At first glance, it doesn’t seem right. Instagram and YouTube are, by design, distinctly different social media platforms, with the former favoring photos in a 1:1 aspect ratio while the latter is primarily a video-sharing platform.

But you can share a YouTube video on Instagram, and if you do it right, it could pay off massively by putting more eyes and ears on your content.

A majority of internet users access the internet via mobile phones. A significant number are primarily teens and young adults who use Instagram almost on a daily basis. TikTok’s meteoric rise proved that the short to medium length videos niche is lucrative yet untapped.

With decreasing attention spans, Instagram stories or reels could be what you need to entice users to watch more of your YouTube videos without spending anything on ads.

Many brands and creators are doing it, and you can too. Dive in and find out how.

Why Post a YouTube Video to Instagram?

With so many things to take care of, it may not make much sense for most people to post YouTube videos on Instagram. Unless you’re a creator or brand and in which case much is at stake. In most cases, consistency, quantity and quality are crucial to your success.

These three reasons sum up why you should post your YouTube videos to Instagram:

To make a compilation

This can be a great way to showcase your work and give your followers a taste of what you have to offer.

You can use Instagram’s native video editing tools to compile clips from your YouTube videos into short, interesting videos or use advanced editing capabilities on tools like Wave.video editor, which is more powerful and free.

To promote your YouTube video

As a creator or brand, getting your content across to a broader audience is understandably a top priority. What better way to get more views on your YouTube channels other than to build anticipation among your viewers on other platforms?

While you’re at it, remember to include a compelling caption and a call to action encouraging your followers to check out the video on your YouTube channel. Go all out with Instagram’s tagging and hashtagging features to reach a wider audience and increase the chances that potential viewers will see your video.

To simply share it with your followers

Never get low on ideas of what to post on your Instagram. Repurpose some of your YouTube creations and share them on your Instagram account. Think of it as a low-effort, high-return activity.

You don’t have to create new content, but you’ll always have something at hand to entertain your audience.

Even if you feel some of your content is best in long format, you can always extract thumbnails of interesting scenes or crop your YouTube video to Instagram-sized clips.

How to Share a YouTube Video on Instagram Story

Currently, you can’t share a YouTube video directly on Instagram story. At least the way you can with Facebook and Instagram. However, there are three most effective workarounds that are easy to execute.

Method 1: Download, Edit, and Share

If you want to share the actual YouTube video on an Instagram story, you’ll have to download it first to your device. However, YouTube doesn’t have this functionality, nor does it allow users to download videos they don’t own.
Downloading other people’s videos is against YouTube’s user policy and depending on where you live, it could carry some legal liability. However, if you’re downloading your videos, there’s nothing to worry about.

Use any YouTube video downloader of your choice. Most will require you to copy and paste the YouTube video’s link on their website. Before you download, ensure you choose the option with the highest resolution.

Once the YouTube video is downloaded to your device, launch Wave.video on your browser.

Sign in to your account or sign up for a free account if you’re a first-time user. By default, the site will redirect to the “My Projects” tab. If this doesn’t happen, simply navigate to the tab by clicking the “My Projects” button on the top right corner of the homepage. See below for reference.

Click “Create”, then select “Blank video” on the “My Projects” tab. Alternatively, you can select “Upload video” and choose the YouTube video you’ve downloaded to load it on the editor.

If you go with the “Create” and “Blank video” option, you’d have to choose an appropriate aspect ratio. Available options include 1:1, 9:16 and 4:5, and they’re all suitable for different uses, so go with what you need.

If you uploaded the video directly to Wave.video, you can always resize it to an appropriate aspect ratio by hitting the resize “Resize” button on the sub-menu to your left, as shown below.

For this example, we’ll use the story option. Hit the “Upload media” option as shown below and select the video you want to share on Instagram from your device.

Trim the video to be equal to or less than 60 seconds which is Instagram’s recommended length for Instagram stories.

Get creative with the numerous editing options on Wave.video editor and customize the video to your brand or intended purpose. Add captions or voiceovers to make your video interesting and easy to follow. Go further and protect your creation with custom watermarks.

Once everything looks good, hit the publish button and select video from the dropdown menu.

Select the highest video quality and resolution available on your plan, then click “Render with watermark,” but not to worry, the watermark is tiny and barely noticeable. On upgraded accounts, this button is “Render.”

Publish the video directly to your Instagram account or download and upload it as you would other Instagram stories.

Method 2: Add the YouTube Link to Your Story

First, load the YouTube video on your device and copy the video’s link. To copy the link, tap on the address bar on your browser and copy the link. Alternatively, you can click the share button and copy the link that shows up.

Next, choose a click-worthy picture or thumbnail and add some catchy lines to let your fans know what’s in the link.

Open Instagram on your phone and go to stories.

Select the graphic you’ve just designed and upload it to your stories.

Tap on the media button and select “Link.”

Paste the link and click done

Drag the link to an appropriate place.

Note: You can get the swipe-up link feature if you have more than 10,000 followers.

Method 3: Screen Record It on YouTube

First, determine if you have an inbuilt screen recorder on your device. Windows devices and most smartphones come with an inbuilt screen recorder. Download a screen recorder tool if you don’t have one on your device.

Next, play the video on YouTube and switch on the screen recorder.

If you’re working with a Windows PC, press Windows Button + Alt + R simultaneously to initiate the screen recorder. If it’s a smartphone, tap on the screen recorder on your notifications panel, but stick to a computer for better results.

Once you have the right parts of the video on record, use a video editor to crop out distracting elements and add a few effects before posting the video on your Instagram story.

FAQs:

How to share a part of YouTube video?

There are two ways to do this. If the video is eligible for the YouTube clips feature, you only have to log in to your account, play the video and click the scissor-like icon below the video to share a part of the video. The allowed duration for this YouTube native feature is between 5 and 60 seconds.

Once you have your clip, click “Share clip”, copy the link and share it on Instagram as described above.

Alternatively, you can download the video to your device and use Wave.video editor to crop out unnecessary parts. You can then share it directly from Wave.video or download it and upload the clip on your stories or reels.

How to share a YouTube video to Instagram on desktop?

Instagram on desktop is quite limited in terms of functionality, so you can’t share a YouTube video to Instagram with an embedded link.

What you can do is download the video from YouTube as described above and edit it to match Instagram’s requirements. Next, hit the plus sign, select the video from your device and upload it.

Alternatively, you can create a thumbnail image and, in the caption, tell your followers to find the link to the video in your bio section. Naturally, you’ll have to add a link to the video in your bio section.

How to choose which part of your YouTube video should turn into Instagram content?

The first step to getting it right is understanding the differences between the two platforms.

How to post a YouTube video on Instagram reels or IGTV?

First, you must download the YouTube video to your device and edit it to match Instagram’s recommended video specifications for reels and IGTV.

Any YouTube video downloader tool will do, but remember to choose reputable sites to avoid getting malware or adware on your device. Also, keep in mind that downloading other people’s videos on YouTube is against the platform’s user policy and illegal in most places, so only download your own videos.

Once you’ve downloaded the YouTube video, resize it on Wave.video to fit Instagram’s recommended aspect ratio and video length.

Instagram caps reels at 30 seconds and IGTV at 10 minutes, but it can be more depending on your account.
On Wave.video, simply publish it directly to your Instagram account or post the video via the Instagram mobile or web app.

Final Thoughts

Although it seems complex at first, how to share a YouTube video on Instagram is quite simple once you get the hang of it.

Is it worth it? Definitely, especially if you’re a creator or brand looking to engage your followers and increase your audience reach. However, remember that you must only share videos that you own on your Instagram account.