Video has been one of the most commonly consumed content over the internet in the past years. YouTube has always been users’ go-to to watch short clips to kill time, for entertainment, to learn and also to share their daily life. In conjunction with the rise of interest in social media platforms, people now share a YouTube video on Instagram or create their own on TikTok.
If you are already a YouTuber with a running channel and regular updates, it should be fairly easy to share your video on Instagram or any other programs. In this case, you just need to check for supported file formats on Instagram along with the aspect ratio.
Instagram supported file formats:
- MOV, MP4 (Most preferred format)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.91:1 (can go up to 16:9)
How to resize YouTube videos
If you would like to share a YouTube video on Instagram, you first have to change the file format to MOV or MP4 then adjust the aspect ratio. This could be done with any of the video editing softwares.
Free online softwares also offers you the option to resize your video. Adobe Premiere Pro or Media Encoder will also let you modify the aspect ratio, and even allow you to change the file format.
However, bear in mind that there is a duration limit to Instagram posts. All video posts are limited to a minimum of 3 seconds and maximum of 10 minutes. If your video runs longer than 10 minutes, it might be better if you cut the video and make a series of separate postings.
How to share YouTube video on Instagram post
After you resized and adjusted the aspect ratio of your YouTube video, you can now publish it as an Instagram post. The process is identical as posting any other images on your feed.
However, if you want to publish a YouTube video that is not yours, this may be prohibited due to copyright reasons. YouTube disabled public download and if you choose to post it on Instagram, you should consult the owner of the content for their permission.
- Open Instagram and tap the + icon at the top of your screen
- Choose the video you want to upload
- You can choose to post one or multiple videos, photos or both in one posting
- Crop and add filter to the video, if necessary
- Type your caption, tag relevant accounts, add hashtags and location
- Share the post
How to post a YouTube video as Instagram story
If you are done editing your video, and are ready to upload to YouTube, simply share the link on your Instagram story. In doing this, you wouldn’t need to make another posting on your feed. It comes in handy if your video link YouTube does not match with your Instagram feed vibe, since stories only last for 24 hours.
If you are a popular Instagram influencer who has over 10,000 followers, you will unlock the “Swipe up” feature on Instagram stories. This means that your followers or viewers can “swipe-up” on your story to go to the linked website. In this case, you can copy a video from YouTube and link it to your story for “swipe-up” action.
For most of us, if you want to embed a YouTube link on your story, you can just simply include it using one of Instagram’s widgets.
- First, copy video from YouTube.
- Open Instagram and click + then Story. Or you could also slide the screen right to add story.
- Tap the chain icon on the top.
- Click URL and paste the copied YouTube link then hit Done.
- Tap Your Story or Close Friends depending on which group of audience you want as viewers.
If you choose to post your YouTube video on your story instead of sharing it as a form of a link, be sure to double check on Instagram story size. It is most likely that you will have to readjust your size if you want the viewers to watch your story on a full screen. Unlike YouTube, where horizontal videos are preferred, Instagram stories are posted vertically.
- Instagram story size: 1080 x 1920 pixels
Another key point to note when making an Instagram story is the duration. Each Instagram post lasts for 15 seconds, this means that if your video is longer than 15 seconds, your content will be cut and Instagram will automatically make a second story posting.
In other words, if a user taps on the screen to view the next story, the second part of your video will be shown. Hence, if you were looking to post a video that runs longer than a minute, it might be wiser to just simply upload to YouTube then share the link on your story.
If you want to get a little more creative, check for Instagram story ideas. Besides adding links, you could also add an additional photo, music or stickers and so much more to make your story more interactive and interesting.
Share more videos on Instagram
It does not necessarily need to be a YouTube video for you to share on Instagram. You can record directly from Instagram to create a post or share a story. In this case, you would not need to go through the hassle of resizing and changing the file format.
You can also embed a YouTube link on your profile so that when people visit your feed, they will see the link below your name. Just copy the video from YouTube and paste it onto your bio. If you have a lot of links to share, try using Linktree or other equivalent third party applications.
Try testing various ways of sharing YouTube video links on Instagram. Share it as a post or story depending on whether you want the link to be seen for as long as you would like, or if you would rather have it on your profile for 24 hours only.
