Editing Videos on Instagram

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Video Transcript | Intro

When posting videos to Instagram, maximize engagement by editing your content to be the best size, length, and style for your audience.

Length 

Unlike Instagram Stories, which are capped at 15-seconds, videos uploaded to your main feed can be 3 seconds to 1 minute long.

Uploading Your Video

Let’s get started by uploading a video. You can record your video directly from the app, but most users prefer pre-recorded videos, so they can be reviewed in detail before being posted.

Videos can be posted as their native aspect ratio - leaving white space around them - or cropped to square. If you choose square cropping, review the video to make sure nothing important has been cut off. 

Videos can also be part of a carousel post along with images or other videos.

If you’re using a carousel post, videos can be edited individually by tapping on them.

Sound

If your video has unwanted sound, you can mute all audio.

Keep in mind that people mostly watch videos without sound. So, if sound matters to your video, make a note for your viewers in the caption.

Filters

If you’ve spent time editing with Instagram before, the range of filters will likely be familiar. Scroll to find one that best enhances your video. Like Instagram posts, the best edits are the ones that aren’t obvious. Take the slider down to zero, and bump up gently until you get the desired effect.

Trim

Let’s move on to Trim. Here, you can remove the parts of the video that you don’t want to play, or cut a longer video down to the 60-second limit. Positioning the trimmer over the section you want to keep. Anything outside this section will be cut. Once it’s uploaded, your video will play on repeat. So make sure your endpoint doesn’t create a jarring transition.

Even though Instagram has a 60 second limit for individual videos, longer videos can be cut into sections and posted together with Carousel.

When posted, your audience can swipe to watch all three videos without leaving the post.

Cover

The last video editing tool is Cover. The cover is important because it will be the first thing people see on your feed and so can entice your audience to watch.

Slide your finger slowly through the video to find a clear, interesting thumbnail. Then tap next, and finish your post.

Views

Remember, a viewer has to watch your video for at least three seconds for it to count as a view. And the more views it gets, the higher it will appear in the feed. So it’s worth taking the time to edit your video properly.

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