Video content is bachelor in 4 formats on Instagram: Reels, Alive, Stories, and Instagram Video.

The explosion of video across the platform is a lot to juggle. Just it's besides created new ways for marketers to tell stories and accomplish their audition.

Which Instagram video format is right for your make? In that location may be a place in your social media strategy for all of them. Or maybe you'll decide only to focus on a couple. Read our guide to learn most the features, specifications, and best practices for every type.

Plus, we've rounded up tools that make juggling Instagram video a piffling bit easier.

Bonus: Unlock our gratuitous, customizable Instagram storyboard template to salve time and plan all your Stories content in accelerate.

Types of Instagram video

Here'southward a breakdown of the different Instagram video formats.

Instagram Stories

Inspired by Snapchat, Instagram Stories are 15-2nd videos that disappear after 24 hours.

Stories can exist recorded by swiping right from the home screen, or by borer the plus icon and selecting Stories. They tin can also be uploaded from the Photograph Library.

Expired Stories can be saved to the Highlights department of a person's profile, positioned above the grid.

Instagram Stories

Source: Instagram

Interactive elements such as filters, emojis, tags, and stickers tin exist added to each Story. Several brands—some 4 one thousand thousand every calendar month by Instagram's count—accept found novel ways to use these features, from "this or that" polls to Q&As and product tags.

Stories are also one of the rare places on Instagram that accounts tin mail service links. (Simply accounts that are verified or have 10,000+ followers have access to this feature.) For brands, it'due south a significant manner to drive organic leads and conversions. More than 50% of people polled by Facebook say they've visited a brand'southward website later on seeing a Story.

Despite their ephemerality, Stories are pop.

Their location at the peak of the home feed may accept something to do with it. The offhand nature of the disappearing format—removed from aesthetic pressures of the feed, is likely another factor.

More than than 500 million people scout Stories every day, and 58% of people surveyed by Facebook say Stories take piqued their interest in a brand or production.

Resource: Learn how to use Instagram Stories to build your audience.

Instagram Video

Instagram Video is a format introduced in 2021. It replaced IGTV and combined it with in-feed video posts.

Instagram Video posts are added the same way images are posted: using Instagram'due south congenital-in photographic camera or uploading from a Photo Library.

These videos can be upward to 60 minutes in length.

Similar an image mail service, an Instagram video mail service tin can include a filter, location, caption, as well as user and location tags. Once posted, people tin can appoint with likes, comments, and sharing public videos in Stories and straight messages.

Users tin create 60-second previews for longer videos. Video posts live in the dedicated Video tab on a user's profile.

Instagram Alive

Instagram Live lets people video stream from the built-in camera. With things going remote this yr, brands have used Instagram Live to host workshops, interviews, and more, leading to a lxx% increment in views between February and March.

Live broadcasts are started by swiping right or tapping the plus icon and toggling to Live. Alive streams can last up to four hours and can be hosted by ane or two accounts. When an account goes alive, they announced at the front of the Stories bar with a Alive icon. One time finished, Instagram Live videos can be shared for 30 days before they are deleted.

The number of viewers watching a live stream appears at the acme of the screen, and people can appoint by adding comments or emoji reactions. Viewers can also purchase badges and so that centre icons appear abreast their proper name in the comments. Instagram Alive hosts tin can pin comments, plow comments off, or set up upward keyword filters to moderate comments.

Live Shopping features let businesses tag relevant products then that they announced at the bottom of the screen. Instagram Live also supports donations, so nonprofits on social media and creators can apply this medium for fundraising.

Resource: How to use Instagram Live to grow and appoint your followers.

Reels

Reels is Instagram'southward latest video format. Inspired by TikTok, these 15-30 2d clips can be created with Instagram's photographic camera or uploaded from the Photo Library.

Recording furnishings include timed text, AR filters, light-green screen mode, timer and speed controls, and access to an sound library.

Reels

Source: Instagram

Reels record in vertical portrait mode (ix:16) and are displayed in users' feeds, the Reels tab, and a dedicated profile tab.

Like feed videos, Reels can include captions, hashtags, and most recently, production tags. People can appoint with Reels by liking, commenting, or sharing them in Stories and directly messages.

Resources: Everything you lot need to know about Instagram Reels.

Instagram video specs

Hither are the size and format specifications for each type of Instagram video.

Instagram Stories specs

Stories take up the unabridged mobile screen and are tailored to the device. For that reason, exact specifications vary. These are the recommended specs:

  • Length: Up to fifteen seconds (longer videos tin exist clipped into multiple Stories)
  • Recommended size: Upload the highest resolution video bachelor that meets file size and ratio limits.
  • Maximum video file size : 30MB
  • Recommended file type: .MP4 or .MOV format
  • Ratios: 9:16 and 16:9 to four:5
  • Minimum width : 500 pixels
  • Minimum aspect ratio : 400 x 500
  • Maximum attribute ratio : 191 ten 100 or 90 ten 160
  • H.264 compression recommended
  • Square pixels, stock-still frame rate, progressive scan, and stereo AAC audio compression at 128+ kbps

Tip: Keep about 14% (~250 pixels) of the top and lesser of the video gratis from essential content. In this expanse, information technology could exist obstructed by the contour photo or call to action.

Instagram Video specs

  • Length: three to threescore seconds
  • Recommended size: Upload the highest resolution video available that meets file size and ratio limits.
  • Recommended file type: .MP4 or .MOV format
  • Maximum file size 30MB
  • Maximum frame rate 30fps
  • Minimum width: 500 pixels.
  • H.264 compression recommended
  • Square pixels, fixed frame rate, progressive scan, and stereo AAC audio pinch at 128kbps+

Instagram Alive specs

Instagram Live broadcasts can only exist recorded from the camera app. Specifications are similar to Instagram Stories. Before going alive, be certain that you have a reliable and fast Internet connexion.

Instagram video best practices

Every Instagram video format is different, but these best practices apply to all of them.

Create for mobile

The majority of people view Instagram video on mobile, which means information technology's best to shoot in vertical orientation. Virtually people intuitively use portrait or selfie mode when they tape with their phones. But for those who plan to apply a photographic camera and upload a video, this is something to go on in mind.

create videos for mobile orientation

Source: Instagram

Of form, at that place are some exceptions. For longer video content, horizontal video may be a better fit.

Viewers tin tilt their phone sideways for a full-screen viewing experience. Landscape video can as well exist uploaded to Stories and in-feed, but without the tilt effect.

Start with a claw

As a general rule, you lot have three seconds to terminate thumbs from scrolling past your Instagram video. Or leaving your Instagram Story. Requite people a reason to keep watching. Whether it's arresting visuals or a teaser of what'due south to come, detect a style to offering instant appeal.

Don't underestimate the importance of a caption either. If the video doesn't catch someone'south attention, the caption is your 2d run a risk.

Provide value

To continue a viewer's attention you need to provide some kind of value. Your pitch could be sheer amusement value—like comic relief, captivating conversation, or your magnetic personality. Or you could impart tips and tricks, how-to's and workshops, or thought-provoking information.

Your value suggestion should be clear and simple. Before setting out to create a video, fill up in the blank: When someone watches this video, they will _______. The answer may range from "laugh out loud" to "acquire how to make snowman-wiches." Whatever you land on, it should exist clear to viewers upfront.

If you deliver on your promise, you'll likely meet more views, engagement, and shares.

Use audio and captions

Co-ordinate to Instagram, 60% of people picket Stories with sound on. But information technology'due south well known that there are many reasons people may watch your video with sound off, including context and hearing impairments.

Utilize sound to enhance your video, and include captions to make your video accessible. Timed-text can exist manually added to Instagram Stories and Reels. To save time, tools like Clipomatic automatically add captions to your video.

Postal service regularly

The best way to build an audition is to mail regularly. That's especially true when it comes to long-formats like Instagram Video and Alive.

Create and share a schedule with your audience so they know when to expect your next Instagram Live. Or develop a video series that your followers tin regularly look forrard to and tune in to. Take reward of scheduling tools like Hootsuite to make certain your posts are published on fourth dimension.

Try to mail service when your followers or most online. Check your analytics and consult our research to decide when that is. Continue in heed that your schedule will not work for anybody. So make sure your Instagram videos remain accessible. Salve Instagram Alive videos to your feed and share new video series episodes widely so people don't miss them.

Bonus: Unlock our costless, customizable Instagram storyboard template to save time and plan all your Stories content in advance.

Get the template at present!

Tip: Create a countdown sticker in an Instagram Story to build anticipation for an Instagram Live or an upcoming video premiere.

Cross-promote your videos

There are lots of ways to boost the discoverability of videos. Use trending hashtags, geotags, tag relevant accounts. Add together popular stickers to your Story. And of form yous can always inject some advertizing dollars.

Once you've checked all of those boxes, programme cross-promote your Instagram videos earlier and after you've posted. Share your videos to Instagram Stories. Tease an upcoming Instagram Live on Twitter. Pivot your videos on Pinterest.

Not only will this increase the view count, it drives engagement on other platforms, too—making the endeavor you lot put in to creating the video all the more worthwhile.

Instagram video apps

You've got your tripod and your ring light ready to go. At present endeavour these Instagram video apps to perfect your content.

Adobe Spark

Use Adobe Spark to automatically size Instagram videos for y'all, add together interactive elements, and take advantage of the app'southward photo and audio library.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite's collaborative platform is ideal for content that requires teamwork and approvals. You tin also manage all your video material with Hootsuite's content library.

Then, use the planner to pinpoint publication, plan production, and spot holes in your content calendar. And avoid lags while posting a story with multiple parts with the scheduling tools.

Pictory

Pictory is an AI tool that will help you plow text into professional person-quality videos with just a few clicks, fifty-fifty if you lot don't have much experience creating video content. How does it work? You lot copy and paste text into Pictory, and AI automatically creates custom video based on your input, pulling from a vast library of over 3 million royalty-free video and music clips.

Pictory integrates with Hootsuite, and so you can easily schedule your videos for publication without ever leaving their dashboard.

Clipomatic

Clipomatic is the preferred way to add live captions to social video by a number of high profile users, include U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Queer Centre'southward Karamo Brown. Explanation equally you speak, or add together captions to pre-recorded video. The captioning tool is available in more than 30 languages, and text can exist edited and customized before posting.

Apple Clips

Apple's video editor lets y'all slice and dice videos as you see fit before sharing it to Instagram. The app besides includes a range of filters, special effects, and graphics. Like Clipomatic, it also lets you add alive subtitles and text to your videos.

Adobe Premiere Rush

Adobe Premiere Blitz is included with as office of the Creative Cloud All Apps plan and with Premiere Pro. So if you're already a customer, this app provides a slew of tools and features for social video. In addition to stuntworthy special effects, the app keeps its audio library fresh with custom recordings.

Lumen5

Lumen5 is a video creator that helps businesses turn their web log posts into engaging social video. The AI-powered video app pulls images and words into a storyboard brands can edit and tailor to each platform.

Headliner

If you lot want in on the video action, but only have audio and text to work with, Headliner is for you. Originally made to help promote podcasts, the app is used by Wondery, BBC, CNN and other platforms use Headliner to transcribe audio clips into shareable, animated videos.

Grow your Instagram presence using Hootsuite. From a single dashboard yous can schedule and publish posts and Stories directly to Instagram, engage your audience, measure performance, and run all your other social media profiles. Try it gratuitous today.

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