Edit videos for Instagram - Take it to the next level (2022)

From in-feed videos to IGTV, there are many different ways to make the most of video content on Instagram to reach your target audience.

Sebastian

With over a billion monthly active users on the platform, Instagram offers a great opportunity for social media marketers to position their brand and get noticed.

Businesses are taking advantage of Instagram's reach to stay relevant in the market.

Video offers an opportunity to showcase their personality, team, and stories compellingly.

From in-feed videos to IGTV, there are many different ways to make the most of video content on Instagram to reach your target audience.

Videos or Photos? Which one is better for engagement?

Despite engagement for photos being higher than they are for video, statistics show that the average engagements for video posts are increasing at a much higher rate than those for photos.

So you can get the most out of your marketing strategy by posting videos instead of photos.

Video allows brands to create a deeper connection with the viewer.

Even though photos tend to attract more likes, it has been reported that videos drive more comments on average.

The experience that video provides, with the possibility of pausing and experiencing the content, presents a great opportunity for engagements, rather than users scrolling through their feed double-tapping photos just to like them.

But you need to learn how to edit videos for Instagram to achieve the results you want.

Types of videos on Instagram

There are a few Instagram video formats, and each of them requires a different set of specifications and particular video edits.

You can post in-feed videos, Instagram Stories, Instagram TV videos (IGTV), or Live Videos. Since the last one doesn’t require editing, we’ll focus on other video formats on Instagram.

Specs for each one of them

Depending on the type of Instagram video you're going to upload, you need to know about the correct length, aspect ratio, video format, and general guidelines to assure your Instagram edit will help you achieve success.

A video filmed and edited to be uploaded on your feed might not do well on stories, and a video that was meant for stories won't look appealing on the feed since they have different aspect ratios.

Tips for videos on Feed

Instagram videos shouldn’t be longer than 60 seconds, or you'll risk losing your audience's attention.

Get your point across effectively and in a creative and easy to understand language.

The best format is .MP4 or .MOV.

Upload the highest resolution video possible within the size and ratio limits of the file.

The maximum frame rate should be 30fps.

Make sure you upload a video with H.264 compression, square pixels, fixed frame rate, progressive scan, and stereo AAC audio compression at 128kbps+.

As far as aspect ratios go, you should stick to 4:5 or 1:1, as they statistically perform better.

Keep in mind that unlike Facebook or YouTube, most Instagram users are on mobile, so these dimensions will give you more screen real estate.

Most of your audience will be using their mobile phone without sound! Incorporating subtitles and a catchy thumbnail that attracts them from the beginning and makes them click on your content is something to consider when editing your Instagram video.

Tips for videos on Story

Reports show that time spent on the app went up nearly 28 minutes after Instagram added stories to its features.

Out of all Instagram users, 40% of them watch stories daily.

Instagram Stories can help you fight the organic reach because they're not affected by the algorithm.

These videos are 15 seconds long and take up the entire screen area, meaning the aspect ratio should be 9:16.

You should film and edit the Instagram Story accordingly, so the video fits perfectly and gets your audience's attention.

It's not recommended to upload a different sized video on your story nor your original video zoomed in to fit the aspect ratio.

This will look unappealing and will provide a poor experience for the viewer!

The video formats accepted are .MP4 and .MOV, with a maximum size of 4GB and a minimum resolution of 720p.

Contrary to in-feed Instagram video, 70% of Instagram Stories are watched with the sound on.

Adding sound to your story will provide a more engaging experience for your audience!

A lot of brands use Instagram Stories to show the more human and unedited side to their brand.

It’s a good chance to produce content that shows the real you in a more simple and relatable way.

And if you have more than 10,000 followers, you can get the link attachment in Stories and use it wisely to make CTAs and send traffic to your site.

Tips for videos on IGTV

IGTV videos, have a minimum length of 15 seconds.

Smaller accounts can upload videos up to 10 minutes long, and larger and verified accounts can do up to 60 minutes.

The ratio should also be 9:16 and the same .MP4 or .MOV format. The frame rate should be 30 fps minimum, and 720p minimum resolution.

For videos shorter than 10 minutes, the maximum file size is 650MB and 3.6GB for video up to 60 minutes.

Before uploading the video, you need to download de IGTV app.

Sign in to the IGTV app and log in with your Instagram username and password.

You don’t necessarily have to share IGTV videos to your feed, but doing so will help you get more views.

Edit your video inside Instagram

Even though it helps, you don’t need to record your Instagram videos with a camera and use a separate editing app.

You can edit Instagram videos inside the app. It features a really simple video editor that makes it easy to create new content without professional skills.

Step by step

When uploading a video to your feed, you can film it directly on the app to simplify the process.

First of all, tap the + sign at the bottom of your screen and then select Video.

To start filming, press and hold and release to stop recording. All the separate clips you record will be merged in order, and the maximum length in total is 1 minute.

When your complete video is ready, you can choose your desired filter from the 24 options available, crop the video to your liking, decide if you want sound on or off and select a video cover from one of the frames.

Now your video is ready to be uploaded with the according caption, hashtags, and location tag!

Instagram stories can be both filmed and edited in the app.

When filming your video, you have a lot of options to choose from.

You can record your story normally, by tapping and holding the record button. By releasing the button you'll stop recording.

By swiping right on the bottom of the screen, you can find new options for recording, like Boomerang, Layouts, Superzoom, or Hands-free.

You can also choose to add filters before filming! There are many options available to change lightning, colors and much more.

Boomerang records a two-second video that plays forward and backwards in a loop. This is a great feature for moving scenes!

You can post up to 6 photos on one screen by choosing from the Layout option that works best for your needs.

If you want to add a dramatic sound and visual effects to the video you're recording, consider using one of the 10 Super Zoom options. You can add fire, hearts, beats, sounds, and more.

Hands-free recording allows you to film your Instagram Story without holding the record button, which is great for talking head videos since you don’t need to hold your phone in your hand.

You can also add a 3-second buffer before the recording starts.

Once you already filmed your Instagram Story video, there are a couple of things you should know to make the best Instagram edits on the app.

You can choose from one of the 10+ filters provided, including black & white, color overlays, and more.

Then you can proceed to mute the video if desired, add stickers, GIFs, music, location, weather, and more.

Two very useful options to improve your engagement could be polls or the question feature, to get your audience to participate.

By choosing one of the five fonts available for text, changing size and color, and highlighting the most important part with the highlighting pen, you can deliver a simple buy eye-catching message.

Take your editing skills to the next level

If you want to take your video editing to the next level, CreatorKit will help you do just that.

Why choose CreatorKit?

First of all, CreatorKit carries multiple video templates for you to choose from.

You can also find different styles and aesthetics that have been proven to look interesting to viewers, catching their attention, creating great engagement, and converting audiences to paying customers.

We offers a great selection of text fonts and styles to create thumb-stopping videos.

You can make titles, subtitles, and anything you might want to highlight while staying true to your company and remaining on brand.

There are also many options to create different intros, outros, and transitions.

This way you will end up with engaging motion graphics that will make your audience want to learn more.

But wait, there's more!

We are currently web-based but we’re working on releasing a mobile version so you can decide whether you prefer to work on your computer or mobile device, with the possibility of opening the same file where it better suits your needs.

Our mission is to help creators grow online!

That’s why CreatorKit has a great support team ready to answer any questions you might have, because we know having good communication with our customers is key.