How to Add Audio to Your Instagram Posts: A Complete Guide

By Cepy 8/19/2023 Post a Comment

Hi everyone, welcome to our blog where we share tips and tricks on how to make the most of your social media presence. In this article, we will show you how to add audio to your Instagram posts, whether it's music, voice, or sound effects. Adding audio can make your posts more engaging, expressive, and fun. Plus, it can help you reach new audiences and boost your brand awareness.

But how do you add audio to your Instagram posts? What are the best tools and apps to use? What are the benefits and challenges of adding audio? And what are some best practices and examples to inspire you? We will answer all these questions and more in this comprehensive guide. So, let's get started!

Why Add Audio to Your Instagram Posts?

Before we dive into the how-to part, let's first understand why adding audio to your Instagram posts is a good idea. Here are some of the main reasons:

Audio can enhance your message and mood

Audio can help you convey your message and mood more effectively than just visuals. For example, if you want to share a motivational quote, you can add a upbeat music track to inspire your followers. Or if you want to show off your travel photos, you can add a local song or sound to immerse your audience in the culture. Audio can also help you create a consistent tone and style for your brand.

Audio can attract attention and engagement

Audio can also help you catch the attention of your followers and potential customers. When people scroll through their feed, they are more likely to stop and watch a post that has sound than one that is silent. Audio can also encourage people to interact with your post, such as liking, commenting, sharing, or saving it. This can increase your engagement rate and algorithm ranking.

Audio can expand your reach and visibility

Another benefit of adding audio to your Instagram posts is that it can help you reach new audiences and increase your visibility. For example, if you use popular or trending songs in your posts, you can appear on the music sticker page or the Reels tab, where millions of users can discover your content. You can also use hashtags related to the audio you use, such as #music, #soundtrack, #podcast, etc., to boost your exposure.

How to Add Audio to Your Instagram Posts?

Now that you know why adding audio to your Instagram posts is beneficial, let's see how you can do it. There are different ways to add audio depending on the type of post you want to create: photo, video, story, or reel. Here are some of the options:

How to add music to your Instagram photo posts

If you want to add music to your Instagram photo posts, you have two options: use the music sticker or use a third-party app.

The music sticker is a feature that allows you to add a song from Instagram's library to your photo post. To use it, follow these steps:

Create a new post and select the photo you want to share.
Edit the photo as usual and tap Next.
On the share screen, tap the sticker icon at the top right corner.
Select the music sticker from the list.
Browse or search for the song you want to use. You can preview the song by tapping on it.
Once you find the song, tap on it and adjust the slider to choose the part of the song you want to play.
You can also change the display of the sticker by tapping on it. You can choose between different styles, such as lyrics, album cover, or artist name.
Drag and resize the sticker as you like and tap Done.
Add a caption and hashtags if you want and tap Share.

The music sticker is a simple and convenient way to add music to your photo posts, but it has some limitations. For example, you can only use songs from Instagram's library, which may not have all the songs you want. You can also only play up to 15 seconds of the song, which may not be enough for some posts. And you can only add one song per post.

If you want more flexibility and control over adding music to your photo posts, you can use a third-party app instead. There are many apps that allow you to add music to your photos, such as InShot, Canva, PicPlayPost, etc. The process may vary depending on the app, but generally, it involves these steps:

Download and open the app of your choice.
Select the photo you want to share and import it to the app.
Edit the photo as you like and tap the music icon.
Select the song you want to use from your device or the app's library. You can also record your own voice or sound if you want.
Adjust the volume, duration, and position of the song as you like. You can also add multiple songs or mix them together.
Save and export the photo as a video file.
Upload the video to Instagram as a normal post.

Using a third-party app gives you more options and creativity when adding music to your photo posts, but it also takes more time and effort. You may also need to pay for some features or deal with ads and watermarks.

How to add music to your Instagram video posts

If you want to add music to your Instagram video posts, you have three options: use the music sticker, use a third-party app, or use Instagram's native tools.

The music sticker works the same way for video posts as for photo posts. You can follow the same steps as above to add a song from Instagram's library to your video post. However, you may encounter some issues, such as not being able to use some songs due to copyright restrictions, or not being able to sync the music with the video.

A third-party app can also help you add music to your video posts, just like for photo posts. You can use any of the apps mentioned above, or other apps that specialize in video editing, such as FilmoraGo, VivaVideo, Splice, etc. The process is similar to adding music to photo posts, except that you need to import a video instead of a photo. You can then edit the video and add music as you like.

Another option is to use Instagram's native tools to add music to your video posts. This option is only available for videos that are less than 60 seconds long. To use it, follow these steps:

Create a new post and select the video you want to share.
Edit the video as usual and tap Next.
On the share screen, tap Add Soundtrack at the bottom left corner.
Browse or search for the song you want to use from Instagram's library. You can preview the song by tapping on it.
Once you find the song, tap on it and adjust the slider to choose the part of the song you want to play.
You can also change the volume of the song and the original sound of the video by tapping on them.
Add a caption and hashtags if you want and tap Share.

Using Instagram's native tools is a quick and easy way to add music to your short video posts, but it has some drawbacks. For example, you can only use songs from Instagram's library, which may not have all the songs you want. You can also only play up to 15 seconds of the song, which may not be enough for some posts. And you can only add one song per post.

How to add music to your Instagram stories

If you want to add music to your Instagram stories, you have two options: use the music sticker or use a third-party app.

The music sticker is a feature that allows you to add a song from Instagram's library to your story. To use it, follow these steps:

Create a new story and select the photo or video you want to share.
Edit the story as usual and tap the sticker icon at the top right corner.
Select the music sticker from the list.
Browse or search for the song you want to use. You can preview the song by tapping on it.
Once you find the song, tap on it and adjust the slider to choose the part of the song you want to play.
You can also change the display of the sticker by tapping on it. You can choose between different styles, such as lyrics, album cover, or artist name.
Drag and resize the sticker as you like and tap Done.
Add more stickers, text, or filters if you want and tap Send To.

The music sticker is a simple and convenient way to add music to your stories, but it has some limitations. For example, you can only use songs from Instagram's library, which may not have all the songs you want. You can also only play up to 15 seconds of the song, which maynot be enough for some stories. And you can only add one song per story.

If you want more flexibility and control over adding music to your stories, you can use a third-party app instead. There are many apps that allow you to add music to your stories, such as Storybeat, Lomotif, Beatleap, etc. The process may vary depending on the app, but generally, it involves these steps:

Download and open the app of your choice.
Select the photo or video you want to share and import it to the app.
Edit the story as you like and tap the music icon.
Select the song you want to use from your device or the app's library. You can also record your own voice or sound if you want.
Adjust the volume, duration, and position of the song as you like. You can also add multiple songs or mix them together.
Save and export the story as a video file.
Upload the video to Instagram as a normal story.

Using a third-party app gives you more options and creativity when adding music to your stories, but it also takes more time and effort. You may also need to pay for some features or deal with ads and watermarks.

How to add music to your Instagram reels

If you want to add music to your Instagram reels, you have one option: use Instagram's native tools.

Reels are short videos that you can create and share on Instagram. They are similar to TikTok videos, and they allow you to add music from Instagram's library or your own audio. To use them, follow these steps:

Create a new reel by swiping right from the home screen and selecting Reels at the bottom.
Select the photo or video you want to share or record a new one by tapping and holding the capture button.
Edit the reel as usual and tap the music icon at the left side.
Browse or search for the song you want to use from Instagram's library. You can preview the song by tapping on it.
Once you find the song, tap on it and adjust the slider to choose the part of the song you want to play.
You can also change the speed of the song by tapping on it.
Add more effects, stickers, text, or filters if you want and tap Next.
Add a caption and hashtags if you want and tap Share.

Using Instagram's native tools is a quick and easy way to add music to your reels, but it has some drawbacks. For example, you can only use songs from Instagram's library, which may not have all the songs you want. You can also only play up to 30 seconds of the song, which may not be enough for some reels. And you can only add one song per reel.

How to Add Voice or Sound Effects to Your Instagram Posts?

If you want to add voice or sound effects to your Instagram posts, you have two options: use a third-party app or use Instagram's native tools.

A third-party app can help you add voice or sound effects to any type of post: photo, video, story, or reel. You can use any of the apps mentioned above, or other apps that specialize in audio editing, such as Voice Changer Plus, Soundboard Studio, Voloco, etc. The process is similar to adding music to your posts, except that you need to select or record a voice or sound effect instead of a song. You can then edit the audio and add it to your post as a video file.

Another option is to use Instagram's native tools to add voice or sound effects to your posts. This option is only available for videos that are less than 60 seconds long. To use it, follow these steps:

Create a new post and select the video you want to share.
Edit the video as usual and tap Next.
On the share screen, tap Add Voiceover at the bottom left corner.
Tap and hold the microphone icon and start recording your voice or sound effect. You can see the waveform of your audio on the screen.
Release the microphone icon when you finish recording. You can listen to your audio by tapping on it.
You can also change the volume of your audio and the original sound of the video by tapping on them.
Add a caption and hashtags if you want and tap Share.

Using Instagram's native tools is a quick and easy way to add voice or sound effects to your short video posts, but it has some drawbacks. For example, you can only record up to 15 seconds of audio, which may not be enough for some posts. You can also only add one audio per post.

A Detailed Table Breakdown Related to the Topic

To help you compare and contrast the different ways to add audio to your Instagram posts, we have created a detailed table breakdown below. The table shows the features, benefits, and challenges of each option, as well as some examples and tips. You can use this table as a reference when choosing the best option for your needs and goals.

Option	Features	Benefits	Challenges	Examples	Tips
Music sticker for photo posts	Add a song from Instagram's library to your photo post	Simple and convenient Can display lyrics, album cover, or artist name Can appear on the music sticker page	Limited song selection Only 15 seconds of playback Only one song per post	@jlo @jlo	Use popular or trending songs to attract more views Match the song with the mood and message of your post Use hashtags related to the song or genre
Third-party app for photo posts	Add a song from your device or the app's library to your photo post	More flexibility and control over adding music Can use any song you want Can adjust the volume, duration, and position of the song Can add multiple songs or mix them together	Takes more time and effort May need to pay for some features May have ads and watermarks Need to export the photo as a video file	@jlo @jlo	Use apps that have a large and diverse music library Edit the photo and the music separately before combining them Use apps that have a high-quality video output
Music sticker for video posts	Add a song from Instagram's library to your video post	Simple and convenient Can display lyrics, album cover, or artist name Can appear on the music sticker page	Limited song selection Possible copyright issues Possible syncing issues	@jlo @jlo	Use popular or trending songs to attract more views Match the song with the mood and message of your post Use hashtags related to the song or genre
Third-party app for video posts	Add a song from your device or the app's library to your video post	More flexibility and control over adding music Can use any song you want Can adjust the volume, duration, and position of the song Can add multiple songs or mix them together Can sync the music with the video	Takes more time and effort May need to pay for some features May have ads and watermarks	@jlo @jlo	Use apps that have a large and diverse music library Edit the video and the music separately before combining them Cut or trim the video to fit the music length or vice versa

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