How to Post a Video on Instagram: Reels, Stories and Feed (2026)

Knowing how to post a video on Instagram used to mean choosing between a feed video, IGTV and a Story. Instagram has since simplified it: most new videos are shared as Reels, Stories still disappear after a day, and the old long-video section has been folded in. What has not changed is that the same clip can look sharp in one place and badly cropped in another, so it pays to know where a video will end up before you upload it.

This guide covers posting videos on Instagram from a phone and from a computer, the size and shape each placement expects, how to create an Instagram video that people actually watch, and how to schedule a video so it goes out at a set time instead of whenever you remember.

How to post a video on Instagram from your phone

1. 1Tap the plus buttonOpen the Instagram app and tap the plus (+) at the top or bottom of the screen, depending on your version. Choose Reel for a video meant for the Reels tab and feed, or Story for something that disappears after 24 hours.
2. 2Pick or record the clipSelect a video from your camera roll, or hold the record button to film in the app. You can add several clips to one Reel and they play in order.
3. 3Trim and editCut anything before the point so the video opens on something worth watching. Add on-screen text, a sound from Instagram's library or your own audio, and captions if the app offers them for your language.
4. 4Choose a coverPick the frame that appears on your profile grid. A cover with a clear subject and a few words of text tells someone browsing your profile what the video is about.
5. 5Write the captionLead with the one line that matters, because Instagram truncates the caption after the first line or two. Add a handful of relevant hashtags, tag people or products, and add a location if it helps.
6. 6Share or scheduleTap Share to post immediately. On a professional account you can open the advanced settings and schedule the video for later instead.

If you are posting videos on Instagram for a business, check the account is set to professional (Business or Creator) first. It unlocks insights, native scheduling and, importantly, the ability to publish from other tools, which only works for professional accounts.

Posting videos on Instagram from a computer

You do not need a phone to upload a video to Instagram. On instagram.com, sign in, click Create in the left-hand menu, then Select from computer and choose your file. Instagram walks you through cropping, a cover frame and the caption, then shares it. Videos posted this way are shared as Reels in the same way as videos posted from the app.

Desktop is the easier option if your video was edited on a computer, because it avoids sending a large file to your phone and back, which is a common cause of soft, over-compressed uploads. Meta Business Suite offers a similar flow on desktop and adds scheduling; our guide to scheduling Instagram in Meta Business Suite covers it step by step.

Reel, Story or feed: where a video on Instagram goes

Before you post a video on Instagram, decide which job it is doing. The three placements behave differently and expect a different shape:

For most businesses the answer is simple: make the video vertical, post it as a Reel, and share the Reel to your Story as well so followers see it twice. Keep the important text and faces away from the very top and bottom of the frame, where Instagram places the caption, buttons and your username.

How to create an Instagram video that gets watched

Instagram decides how widely to show a Reel largely on how people respond to it, and the first second decides whether anyone responds at all. A few habits make the difference between a video that is uploaded and one that is watched:

• Open on the point. No logo sting, no greeting, no slow pan. Show the result, the problem or the question first.
• Make it work muted. Many people scroll with the sound off, so put the key words on screen as well as in the voiceover.
• One idea per video. A video that makes one point and stops is watched to the end far more often than one that covers four.
• Shoot vertical from the start. Cropping a horizontal video to 9:16 usually cuts off the subject.
• Use good light and clear audio. Both matter more than a better camera.
• End where a viewer can act: a question to answer in the comments, or a reason to visit your profile.

How to schedule a video on Instagram

Posting the moment a video is finished is how accounts end up posting three times one week and not at all the next. Scheduling separates making the video from publishing it, and there are three ways to do it:

1. In the Instagram app: on a professional account, write the caption, open the advanced settings, turn on scheduling and pick a date and time.
2. In Meta Business Suite: create a post or Reel on desktop or mobile, choose Schedule, and set the time. Useful if you manage a Facebook Page as well.
3. With a third-party scheduler: connect a professional Instagram account and the tool publishes through Instagram's official API at the time you set, alongside your other platforms.

Whichever you choose, the point is a steady rhythm. A business that posts a decent video twice a week for six months will almost always do better than one that posts a brilliant video once and then goes quiet.

Common problems when posting videos on Instagram

If a video keeps failing on your phone, try the same file from a computer on instagram.com. It isolates whether the problem is the file or the device, and desktop uploads tend to keep more of the original quality.

After you post a video on Instagram

Reply to the first comments quickly, share the Reel to your Story, and pin your best videos to the top of your profile. Then look at insights after a week rather than an hour: how many people watched past the first few seconds, how many shared or saved it, and how many visited your profile afterwards. Make more of whatever holds attention, and stop making whatever does not.