You may already know how to add music to your Reels and Stories, but did you know you can now? Add music to your Instagram posts? Instagram recently announced the feature that gives brands and creators another way to engage with their followers.
Whether you want to share your favorite songs, enhance your memes or create a certain mood for your photo, adding music will make your Instagram feed posts so much better.
In this post, we’ll walk you through the steps to add music to your Instagram posts and share a few ideas for when you should use the feature.
How to add music to your Instagram posts in 4 steps
Adding music to your feed posts only takes a few simple steps and is done during the normal post creation process.
Note: Currently you can only add music to single photo posts, Negative carousel posts.
Step 1: Upload a photo
The first step is to create a broadcast post as usual. Select your photo, apply the edits you want, then tap . Next.
Step 2: Tap “Add music” on the subtitle screen
You can add music under the geotag when you reach the subtitle screen. Faucet add music or one of the suggested pieces to get started.
Step 3: Choose a song
Now comes the fun part: choosing a piece!
Instagram will show some suggested trending pieces below For you. If you have a particular artist or song in mind, you can search for it in the search bar at the top.
Or if you’ve saved tracks from Reels or other Instagram posts, you can find them by tapping . was recorded.
if you touch Search, you’ll see a list of moods, themes, and genres to inspire you. If you click on one of these categories, you will see a list of tracks.
Interestingly, these subpages also show the number of Reels using each song, which can indicate whether a song is popular or trending.
Step 4: Select part of the song
Since a photo doesn’t have a defined duration (like a video clip), it’s up to you to choose how much of a clip you want to include in your photo. You can choose between 5-90 seconds. When the clip ends, the song loops.
After selecting a particular track, you will see a screen with the song and a colored bar. First, tap the circle that says. 30 to select the clip duration
Tap after selecting the duration. Complete, and you will return to the color bar screen. On this screen, you can drag the bar to the part of the song you want to play. Pink dots on the gray timeline indicate parts of the song where new lines or strong beats begin, so they’re good spots to position your bar.
When you’re happy with the clip’s placement, tap . Complete. Then it’s ready to ship!
Once your post is streamed, your followers will see the song’s name and artist below the geotag and an audio icon in the bottom right. Users can tap the volume to mute or unmute the music.
If you run into any issues with the above process, check out Instagram’s full article.
Why add music to your Instagram posts?
Like when I showed my husband the new feature, “What exactly is the point of adding music to photos?”
(Of course, all he does on Instagram is watch Reels about dogs and sports on his Discover page, so maybe he’s outside the target audience for this feature.)
However, if you If you’re interested in creating good content and engaging your target audience, I have a few strategic examples of why you should include music in your Instagram feed posts.
note: For now it seems music added to posts won’t appear on posts you view outside of the Instagram app. If you want to experience the examples listed below in all their glory, you will need to open the posts in the app.
You can take advantage of trending sounds
Using trending audio in a feed post, like Instagram Reels May It helps you gain likes of the algorithm, thus increasing the viral potential of your post.
Also, showing that audio track on the search page can help your post gain more reach.
In this example, @val_thorens used a popular track from the Interstellar soundtrack. If you tap the track name in a photo, you’ll see the reel number and photos using the same sound (in this case, over 300k posts).
More engaging and engaging
Instagram offers brands and creators a variety of ways to express themselves through photos and videos.
However, adding music to Instagram posts takes your content to the next level, allowing you to create a more immersive and engaging experience for your audience.
This post is a perfect example from photographer @mathiasdecoensel. The music and the subject (girl) make you feel like you can step into the photo. I could imagine myself listening to the song while driving on the road shown here.
Benefits of free video
For sole entrepreneurs and small businesses, producing video content can be costly in both time and money. But by adding music to your photos, you can match the benefits of a video’s sensory interaction with the beauty of a high-quality picture. After all, sometimes a photo is a better way to show something than a video.
Consider this photo post from @candlelight.concerts. A beautiful display showing the whole setting of their concerts. Imagine pairing this with one of their concert tracks; I would be ready to buy a ticket!
A way to build your brand
Just as businesses carefully select the music that reflects their brand when creating an ad, adding music to your Instagram photos is a way to express and communicate your brand’s voice in a multidimensional way.
Fly: If you plan on adding music to your photos on a consistent basis, consider choosing a theme that will guide your track selection and tie it all together. For example, only instrumental songs or songs that mention a saying about your brand or products.
@the_brigadoon_dispatch is an artist who creates artificial intelligence art in the style of vintage photographs. Given the fantastic nature of the photographs, pairing them with the music heightens the emotion the artist is trying to impart to the audience.
Add another dimension to memes
What’s better than the perfect breast? Adding a complementary piece of music to make it even more fun.
In this example from @theguthealthmd, she paired a poop-related meme with “Joy” by Andy Grammer. I think this is pretty self explanatory.
How about adding music to Reels and Stories?
Yes, you can do that too. Here’s how.
Instagram Reels
When creating Instagram Reels, you can add your own voice (such as voiceover) or choose from Instagram’s music library. For full details on how to add music to Instagram Reels, read our Instagram Reels guide.
Instagram Stories
The easiest way to add music to your Instagram Stories is to use the “Music” sticker. After tapping the sticker, you can choose a track from Instagram’s music library. Read more about how to add music to your Instagram Stories.
Frequently asked questions about posting music on Instagram
How do I add music to my Instagram post?
Upload a photo and proceed to the caption screen to add music to your broadcast post. Below the geotag you will see the option to add music.
Why can’t I add music to my Instagram post?
Make sure to update your Instagram app to the latest version. If that doesn’t work, you may have to be patient until the feature is fully rolled out to all users. Check out Instagram’s official article for the latest news.
How to add music to an Instagram picture?
You can add music to an image through the Instagram app. Create a photo post as usual, then tap . add music below the caption and geotag fields.
Can I upload my own music to Instagram?
No, you cannot upload tracks from your own music library. You can only select songs from Instagram’s music library.
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