Are you looking to enhance your YouTube reach using Instagram?
Are you planning to post your YouTube videos (or, for that matter, somebody else’s) on Instagram? This article is going to be your catch-all guide for streamlining Instagram uploading.
Marketers expect it to be an easy-peasy process, it actually is! With the surfacing of Instagram TV (IGTV), the restriction on video length is also no more a constraint.
From downloading the video to editing & optimizing to uploading, every step can be made super easy and is just a few steps away. We’ll discuss everything, stay tuned.
| Table of contents
Why Post YouTube Videos on Instagram?
What Video Kind & Genre is Suitable for Instagram?
How to Optimize Videos for Instagram
Video Requirements on Instagram
How to Get Your Videos Noticed on Instagram?
How to Download Videos from YouTube
Best Tools for Editing Videos for Instagram
Upload the Edited Videos on Instagram
Why Post YouTube Videos on Instagram?
Remember, every social media channel has its own kind of audience. Instagram is more popular with the audiences of niches like Fashion, Beauty, Personal Branding, Personal Growth, and any other visual-based content. Even in all other niches, a huge number of people prefer to see only images and short videos on their feeds. To reach this audience, you need to win Instagram.
That said, more than 50% of the ardent Instagram users expect their favorite brands to offer video content regularly. So, if you can channelize YouTube videos to Instagram, that’s a big plus.
If you want to fish where the fish are, you want to share rich video content on Instagram.
On Instagram, you can reach a targeted audience with easy-to-manage ads and by using its rich catalog of hashtags free of cost.
Short video clips like trailers and teasers work best on Instagram and serve the whole purpose of creating the desire for your content.
When you post video reminders on Instagram, people who don’t often use YouTube will feel an appetite for your upcoming content on YT. From here, the audience you get may turn out to be permanent; it all depends on the consistency and the quality of your content.
And then, there is Free Lunch.
Even if you don’t have your own YouTube content, you can still start campaigning on Instagram using other peoples’ video content.
HOW? Pick and upload the video chunks of your choice in an informative or educational manner. That is, you have to disguise the message of the video as an educational story, and in between, establish your own presence i.e. by editing it and imprinting your own logo and watermark.
Simply pick a video or many, make a short video compilation, and upload it. This is legal and falls under the provisions of the Fair Use Act. However, there will be some rules e.g. you may have to give credits for the original video creator, sometimes the length of the content has to be short and fixed, etc.
What Video Kind & Genre is Suitable for Instagram? (And What’s Not?)
Different types of videos work for stories, news feeds, and IGTV on Instagram. This understanding of what works and what doesn’t have to do with some data-based insights gathered over time.
Stories Are Meant For Experimenting
Stories last only for 24 hours and people are likely to respond to your stories more than feed videos. You can experiment with different things i.e. share short excerpts from your YT videos, little expressions, daily life quotes, opinions, laughter, bloopers, awkward behind-the-scenes activities, and see how people react to them.
From here, you’ll get a solid lead into your future video strategy. The idea is to keep your audience engaged and re-enforce your brand’s presence on regular basis.
In the beginning, make sure most of your story videos are not longer than 20 seconds. Meme material is priceless if you can find time to come up with your own crafts.
You can also make a compilation of the past best-performing videos and scenes and post it on Instagram as a quick introduction of your brand. Short messages, current videos involving social influencers also prove fruitful for stories.
Feed Videos Should Be Short
These are 60-120 second videos (hook videos) that typically feature the core part of your full videos i.e. a motivational story, a funny incident, some weird occasion, etc. They appear on the news feed of users.
For brands with a routine to post such content: expect results like permanent viewership and followers after a while. People will gradually start trusting your brand and its content. The only key here is, prefer quality over quantity!
Plus, don’t forget to put links to your YT channels and videos wherever possible and suitable. Remember: most Insta buddies hardly watch a video beyond 30-40 secs, so try to keep your messages compact or concentrate the crux of your messages within the first 30 seconds. However, for a 90 seconds video, it has to be something intriguing altogether.
IGTV Provides Your Viewers an Opportunity to Watch Longer Videos
IGTV means the world to YouTubers as you don’t have to cut the length of your videos before sharing them on IGTV. Just a little editing and optimization, and you are done. As the Instagram rules go, you can’t share links with stories before reaching the 10k followers’ mark. Hence, the biggest advantage with IGTV is that you can share links on it right from the first day of your Instagram campaign.
The video types that suit IGTV the best are Live streamings, Podcasts, Interviews, Quiz shows, etc.
How to Optimize Videos for Instagram
To optimize videos means to adapt them to Instagram’s settings and preferences so that they are not only acceptable on Instagram but also likely to get more engagement.
To be precise, it involves:
- Fulfilling Instagram’s requirements for videos.
- Making your videos capable of reaching and impacting maximum people.
Video Requirements on Instagram
Your videos should follow the following specifications:
- Video format: MP4 or MOV
- Codec: H.264
- AAC audio (better than MP3 type.)
- Bitrate: 3500 kbps
- Frame Rate: 30 fps
- Recommended Resolution: 720p
However, some requirements are different for Stories, Feed, and IGTV.
For Stories:
- Length: 15 seconds or less
- Minimum Dimensions: 600 x 1067.
- File Size: 4 GB
For Feed:
- Length: 120 seconds or less
- Minimum Dimensions: 600 x 315.
- File Size: 4 GB
For IGTV:
- Length: 60 minutes (when uploaded using Desktop); 15 minutes (when uploaded using Mobile)
- Vertical Aspect Ratio: 9:16
- Horizontal Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- File Size: A maximum of 650 MBs for videos shorter than 10 minutes; 3.6 GBs for longer videos.
Remember, IGTV cover photos are set only once. So, make sure you pick and edit them the best way. You can easily find relatable cover photos free of cost on Canva.com where you can easily edit them as well. Its size should be 420 x 654.
How to Get Your Videos Noticed on Instagram?
- Take a peek at this list to explore the best tricks and hacks to make your videos attractive and most likely to engage:
- Use hashtags so that your videos (and images) reach the maximum number of people interested in the general topic of the video.
- For getting more engagement, the most recommended video length is 26 seconds, says Hubspot. This length gets the most comments.
- Try to upload videos that feature a human face, preferably your own face of the brand.
- Upload videos through online platforms like Google Drive or Apple Airdrop. They preserve the quality of your video.
- As 83% percent of Instagram users watch videos on mute, subtitles become an inevitable part of your videos. Easy, short subtitles will do the job.
- Many users tend to keep their autoplay off. That means you have to use an eye-catching thumbnail to attract the notice of the users.
- Then comes the king part, copywriting. Captions with emotionally appealing and sophisticated words, short sentences, and a ‘Verdict-Passing’ style is enormously powerful in influencing the viewers. Up till now, the best-selling caption length has been 1000 to 2000 letters.
- Lastly, if you are running an eCommerce store, tagging products in your videos will be helpful; many brands have increased their sales by 3 folds by using tags.
How to Download Videos from YouTube
If you wish to post other’s YouTube videos to Instagram, bear in mind that using third-party apps to download videos is against YouTube’s terms of service, which say you can only stream videos directly from its servers. Downloading videos is also a potential copyright infringement unless you own the video yourself, have permission from the copyright holder, or it’s in the public domain.
There are plenty of free tools that allow you to do it very easily on your desktop or mobile device. Here is a list of some familiar tools:
Video Grabber – www.videograbber.net
Fast and simple video download and conversion, supports multiple format outputs.
1.4K Video Downloader – www.4kdownload.com
Fast, free and flexible – the most versatile YouTube downloader
Savefrom.net – www.savefrom.net
Convenient and simple online video downloader
iTubeGo – www.itubego.com
Supports more than 1K websites such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
Any Video Converter Free – www.any-video-converter.com
Download and convert videos, and add special effects
Ddownr – www.ddownr.com
Download Youtube Videos and entire Playlists with one click
aTube Catcher – www.atube.me
Download, convert and merge videos as they’re playing
Downloading YT Videos Using Android and iPhone
You can download and install any YouTube Downloader App on your phone and then browse your desired videos on them by entering the video titles. However, you can’t download these apps directly from Apple’s or Google’s play store as they both don’t appreciate such apps.
But you can browse these apps on the internet using any search engine and browser, and download and install them on your phone. You will have to change the App-Security settings on your phone so that it may allow these so-called “unverified” apps in.
Some famous apps are Snaptube, TubeMate, and VidMate.
If we talk speed and video quality, VidMate is probably the best.
Best Tools for Editing Videos for Instagram
Unfortunately, posting YT videos to Instagram is not that straightforward, it does take a bit of stuff and editing. Now that you have downloaded the videos from YouTube, it’s time to give them a fine touch of necessary editing.
To turn your videos Insta-friendly, here is a list of some top-notch, mostly free, easy-to-use editors that’ll make the job a cool breeze for you. The list contains tools for all iOS, Windows, and Android devices and they all trump each other in their own strong zones.
Online-convert is your first go-to option if you have absolutely no computing resources for things like editing. The best part about this online editing tool is its simplicity and no-fuss interface. There’s only a single editing page where you have to upload your videos and feed-in the right values. After this, simply convert and download your videos.
Online-convert allows you to optimize videos with a wide range of options i.e. sizing, resolution changing, trimming, voice disabling, etc.
More excitingly, it features a search box at the top right which helps you to see if the converted video is supported by the hosting platform- which is Instagram in our case. Plus, there hasn’t been any instance reported about viruses or malware coming with online-convert.
If you hate the nag of repetitive editing, Clipchamp can solve your problem. Now you can resume editing the videos from where you left the last time, and resave them.
If you originally edited your YT videos using Clipchamp, they were saved in your profile. You can now come back at any time and continue editing it further to optimize it for Instagram. Then, you can share from here directly to Instagram.
Another big plus is, Clipchamp makes the ratio and decompression stage absolutely hassle-free. It includes a sample collection of video clips that you can use to craft a whole new video from scratch. And, of course, you can always add music, SFX, transitions, customized media, etc.
Pro tip: If you limit the size of the edited video, you can export its 720p or even 1080p version with its free package.
If you want an amazingly inexpensive video editing app, Inshot makes the best choice. If your budget is tight and you haven’t targeted the most refined video cuts, you can definitely pick Inshot. It works equally well for both iPhone and Android.
Key Features:
- Includes all the main editing features like video rotation and flipping, frame sizing, blurring, trimming, etc.
- Contains cool filters, colors, stickers, texts, music, and effects.
- Motion controls and volume control.
- With relatively limited features, the ‘edit on the go’ facility.
- You can erase Inshot’s watermark and brand logo from your videos by paying a trifling price of $2.99/month.
iMovie is exceptional for both beginners and those who are looking to come up with an extraordinary Instagram video using their IOS devices. What makes it stand out is its stabilization feature which is missing in most competitive tools. Its video trailer feature is also quite extraordinary.
For its rich feature list, there are more than 30 filters for videos and 20+ exciting audio filters. It can tweak white balance in the videos by matching colors and presents a consistent look of your videos. Lastly, you can share videos from here to any social platform including Instagram easily. The best part is, it’s absolutely free. Unfortunately, it’s available for iPhone and Mac only.
FilmoraGO
FilmoraGo is an automatic choice for both Android and Windows users who want the same edit quality as iPrime provides. The app loads fast and functions smoothly with on-the-go stability.
It’s got all the vital components to make you a fulfilling, visually attractive Instagram video. Apart from all the important features like duplicate, trimming, filters, overlays, rotate and motion, the unique thing about FilmoraGo is its clip-by-clip editing instead of timeline-based one. Majority of the people find this feature interesting to use.
You can also import videos directly from Facebook or any other social platform (not YouTube). You also get licensed songs to use in your videos.
On top of it, there won’t be any watermark, logo, ads, or any limit on the length of your videos. That said, you can use it nonstop for free until you ask for its signature features like Holiday and Retro Effects.
Versatile and scalable video editor Magisto is worth the money it costs. Its scalable AI features and customization allows you to wander as much as you can imagine in your videos.
Basically, Magisto is a drag & drop tool with an amazing library of animations, several motion effects, customized branding options, HD resolutions, several killer filters, etc.
Unlike the tools mentioned above, Magisto has the capability of providing you with vast customization options almost automatically through Artificial Intelligence.
Of course, it offers all the regular and many advanced editing components but its AI-driven features offer such chic design and character to your videos that they suddenly stick out. The whole build of your ‘new’ video will be based on sound and facial recognition, action sequences, and the background.
And then, you’ll have access to its vital analytics as well. Businesses must have a look at this tool to turn their carefree scroller followers into often-stoppers. Its Business subscription costs $35/month.
Upload the Edited Videos on Instagram
From the PC:
For Desktop users, there‘s a tool called Grids. It’s a downloadable Instagram management tool that provides desktop users an easy and comprehensive dashboard using which they can utilize all the Instagram features that are available on the mobile app. With a wider screen, scheduling options, and AI features, the experience with Grids is even better than the phone.
Open Grids, Select the ‘plus’ button, pick your videos from Mac’s gallery, and that’s all.
As an online alternative, Hootsuite might be the best option.
Note: You can also transfer these videos to your phone using iCloud sync (for Mac users), or Dropbox, or any other type of file transfer, and then upload them from the phone.
From the Phone:
You must be familiar with this all-simple process already:
- Open the Instagram app on your phone.
- Select the ‘Share’ button on the bottom.
- Select the video you want to post.
- Follow the on-screen prompts to post it.
Over to You
If you are a marketer and want to stay ahead of the pack, Instagram video marketing is the next big thing you need to act now:
- You’ll reach more people.
- Your brand will establish its authority among the very different INSTA people.
- Your brand will get more dedicated followers.
- Your network will expand; Ecommerce is easier and smoother on Instagram.
With the above-mentioned actionable steps, the process of posting YT videos on Instagram won’t bother you. That said, it’s time to shift your focus towards the ever-expanding nature of video marketing.
