and Facebook Reels.

For Facebook Reels and Instagram Reels that cannot be automatically published (see requirements below):
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Schedule the post as you normally would. When it's time to publish, Loomly will send a notification, have the media file downloaded to your device, and copy the caption to your clipboard for Reels that must be manually published.

Video Requirements for Reels Direct Publishing

1. Instagram Reels

Due to limitations with Instagram's API, there are requirements for Reels that can be automatically published:

  • Container: MOV or MP4 (MPEG-4 Part 14), no edit lists, moov atom at the front of the file

  • Audio codec: AAC, 48khz sample rate maximum, 1 or 2 channels (mono or stereo)

  • Video codec: HEVC or H264, progressive scan, closed GOP, 4:2:0 chroma subsampling

  • Frame rate: 23-60 FPS

  • Picture size:

    • Maximum columns (horizontal pixels): 1920

    • Required aspect ratio is between 0.01:1 and 10:1 but we recommend 9:16 to avoid cropping or blank spaces.

  • Video bitrate: VBR, 5Mbps maximum

  • Audio bitrate: 128kbps

  • Duration: 15 mins maximum, 3 seconds minimum

  • File size: 100MB maximum

Note:

  • Videos that do not fit these requirements will need to be manually published.

  • Reels must be between 5 and 90 seconds and have an aspect ratio of 9:16 in order to appear in the featured Reels tab.

    Instagram Reels Cover Image:

    • Format: JPEG

    • File size: 8MB maximum

    • Color Space: sRGB. Images that use other color spaces will be converted to sRGB.

    • Aspect ratio: We recommend 9:16 to avoid cropping or blank spaces. If the aspect ratio of the original image is not 9:16, we will crop the image and use the middle portion of the 9:16 rectangle as the cover image for the Instagram Reel. If you share an Instagram Reel to your feed, we will crop the image and use the center 1:1 square as the cover image for your feed post.

2. Facebook Reels

Due to limitations with Facebook's API, there are requirements for Reels that can be automatically published:

  • Aspect ratio must be exactly 9:16

  • Minimum width of 540

  • Minimum height of 960

  • Minimum FPS of 24, maximum 60 FPS

  • Minimum duration of 3 and maximum duration of 90
    ​

How to Publish Reels with the help of push notifications

Publishing a Reel to an Instagram account

1. Once you receive your push notification to publish the Reel, scroll down and tap Publish to Instagram.

2. You will see the following notification. Tap either of the two options displayed:

3. The Reels section will open, click the Create icon on the top right.

4. Select the downloaded media file, then tap Add. You can make any edits to the Reel, then go to the next screen to add a caption before sharing your Reel.

Publishing a Reel to a Facebook Page

1. Once you receive your push notification to publish the Reel, scroll down and tap Publish Details.

2. Tap Publish Reel to Facebook.

3. Scroll down, then tap Publish to Facebook.

4. Tap either of the two options displayed:

5. The Facebook app will open with the connected Facebook page. Select the Create Reel button.

6. Select the media file we downloaded to your device. You can make any necessary edits to your Reel, then tap Next on the bottom right.

7. Paste your caption, then tap Share reel to post.

Instagram Reels Post and Grid Preview

Instagram Grid Preview displays how the Reel you're currently drafting will look in your Instagram grid. You have the option to preview it either as a Feed post or how it will look in the Instagram Grid tab.

Here's what you need to know:

  • The Post preview shows how the Instagram Reel you're drafting will likely look live

  • Use the Posts Grid Preview to see how the Reel you're drafting fits with other posts in your Instagram Feed

  • View how the Reel you're drafting will look in the Instagram Reels tab using Reels Grid Preview

  • If you have upcoming Instagram posts scheduled or drafted through Loomly, you can check the option to "Show future Loomly posts"

  • Any posts showing a small Loomly cat icon when hovering over the grid denote posts that have been drafted or scheduled in Loomly and have not yet been published

Other tips

📝 Please note the following:

  • Post metrics in the Analytics feature for Instagram Reels will display the number of likes and comments.

  • Reels analytics for Facebook are not supported at this time.

  • Adding music to Reels from Loomly isn't available due to API limitations. To add music to your Reel, you'll need to manually publish it with the help of reminders.
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Do not hesitate to check out our webinar about Instagram Publishing!

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