Ahhh the line breaks.. these guys were the bane of my existence when posting on Instagram.

I’d take all this time crafting a well-thought-out post, make it look all pretty and formatted, and then it all just went “poof!” when I pressed “share.” Somewhere during the uploading process, my pretty little spaces and line breaks decided they weren’t going to make an appearance in the uploaded post.

Exhibit A:

I ain’t trading my youth for no suit and jacket. ????✌????today we found some new trails + jammed out to Jonah and the Lion on repeat. I’m an over player of songs when I love them, and man oh man does that one hit home. Highly recommend a listen, preferably while frolicking in the woods.

A post shared by Jordan + Pete | QFYC (@quarterforyourcrisis) on Jul 15, 2017 at 8:10pm PDT

Goodbye line breaks, hello huge blob of text!

Odds are, if you share images or videos on Instagram for your business, you’ve experienced this frustration as well.

Today, we want to share how we solved this problem and the simple trick we use to keep our line breaks when posting on Instagram.

Using the Notes App for Posting on Instagram

So before I dive into what we do now, let’s start with a common suggestion you may have already heard: using your Notes application.

After Googling solutions for the line break problem, I tried to use the Notes app on my iPhone to write out our posts.

Some people have had luck with writing the draft on the Notes app, copying the entire text, and then pasting it into the Instagram app.

Personally, this method has been a little hit-and-miss. Sometimes, it will keep the “enter” in tact, but the spacing doesn’t look like a true line break. This winds up making our posts look a little messy – a big “con” in my book.

Exhibit B:

Does anyone else find peace on the gloomy days? The beach is one of our favorite places. It’s where Pete and I met. It’s where we started our marketing company. It’s where we got engaged. And it’s where we go to in the off season for staycations and rest. And as much as I love the sun and surf, there’s just something about gloomy days at the shore that fill me with peace. It seems to take all of the distractions away and force us to appreciate simple things – like a morning walk with the pup through wet sand. It’s so easy to complain – especially about things out of our control. It’s easy to stay inside and not get sandy. It’s easy to let something like the weather change our whole mood. Today, I’m thankful for gloomy weather + how it reminds me to find peace in the every day. In the little things. In the pieces of our lives that are out of our hands. In the present moment – sand and gloom and puppy smiles and all. Where do you find your peace?

A post shared by Jordan + Pete | QFYC (@quarterforyourcrisis) on Jul 1, 2017 at 5:55am PDT

See how some breaks hold and others stay jumbled together? No bueno.

One “pro” I will mention that I love about the Notes method – you can write your drafts from your computer.

This may sound like a small plus, but for someone who works on their computer all day, it made a huge difference to not have to type out every post on my iPhone.

If you have a Mac that is synced with your iPhone, simply use the Notes app on your computer to type out your post drafts, and then open the same app on your phone – viola! You can now write your drafts from your computer.

The Better Solution: Keep Your Spacing and Line Breaks in Your Instagram Posts

Clearly, we’re not okay with a hit-or-miss solution. So we went on a hunt for a better solution.

Enter: Buffer

We’ve used buffer in the past to schedule out posts, but when we first started using it back in 2014, it didn’t have Instagram capability.

We decided to give it another shot recently and man oh man are we happy we did.

Not only does Buffer allow you to schedule out your posts across all of your different feeds, but it actually keeps your line breaks in your Instagram posts! (major #winwin)

Now, we schedule and post exclusively through the Buffer app.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Sign up for Buffer (we use the free account and love it!)
2. Connect your social accounts
3. On the Content section, draft your posts and upload your image

4. Add your post to your Queue

5. Download and open the Buffer App on your phone

6. When you receive the notification that it’s time to post, simply open your Buffer app, and click “Post to Instagram” and then “Open in Instagram”

7.  Buffer will open your Instagram app and will automatically copy your text. Edit your image or video, and then paste the text.

8. Post + see those pretty little line breaks keep their spacing!

Extra awesome bonus: Not only can you keep your spaces and line breaks when using Buffer, but you can still use your computer to write the drafts and schedule!

We love sharing these kinds of tips with you guys, because we know that as simple as they are, it all adds up to make a big difference. So here’s to a little less frustrating with posting and whole lot more freedom with scheduling!

For more of our favorite tools, be sure to check out our Resources page.

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ps – have another tip or tool? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!