How to Post Videos on Instagram
How do I post my video on Instagram? This is a question we asked all the time! Posting videos to Instagram are a little different than posting a simple photo. Sometime it can seem confusing or maybe your not sure of all the settings you have available to you when posting a video on Instagram. Well today, we are answering all your questions!
HERE ARE 5 EASY STEPS TO POST VIDEOS TO INSTAGRAM:
01. DOWNLOAD THE VIDEO TO YOUR PHONE.
If you are trying to post your wedding video, brand video or any other video that was pre-edited to Instagram, getting to your phone so you can post can sometimes be so confusing! There are a few programs and apps we use to make this happen- Google Drive, Dropbox, Planoly or also by text!
GOOGLE DRIVE // First, you will need to download the Google Drive App to your phone and connect it to your Google Account. Once this is set up, you can then drop any videos from your computer to your Google Drive. This will then allow you to access any of the videos on your phone when you open the App. Downloading the videos to your phone is pretty easy, click the video to bring up more options (use the '..." at the top right corner) and then select "Send a copy". More options will pop up, then click "Save Video". The video will then download to your phone's library. Google Drive doesn't tell you it's downloading, but it will be working in the background and the setting options will go away once the download is complete. This is the method we use 99% of the time!
DROPBOX // You will need to download the Dropbox App to your phone and connect it to your account first. Once this is set up, you can then drop any videos from your computer to your Dropbox account. This will then allow you to access any of the videos on your phone when you open the App. When your ready to download the video to your phone, click the video to bring up more options (use the '..." at the top right corner) and then select "Export". More options will pop up, then click "Save Video". Dropbox will then export the video right to your phone and let you know when it is complete. You will find it in your phone's library.
PLANOLY // If you have an account with Planoly, this is a great way to post videos to instagram without all the back and forth, downloading to your phone, etc... etc. Using the desktop version, upload your video right to your Planoly account, schedule your post and ta-da! You will still need to follow steps 2-5, since Planoly will not let you select your aspect ratio, sound options or cover image.
02. ADJUST THE ASPECT RATIO.
Once you have the video downloaded to your phone, open Instagram and select the video from your Library. The first step you will need to do is adjust the aspect ratio. This basically allows you to select the size of your video, if you want it to be displayed as a square (1:1), landscape (16:9) or portrait (4:5). Instagram always defaults to square (1:1) so unless you change this some of your video could get cut off.
03. TURN ON SOUND.
Next... if the video has sound, be sure to turn it on! Just click the speaker icon at the top.
04. SELECT YOUR COVER IMAGE.
This is probably the most commonly missed steps when people post videos to Instagram! There is a 'Cover' tab at the bottom right corner. This will allow you to scroll through your video and pick the perfect cover image to be displayed on your profile feed. Once you selected your cover image, click next at the top right corner! If you don't pick a cover image, Instagram will default to the first frame of your video as the cover.
05. SHARE!
You're almost ready to share your video! Just post your caption for the video, tag the people who are in it and do your hashtags! (and if it is a video we did, be sure to tag us of course!)
HERE IS OUR FREE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE ON HOW TO POST VIDEOS ON INSTAGRAM:
MORE HELPFUL TIPS:
// Keep your video under 60 seconds, Instagram won't let you upload anything longer than that. If you do, they will just cut the end.
// Don't fade up from black in the beginning of your video. If someone is sharing or posting your video and forgets to change the cover image, the video will show up black! We see so many people make this mistake, so in order to avoid this its better to eliminate the fade-in from black all together for Instagram videos.
// Keep your video resolution at 1920x1080 or less otherwise it will not upload properly! We shoot most of our videos in 4k (which is a 3840x2160 resolution) so when we want to post a video to Instagram we will always down-res the video.
// Try posting portrait (vertical) videos to Instagram! This is something new we have been loving! Instagram is a vertical platform, so why not take advantage of the vertical real-estate and create more engagement! See an example here.