Effortless Inspiration: Automate Quotes and Videos Posting on Instagram with n8n

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Why Automate Your Instagram Content?
• Understanding the n8n Workflow
• Getting Started: Setup and Credentials
• Importing the Workflow
• Configuring Key Nodes
• Scheduling Your Automation
• Personalizing Your Content Process
• Automating Media Downloads and Processing
• Publishing to Instagram
• Final Tips and Best Practices
• Summary
• FAQs

Introduction

Let's face it — keeping your Instagram feed fresh, lively, and inspiring takes effort. If you've ever wished for a quick way to gather quotes, videos, and music, then post them automatically, you're in the right place. Automating this process can free up hours, maintain consistency, and grow your audience over time.

Imagine fetching motivational quotes from Twitter daily, layering them on engaging videos, and publishing them as Reels or posts—all without lifting a finger after initial setup. That's the power of n8n, an open-source workflow automation tool that makes complex social media magic happen smoothly.

In this guide, I'll walk you through setting up an automatic system that sources content, processes media files, and publishes directly on Instagram. And don't worry—I'll keep it approachable, with practical tips to get your automation humming.

Why Automate Your Instagram Content?

Think about the daily grind of managing social content. Sourcing quotes, creating videos, editing captions, scheduling posts—it's a lot.

But here’s why automation makes sense:

• Saves Time: Instead of spending hours creating and posting daily, automation does it for you.
• Ensures Consistency: Your followers get regular updates, which helps build loyalty.
• Varies Content Naturally: From quotes to short clips to music, your feed stays interesting.
• Supports Growth: Regular, high-quality content tends to attract new followers more organically.

Plus, automation allows you to focus more on creating exceptional content rather than managing the technical parts.

Understanding the n8n Workflow

This setup taps into a series of interconnected steps:

• Fetching fresh motivational quotes from Twitter
• Logging and tracking quotes in Google Sheets
• Downloading videos and music via yt-dlp
• Overlaying quotes dynamically onto videos
• Merging media seamlessly with ffmpeg
• Uploading videos to Instagram as Reels using Facebook's Graph API
• Updating your sheets with posting status

All these pieces work together in an n8n workflow. The beauty? Once everything's configured, it runs on schedule automatically—say, every evening at 11 PM—bringing you fresh content daily.

Getting Started: Setup and Credentials

Before diving into building the workflow, you'll need some API credentials and setup.

1. Twitter via RapidAPI

• Sign up at RapidAPI.
• Subscribe to the "twitter241" API or similar that provides Twitter data.
• Get your API key and note the host (twitter241.p.rapidapi.com).

In n8n:

• Go to Credentials → Create New → HTTP Header Auth.
• Name it RapidAPI.
• Add a header:
  • Key: x-rapidapi-host
  • Value: twitter241.p.rapidapi.com
• Add your API key in x-rapidapi-key.

2. Google Sheets API

• Head over to Google Cloud Console.
• Create a project, enable Google Sheets API.
• Create OAuth2 credentials:
  • Download the JSON file.
• In n8n:
  • Credentials → Google Sheets OAuth2 API.
  • Upload your credentials file.

Share your Google Sheet with your service account's email if needed.

3. Instagram & Facebook

• Convert your Instagram account to a Business account.
• Link it to a Facebook Page.
• Create a Facebook App and request permissions for Instagram media publishing.
• Generate an access token with the required scopes.
• In n8n:
  • Credentials → Facebook Graph API.
  • Enter your token and page ID.

Important: Instagram posting via API has restrictions; verify your app’s permissions before starting.

Importing the Workflow

Once your credentials are ready:

• Download the n8n workflow JSON (I'll provide the link in an example).
• In n8n:
  • Go to Workflows → Import.
  • Upload and save as "Motivation Instagram Automation".

This gives you a ready-made pipeline for fetching quotes, processing media, and posting.

Configuring Key Nodes

Fetching Tweets

• Use the Twitter "Get AI Tweets" node.
• Authenticate with your RapidAPI credential.
• Set the query:

  {
      "query": "motivation OR inspiration",
    "since": "{{ $now.minus(1, 'days').format('yyyy-MM-dd') }}",
    "until": "{{ $now.format('yyyy-MM-dd') }}"
  }
  

  so it grabs tweets from the past day.
• Confirm headers are setup with the host and key.

Logging Quotes & Media Links

• Use Google Sheets nodes to track quotes, media files, and posting status.
• Share your sheet with the account or service account used.

Downloading Media

• Utilize yt-dlp commands within Execute Command nodes to fetch videos or music.
• Ensure your server or environment where n8n runs has:
  • yt-dlp
  • ffmpeg

Creating Overlays

• A small Code node splits the quote into multiple lines, adjusts font size, color, etc.
• This overlay is used later in ffmpeg to render the quote onto videos.

Merging Video & Audio

• Use ffmpeg in command nodes to overlay text, merge music, and produce a ready-to-upload video.

Uploading to Instagram (Reels)

• Create a container via Facebook's Graph API:
  • POST to /me/media with media type REELS.
• Wait for processing completion.
• Publish the media with caption.

Scheduling Your Automation

Set up triggers for regular runs:

• Daily at 11 PM, fetch the latest tweets, process media, and prepare posts.
• Additional triggers handle media processing or reposts.
• Adjust times based on your audience’s activity.

Personalizing Your Content Process

• Filter out unwanted tweets (retweets, replies) in the "Clean Tweets" node.
• Modify quote splitting or font styling to match your brand style.
• Change overlay position, font size, and colors inside ffmpeg commands.
• Use your preferred video clips or update download commands for different content sources.

Automating Media Downloads & Processing

A typical flow:

1. Use yt-dlp to download a motivational video clip.
2. Use a Python or Code node to overlay your quote.
3. Leverage ffmpeg commands to add the quote as text overlay.
4. Additionally, download background music or sound effects for added engagement.
5. Combine these into a final MP4 file with synchronized audio/video.

Make sure your environment has access to yt-dlp and ffmpeg, and test media downloads manually before automating.

Publishing to Instagram

Once your video is ready:

• Upload via Facebook Graph API:
  • Send a POST request creating a media container with the final video URL.
  • Wait for processing.
  • Publish the media with a caption such as "Motivation by Naval Ravikant".

Note: Do a test run first to verify upload quality and caption formatting.

Final Tips and Best Practices

• Test your flow extensively in a sandbox environment.
• Keep an eye on logs for errors — common issues relate to credentials or media paths.
• Respect Instagram's policies; avoid spamming or infringement.
• Try to keep content fresh and authentic — automation is a tool, not a replacement for genuine engagement.
• Update and tweak your workflow periodically, especially API permissions and endpoints.

Summary

By harnessing n8n’s flexibility, you can set up a near-passive system for consistently posting inspiring content on Instagram. From fetching quotes from Twitter, overlaying text on videos, to automatically publishing Reels—it's all doable with some initial setup.

Once configured, your feed can run smoothly, keeping your followers motivated with minimal effort. Whether you're an influencer, entrepreneur, or content creator, this automaton can boost your social media game.

With this setup, you’re well on your way to having a hands-free, effective Instagram content machine. Happy automating!