How to Post YouTube Videos to Instagram?

Oh, that YouTube video went down the drain on Instagram again? It's a familiar story... There's nothing more frustrating than that beautiful piece of content you spent hours editing, only to get a few likes on Instagram and then be taken off the feed for good. It's like having the best meal in the world and bringing it to the wrong party. Everyone has the same problem: my desk at the agency is full of notes with the question, 'How to post YouTube videos to Instagram?' But the answer to this question isn't just downloading the video and uploading it there. If it were, you wouldn't be reading this article, would you? The secret lies in understanding the spirit of the two platforms. One individual is a wise old man who cherishes long conversations, while the other is a rambunctious teen whose attention span is just a few seconds.

Come on, let us learn the teen language so that those stories from the grandfather do not go to waste.

Learning to Speak Instagram (Format and Editing)

The first and biggest rule: Don't post your YouTube video on Instagram as is. Don't you dare! This is tantamount to suicide. Your video, which is huge on a 16:9 horizontal screen on YouTube, drowns in a 9:16 vertical format on Instagram. The viewer scrolls, moves on... and it's over. What a waste of your effort. The first thing you need to do is find that one minute of the video that is the most crucial, the most explosive, the one that will make the viewer jump out of their seats. Maybe the funniest moment, maybe the most surprising information, maybe the most beautiful image... Find that moment and cut it without mercy. Remember, your goal is not to show the entire video, just to steal a little of the honey and leave people wondering. This is a trailer, not the movie itself. The better the trailer, the more tickets you can buy for the movie.

I can almost hear you saying, "Okay, bro, we get it, but how are we going to do it?" Don't panic right away. Your phone is like a studio for this. Here's a great guide:

• Vertical Cut: Open the video with applications like InShot and CapCut. Change the format to 9:16 (Story/Reels format) immediately. Make sure the main event is in the middle of the frame.
• Silent Cinema: People watch on the subway, bus, toilet... 90% silent. If there is any talking in your video, you have to add subtitles. A video without text is a video shot for nothing; remember that.
• Music Issue: Is that epic music in your YouTube video? It may get copyrighted on Instagram. Don't take the risk. Turn off the sound completely and put a trending song from Instagram's playlist. It's both safe and pleasing to the algorithm.
• Fill in the Blanks: If you rotate the video vertically and it creates black bars on the top and bottom, that's your playground. Write a provocative text like "This video is insanely fun on YouTube!" Create curiosity.

A friend with a cooking channel called me recently and complained, "Dude, I worked so hard, my brownie recipe didn't get any views." I looked at his video, and he posted the 10-minute video as is. "Dude," I said, "nobody watches flour being sifted for 10 minutes on Instagram." We just took the 15 seconds of the liquid chocolate squirting out of the middle of the brownie, put a popular song on it, and shared it. The next day he called and said, "What did you do? My phone won't stop ringing, YouTube notifications are crazy!" This is how clear it is. Right moment, right format.

Don't Step Aside After Sharing, Get Into the Game!

Your video is ready, and you shared it. Are you done? No, it's just starting. That post is now your employee, and you have to improve its performance. First of all, don't leave the caption blank. You don't have to write it like a poem. Ask a sincere question. "What would you give to get a slice of this brownie? Write the craziest answer in the comments!" Say something like that. Get people talking. And give a clear command at the end of your caption: "Run to the link in my profile for the full recipe!" People expect you to tell them what to do, just say it.

The hashtag issue is also important. Hashtags like #food #eating are like dropping a drop of water into the ocean. They are useless. Think of something more specific instead. Find words that people who are interested in that topic would search for, like #liquidchocolate #homemadebrownie #sweetcrisis. And someone commented on your video? Respond immediately. Even if it’s an emoji. Don’t leave that comment unanswered. This makes that person feel valued and sends the message to Instagram, “Look, there’s life in my post, people are talking.” The algorithm loves that kind of action.

Remember, social media, as the name suggests, is about being ‘social.’ The days of one-sided broadcasting are long gone.