How to Add Music to an Instagram Post, Story or Reel

Instagram’s active user base around a billion just a couple of years ago has swelled to 2.4 billion.

The tech-savvy Generation Z drives this phenomenal growth.

Visiting the United States, not long ago, I witnessed people taking photos and making videos every nook and corner. No wonder Instagram sees millions of posts, stories, and reels uploaded every day.

If you’re an entrepreneur, marketer, or content creator, there is a challenge associated with this craze for Instagram.

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Your content needs to stand out, set the tone for higher brand recognition and better engagement, and lead the way for more leads and deals.

Here is a simple trick that can yield great results – add music to your Instagram post, story, and reel.

In this article, we’ll discuss both the ‘why’ and ‘how’ to add music to your Instagram content.

The Importance of Background Music in Social Media Content

A world without music is no fun at all. You may have noticed it. Even during the era of silent movies, music helped set the mood of the scene and draw the audience into the story.

Music creates a deeper connection between the video and the audience. Adding music to your Instagram post, story, and reel helps remember your content.

If you haven’t been using music in your Instagram content, here are three reasons that’ll help change your position.

1. Music will complement your content and help set the tone.

Want to capture the richness of sunrise or sunset? Use calm, soothing classical music that elevates the mood and calms the nerves.

Whereas, a catchy and peppy soundtrack will perfectly capture the mood of fun videos by making the audience feel happy and upbeat.

2. Music can serve as the key to remembering your content

Even if the audience forgets the visual part of the content, they’ll remember the tune. Furthermore, music makes a video more memorable and sharable.

Let’s just say, that when you combine memorable music with content, the combined whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

3. The use of a consistent music theme helps the audience recognize your brand every time they hear the soundtrack

Take, for example, each time The Imperial March music is played, the mind automatically remembers Darth Vader from Star Wars.

Similarly, Ennio Morricone’s music, especially the main theme, is one of the reasons people still remember and enjoy the movie The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Who can benefit from appending music to posts, stories, and reels?

The answer to this is simple – everyone. All content creators should add music to their social media content.

The music you choose depends on the nature and type of Instagram content you create.

Music is guaranteed to make a difference in the way your content is consumed.

It will make your content stand out and help connect with the audience.

The success of your Instagram content in attracting and engaging the audience also depends on the type of music you select.

If the post, story, or reel is funny/humorous, then use a soundtrack that enhances the comedic nature of the memes or videos.

Businesses, especially startup companies, can attach inspirational, positive, or even classical music to their content to engage the audience.

If you’re a travel content creator, you can add music that awakens the sense of adventure.

How to Add Music to Instagram Photo Feed Posts

If an image is worth a thousand words, an image with a background soundtrack is certainly worth a lot more.

Additionally, such Instagram posts are better placed to attract the attention of the audience.

This is precisely why, in 2022 Instagram allowed users to add music to their photo feed posts.

Moreover, music in photo feeds adds an extra dimension to your marketing effort.

If you want to know how it’s done, here is a step-by-step guide:

Step 1: On your Instagram app, tap on your profile icon, and click the (+) button to see the type of content you can create. From the options, choose Post.

Step 2: You can create a photo post by either clicking a photo using the camera option or selecting a photo from your image gallery. After choosing your picture, click Next, and you’ll be taken to the page where you can select the music.

Step 3: You can press ‘Browse’ to pick a soundtrack from the in-app library. Use filters such as themes, moods, and genres to select music that matches your photo post.

Step 4: Before attaching the soundtrack to your post, click Play to listen to the audio file once.

Step 5: Unfortunately, you can’t use the full audio track. The soundtrack needs to be between 5 to 90 seconds. Use the slider to choose the duration and exact section of the music file that you want to play with the photo post.

Step 6: Finally, press the check mark (indicating, yes) to give the final touches such as adding hashtags, location, captions, etc. before sharing the post with the world.

How to Add Music to Instagram Video Feed Post

Video invokes emotion. It’s important to find and add a soundtrack that complements that emotion to enhance the video’s likeability.

Also, make sure the music aligns with your brand, thereby effectively conveying your brand voice and message.

Adding music to Instagram video feed posts is a little different from appending music to photo feeds.

But, the process is quite simple which would take just a few seconds of your time. Here is the step-by-step procedure:

Step 1: Press the create (+) button or open the profile page to click the create (+) button to choose the Post option.

Step 2: Now you can use the camera to record a video or pick a video from your gallery. Click the Next button on the screen.

Step 3: On this page, you can trim the video to your preferred length. After editing the video size, press the Next button.

Step 4: You’ll see a lot of options at the bottom of the screen. Click the Music icon to open the Instagram music library.

Step 5: The Instagram library contains soundtracks from various genres and themes. You can also pick from the Instagram recommended list which mostly contains trending music loved and used by other Instagrammers. Alternatively, Instagram also allows you to add sound effects, import music, and use the voiceover option to record and attach the audio to the video post.

Step 6: Select the music, listen to it, and match the soundtrack to the video before clicking Done.

Step 7: You can tinker with the audio controls to decrease or increase the original audio of video and music files. Once you’re satisfied with the volume, press Done.

Step 8: Before the video post goes public, watch the video with music to check if both sync and complement each other. 

Step 9: Add captions, hashtags, and share the video post with the public. Lately, Instagram converts all video posts into reels.

How to Add Music to Instagram Story

I sometimes wonder, why some Instagram Stories are more engaging than others. Is it the theme, picture quality, or anything else?

More often than not, it’s the catchy tune that draws the audience to a Story.

Instagram Stories just last for 24 hours and the best time to post Stories is during lunch breaks. It’s a great way to share the daily news about your startup or business.

Music is a powerful tool that can convert a simple Instagram Story into a memorable masterpiece.

Plus, the right soundtrack can induce the users to sing along, thereby creating a bond that could last for a long time.

Want to add music to your Instagram Story? One of the easiest methods is to use music stickers. Want to know how it’s done? Let’s find out:

Step 1: Not all Instagram Stories require a music track to draw the audience’s interest. But, if you decide that an Instagram story will perform well with a soundtrack, then open the profile page and click the create (+) icon.

Step 2: Select Story from the content options and record or upload a photo or video that you want to appear as an Instagram Story.

Step 3: Unlike others, in the case of Instagram Stories, you add music through Stickers. On the top of the screen, click the Sticker icon to see all the available Instagram stickers. Click the Music sticker.

Step 4: From the innumerable songs, which also include trending music, pick one for your Instagram Story. Do you have a song in mind? Use the search bar to locate the music in the Instagram library. If you want to great creative and choose a music track you’re not familiar with, then it’s best to listen to the song once before selecting it.

Step 5: Obviously, you can’t use the full music track, because most of them are several minutes long. Slice the section of the track that you like and attach the same to your Story (image or video).

Step 6: Decide whether you want the song title and lyrics to appear along with the Story or not. Plus, you can control the font type and size of the music track. Finally, if you have nothing more to tinker with, press the Done button to share your Story with the followers.

How to Add Music to Instagram Reels

Adding music to your Instagram reels is akin to seasoning your food.

Music adds a touch of magic to your content. It enhances the mood, stimulates emotions, and boosts social bonding.

Appending music to this type of Instagram content helps get the best of your reels.

In addition to being one of the best-performing features on the platform, reels with impactful visuals and audio are most likely to go viral.

Simply put, an Instagram reel without music is a pizza without cheese.

Reels also give you the most freedom to experiment with your choice of music.

You can pick a soundtrack from the platform’s music library or your personal music tracklist.

Additionally, you can also append a voiceover audio file to your Instagram reel.

Here is a step-by-step process of including music in your Instagram reels.

Step 1: Click the Create icon and choose Reels. You’ll find the option to create reels first on the list.

Step 2: Use the app’s built-in camera option to record a reel or upload a clip from your phone.

Choosing the right editing app can make a significant difference in the quality and appeal of your Instagram Reels.

Step 3: When the video clip is fully loaded, the content will be displayed on the screen.

Step 4: To your left, you’ll find the Music icon. Click the icon to open the Instagram music library and other options.

Step 5: Instead of a music track, if you want to lend your voice to the reel, choose the Voiceover option at the top of the screen.

Step 6: You can let Instagram choose a soundtrack for you or browse their music library. Enter a genre, mood, song title, lyrics, or artist name in their search bar to locate relevant music. Select the music, play it to make sure the music goes well with your video, and finally click to add the track to the reel.

Step 7: Next, choose the part of the song to add to the reel. Trim it to the desired length and add the music to the reel and move to the next page.

Step 8: You can further enhance the reel by adding sound effects by clicking the Music icon on the screen. Next, press Controls to adjust various volume options. You can tinker with camera volume, voiceover volume, and song volume. Once you’re done with editing the volume, press Done to add captions, a cover photo, and hashtags. Finally, click the Share button to publish your Instagram reel with music.

Final Thoughts

Please don’t take my word for it. In the past, many luminaries have called music the food for the soul.

Music can elevate your content and bring it to the spotlight.

The right music can arrest the attention of the users and stop them from scrolling past your content.

Music can be the bridge that connects the audience to your content.

Adding music is a wonderful opportunity to elevate your Instagram post, story, and reel.

If you want to up your Instagram game, follow these simple steps to add music to your Instagram content.

You’re sure to create a deeper bond with the audience.