How to schedule Threads posts, carousels and a first reply
Threads asks little of a post: 500 characters, a picture or a few, perhaps a link. That makes it easy to post and easy to forget. This is how to schedule Threads posts so they go out on their own, with the first reply already waiting, alongside the same post on Bluesky and X.
Rodolfo MotaFounder of SPREVA
The short version
Connect Threads with its own sign-in, no Instagram or Facebook needed. Write up to 500 characters, add a link, a photo, a video or a carousel of up to 20, and schedule it or add it to a queue. Write a First comment and SPREVA posts it as the first reply, right after the post. A longer text has to fit: SPREVA does not split it into a chain of posts.
What a Threads post can carry
| Part | Limit |
|---|---|
| Text | 500 characters |
| Link | Shown as a preview when the post has no photo or video |
| Photos and videos | Up to 20 in one carousel, mixed; photos up to 8 MB |
| Video | Up to 5 minutes |
| First reply | Another 500 characters |
Scheduling a Threads post, step by step
- 1
Press New in the sidebar, choose Post, then Text Post, Image Post or Video Post, and pick your Threads account.
- 2
Write up to 500 characters. SPREVA counts them as you type and flags a text over the limit.
- 3
Add a link if the post has no photo or video, and Threads shows it as a preview. With a photo or a video, put the link in the text instead.
- 4
Add photos and videos, up to 20, in the order they should appear.
- 5
Under First comment, write the reply that should follow: a link, a detail, a question. Up to 500 characters.
- 6
Schedule it, or Add to queue.
What the first reply is for
On Threads the conversation happens under the post, and the first reply is where people look next. Use it for what would crowd the post: the link, the price, the details, the question you want answered. SPREVA posts it right after the post goes live; if only the reply fails, the post stays published and you are told.
If the connection drops while Threads is publishing, SPREVA looks for the post on your profile before it tries again, so a retry finds the post instead of publishing it a second time.
The same post on Bluesky and X
Threads, Bluesky and X look alike and count differently: 500 characters on Threads, 300 on Bluesky, 280 on X, where a longer text becomes a thread. Pick the three accounts in one post and give Bluesky a shorter text of its own under Per account when it needs one. How the three networks differ.
What comes back
Each post's views, likes and replies come back into SPREVA, with reposts, quotes and shares counted together as shares, and your followers. They are read an hour after the post goes out, then over the following month.
Schedule next week's Threads posts
Connect Threads, write three posts with a first reply each, and add them to a queue. Every plan starts with a 7-day trial.
Questions
Can I schedule Threads posts?
Yes. Publish now, choose a date and time, or add the post to a queue that fills your next free slot. SPREVA publishes it from its own servers, so nothing has to stay open on your side.
Do I need to connect Instagram to post to Threads?
No. SPREVA connects to Threads through Threads' own sign-in, separately from Instagram and Facebook.
Can I schedule a chain of several posts on Threads?
Not yet. A Threads post from SPREVA is one post with an optional first reply, so a longer text has to be shortened.
How long can a Threads post be?
500 characters. The first reply has another 500 of its own.
Can I add polls, topic tags or GIFs?
Not yet. A Threads post from SPREVA carries text, a link, photos and videos, and choosing who can reply is not in the editor yet either.
Written by
Rodolfo Mota
Founder of SPREVA
Makes SPREVA in Portugal: the Studio, the tools an agent works with, and the publishing behind them.
Keep reading
- How to schedule Bluesky posts, and send the same one to Threads and XSchedule Bluesky posts with link cards, images and alt text, and send the same post to Threads and X with a text for each. What differs, and what SPREVA checks.
- How to schedule posts and threads on XSchedule X posts and whole threads: write once, and SPREVA splits the text into a thread of up to 25 posts. How X counts characters, its media limits, and more.
- How to post to Instagram from your computer, and schedule itYes, you can post to Instagram from a computer: feed posts, carousels, Reels and Stories, scheduled ahead. How it works in SPREVA, and what it checks first.