For trades
Instagram for trade businesses — visible to customers and applicants
The best photos of your business are taken on the job site — and then stay on your phone. PostExpert turns them into a running content plan: the AI handles captions, hashtags and publishing; all you do is take the photos. What it can’t do is stated openly further down.
- 30-day free trial
- Cancel monthly
- Approval before every post if you want
Create post
AI draft
AI imageThe problem
The order book is full. The feed isn’t.
In the trades, Instagram never fails for lack of material — a job site delivers better images than any photo studio. It fails because after ten hours of work, nobody wants to write a caption.
After work, the quote always wins
Evenings are for quotes, invoices and material orders. The Instagram post loses that contest every single day — not out of disinterest, but out of exhaustion.
The phone is full, the feed is empty
Hundreds of job-site photos, neatly chronological in the gallery — and the last post is from half a year ago. The material exists; what’s missing is the path from phone to feed.
Applicants check Instagram first
Anyone considering an apprenticeship or a job change looks the company up online. An abandoned account looks like an empty workshop — no matter how good the order situation is.
PostExpert handles everything after the photo: you shoot on site as before, and the AI takes care of the rest — caption, hashtags, timing. How a post is created, in detail.
Calculate first, then buy
How long will the photo stock on your phone last?
Every uploaded image is used exactly once for a post. Enter what you have and what new jobs bring in — and see whether your stock sustains a running plan, or when it runs out.
Keep it high for reference work: AI visuals never show your job site — they invent one.
Estimate honestly: what actually gets taken while working, not what would be possible in theory.
Own photos consumed
11
per month
Missing supply
3
per month
How long your stock lasts
50 weeks
Then the stock is used up. Post less often, shoot more deliberately on site — or lower the share of own photos and PostExpert fills the remaining slots with its own visuals.
The Pro plan covers this frequency.
Calculates with your inputs only. Simplified: one image is used once per post; a photo reel consumes several at once. Prices net, plus VAT.
How it works
From the job site to the feed, without an evening shift
Set it up once; after that the work consists of taking photos while you’re on site anyway, and approving.
Let it read your business
You enter your website address. PostExpert reads it and suggests your trade, services, description and audience — including logo and colour. That’s the foundation for the tone of every later text.
Set time zone and publish time
Your business gets a fixed publishing time in its own time zone. The post goes out reliably — even on days you’re away on a job and the phone is in the van.
Define your topics
Site diary, before–after, team and apprenticeships, workshop, materials. Topics like “reference work” you set to “own media only” — a fabricated AI visual will never appear there.
Collect photos
Take three photos on site, upload them in one go in the evening, assigned straight to a topic. The retouching adjusts light and colour — the dust on your trousers can stay, it’s part of the job.
Approve and publish
The post waits for your approval or goes out automatically — approving takes one glance during the morning break. Comments with standard questions are answered by the AI from your knowledge base.
The difference from a scheduling tool: you only upload the photo, not the finished post. All the building blocks in detail: Features.
Your material
The gallery on your phone is a content plan — it just doesn’t know it yet
Job-site photos are the most honest marketing a trade business can have: real work, real results, no stock photos. PostExpert manages them as a stock and plans posts from it, week after week.
- Upload several photos at once, assigned straight to a topic
- Every image is used exactly once for a post — nothing appears twice
- Retouching adjusts light, colour and sharpness without changing the subject
- Photo reels from three to six of your images, cut to royalty-free music
- Logo and company colour optionally on every image
Media pool
Your product photos
Consistency
The feed keeps running while you’re up on the scaffolding
An Instagram account lives on consistency; a trade business lives on workload peaks — and exactly that contradiction breaks most company accounts. PostExpert plans the week ahead and keeps the frequency even when you can’t.
- Weekly plan built from your topics, created and scheduled automatically
- Fixed publishing time in your business’s time zone
- Email reminder about an hour before every scheduled post
- If an own photo is missing, the slot is skipped — not filled with someone else’s visual
- Up to 6 posts per week on Pro, 2 on Basic
Content calendar
This week · automatic
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
EnquiriesPro
“Do you do bathroom renovations too?” — answered without you climbing down the ladder
Service area, trades, contact route, recurring questions: you store them once as free text in the knowledge base, and PostExpert additionally reads your website once. From that, the AI answers — in the language the question was asked in.
- Knowledge base from your website plus details you enter yourself
- The AI never answers price questions with a number — it points to your enquiry form
- Draft mode: the AI writes, you review and send
- On Pro up to -1 automatic replies per week, uncapped on Ultra
- Complaints always go to review, spam is never answered
Instagram comments
AI replies to your followers
AnalyticsUltra
Which projects perform on Instagram — and which ones only you like
The timber roof truss gets three times the saves of the company van? Exactly these patterns show up in the analytics — and they tell you what to photograph on the next job.
- Reach, interactions, saves and shares per post and format
- Top posts with format and publishing time
- Follower growth and the composition of your audience
- Competitor analysis for up to 10 other businesses
- Automatic alerts for milestones and drops in reach
Insights
Last 7 days
Reach
12.4k
+18%
Interactions
1,208
+9%
Top post
Reel · Thursday, 6:30 pm
Comparison
The company account: by hand versus PostExpert
What shifts — and what expressly stays with the business.
| Task | By hand | With PostExpert |
|---|---|---|
| Photo on the job site | You take it | You still take it — nobody else stands on your scaffolding |
| Caption | Evenings on the couch, if at all | Generated from the actual photo, in your company’s voice |
| Hashtags | Googled once, the same ever since | Matched to the subject, fresh every time |
| Publishing time | Sunday evening, in one burst | Fixed time — even the week you’re away on a job |
| Consistency | Breaks off after three weeks | The weekly plan keeps going, slot after slot |
| Reference photos | Sit in the phone gallery | Managed as a per-topic stock and scheduled |
| Reels | Never get around to it | Photo reels from your images, cut to the beat |
| Enquiries in comments | After work, if you remember | The AI answers from your knowledge base — price questions go to you |
| Impression on applicants | Last post: eight months ago | An active feed that shows everyday work |
| Analytics | Gut feeling | Reach, saves and top posts per period |
The work, the photos and the decision about what to show stay with you. PostExpert takes over the production around them.
Plans
Which plan fits your business?
For a single business, what matters is how many posts per week you get — and whether the AI answers comments too. Pro is the right entry point for most businesses; that’s also where the comment AI lives.
Basic
€19.95/month
- accounts included1
- each additional account€15
- Posts per month8
- Advanced AI + API—
- Competitor analysis—
Pro
€39.95/month
- accounts included3
- each additional account€10
- Posts per month72
- Advanced AI + API—
- Competitor analysis—
Ultra
€89.95/month
- accounts included8
- each additional account€5
- Unlimited posts
- Advanced AI + APIYes
- Competitor analysis10
All prices are net prices plus statutory VAT. This offer is aimed exclusively at entrepreneurs within the meaning of § 1 of the Austrian Consumer Protection Act (KSchG); contracts with consumers are excluded. A valid VAT identification number is required in order to conclude a contract.
All features in direct comparison are on the pricing page. Two locations, or a second trade with its own presence, run as a second account from the same subscription.
Team & apprenticeships
The feed works twice over: for customers and for applicants
Anyone considering an apprenticeship or a move looks the company up online first — and a feed full of real job sites says more about everyday work than any job ad. You don’t need a second account for that; you need one more topic.
- A dedicated “team & apprenticeships” topic alongside reference work and site diaries
- Topics can be weighted — more team posts while you’re hiring
- Set to “own media only”, the topic shows exclusively your real people
- The AI writes the caption from the photo — from the apprentice at the welder to the final exam
- No job-ad feature and no application form — Instagram shows the business, applying works as usual
Content pillars
Your topics · this week
Practical insights
2/weekBehind the scenes
2/weekClient voices
1/weekMy offer
1/weekHonestly speaking
What PostExpert is not, for the trades
Before you spend 30 days testing, you should know what you won’t get. Unvarnished, so expectations are right.
No AI images of your job sites
AI visuals are generated from a description and show a plausible but invented scene — never your project. For reference work that would be fatal, so you set those topics to “own media only”. Your photos are only retouched, never altered.
No price information from the AI
The comment AI never quotes a price and never prepares an offer. On price questions it points to your contact route — everything it answers comes exclusively from your knowledge base.
No applicant management
There is no job-ad feature, no application form and no connection to job boards. Instagram makes the business visible; the application route stays whatever you offer on your website.
No connection to trade platforms
No interface to trade-job marketplaces or brokering portals. Publishing happens exclusively on Instagram.
No Google Business Profile
No connection to Google Maps or your business profile, no reviews. You keep maintaining that there — it remains important for local search.
Before–after carousels only by hand
Carousel posts are never created automatically — you can build them manually with up to 20 images. Single-image posts and photo reels run automatically; a “before–after” topic with own media works fine that way.
Location search depends on Meta approval
Instagram doesn’t accept a freely typed place name, only a Facebook Page with a stored address. Searching for it requires separate approval from Meta; until granted, the app reports location search as not yet available. A rejected location never blocks the post.
No Facebook posting, no story stickers
Publishing happens exclusively on Instagram; a connected Facebook Page is only read for statistics. Polls and question boxes in stories aren’t allowed by the official API for any tool.
Direct messages only on Ultra
On Basic and Pro the AI doesn’t answer direct messages. On Ultra it does — within Meta’s 24-hour window and with the same limits: no prices, no appointment promises.
Frequently asked
Questions from the trades
What businesses ask us most often before starting.
Is Instagram even worth it for a trade business?
Measurably, for two purposes: visibility in your service area and the first impression on applicants. Anyone who gets your name recommended looks you up online first — and an active feed with real job sites carries more weight there than any “about us” page. What Instagram doesn’t replace: your Google Business Profile for local search, and word of mouth. It complements both.
I don’t have “nice” photos — is my phone enough?
Yes. Phone photos of real job sites are exactly the right material for a trade account — they show what you actually do, and that’s what customers and applicants want to see. The retouching adjusts light, colour and sharpness without changing the subject. Glossy stock photos would be the opposite of what works here.
Can the AI generate images of my job sites?
No. AI visuals are generated from your description and show a plausible but invented scene — never your project, never your result. For reference work that would be misleading, so you set topics like “reference work” or “before–after” to “own media only”: only your uploaded photos appear there. If one is missing, the slot is skipped.
How much time does this cost me per week?
The photos get taken anyway — on site, at handover, in the workshop. What remains is uploading (several images in one go, assigned straight to a topic) and approval, which takes one glance per post. If you trust the automation, posts can also go out without approval — configurable per account.
What happens when I’m away on a job for two weeks?
The weekly plan keeps running and draws from your photo stock. If your account is set to automatic publishing, everything goes out as planned; if it’s set to approval, the posts wait for you — with an email reminder about an hour before each slot. Approving works from your phone on site, too.
Does the AI answer price questions in the comments?
No, and that’s deliberate. The AI answers exclusively from your knowledge base — service area, trades, contact route, recurring questions. On price questions it points to your enquiry form instead of inventing a number: a quote depends on the job, and the AI knows that too.
Does this help me find staff and apprentices?
It makes the business visible where applicants look around beforehand — it promises no more than that. In practice you create a “team & apprenticeships” topic and weight it higher while you’re hiring; the posts show real everyday work instead of job-ad phrases. There is no job-ad feature and no application form — the application route remains your website or a conversation in person.
Will my business be tagged as a location in the post?
You set the location tag when approving in the queue, one tap per post — there is no default location on the account. Instagram doesn’t accept a freely typed place name, only a Facebook Page with a stored address; searching for it requires separate approval from Meta and reports as not yet available until then. A rejected location never blocks the post.
Can I do before-and-after posts?
Yes, in two ways. Automatically: a “before–after” topic set to “own media only” — the AI writes the text for each photo, published as a single image or a photo reel from several images. By hand: a carousel with up to 20 images if both shots should sit in one post. Automatic carousels don’t exist.
Does a post go live without my approval?
Only if you set it that way. New accounts start in approval mode: the post is created and scheduled, but presented for approval at the planned time — with an email reminder about an hour before. That’s also where you set the location tag.
Can I also post to Facebook with this?
No, publishing happens exclusively on Instagram. A connected Facebook Page is only read to supplement statistics. For Facebook posts you still need another route.
Is automating Instagram allowed?
Yes, as long as publishing runs through Meta’s official API — which is exactly what PostExpert does. What’s problematic is automated following, mass likes and engagement bots; PostExpert stays away from all of that. The details are in the article [Automating Instagram: what’s allowed](blog/instagram-automatisieren-leitfaden).
Read on
Related to this topic
If you want to dig deeper before you decide.
Product
From the blog
Take the photos that are already on your phone
That’s the most honest test: create a “site diary” topic, upload twenty photos from your gallery and watch for a week what lands in your approval queue. If it doesn’t sound like your business, you’ve lost nothing.
30 days free · cancel monthly · approval before every post if you want