The story of Hopper: an easy Instagram scheduling service
Jul 24, 2015
Back in late 2014, we were approached by Turn Partners with a challenge: could we build a system that lets users schedule posts on Instagram?
Unlike Twitter or Facebook, Instagram hasn't released an API (Application Programming Interface) that lets outsiders tap into the plumbing below the surface of its platform and schedule when images are posted. That's why the big social media scheduling tools (such as Buffer or Hootsuite) can't let you queue up Instagram posts to send out at a later date.
As a result many brands and businesses have to give an intern the task of manning the 'Instagram phone' around the clock. It's the kind of knotty problem that we relish, one that prompts the thought — 'there should be an easier way, but how can we find it?'
Being very careful to stay within Instagram's terms of service, D4 provided technical design and software development support to Turn Partners' own in-house team. You can see a sneak preview of the end result at the Hopper homepage — customised, convenient scheduling of Instagram posts across multiple accounts, with photo editing tools built in.
Turn Partners calls it "the ultimate Instagram marketing tool" and we're proud to have been a part of it. It's one of our favourite examples of the problem-solving nous and development skills we can bring to the table to help you achieve your aims, whatever they happen to be.
"D4 were very technically competent, but also very easy to work with; they communicated very technical matters simply and clearly," says Mike Bandar of Turn Partners. "They designed Hopper from the ground up, they were the brains behind the whole thing, we couldn't have built this without their input."
"Hopper has been a fun project," adds Daniel Thompson of D4. "There were some technical challenges that were pretty unique, but we overcame them. It's a really great product that is already taking off. I can't wait to see how it evolves."
Hopper is now up and running and taking on subscribers, a service with huge potential all sparked by that conversation in 2014. Do you have a similar challenge for us? Let us show you what we're capable of — get in touch any time.