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How to Add Music to Instagram Posts
Music is a huge part of social media and has the power to engage your audience better, user activity, and so much more. On Instagram, music can be added to both reel and story posts. For a while, one type of content didn’t allow for music until now, Instagram feed posts… But wait!
wait you can add music to instagram POSTS now?!
— LINA (@dislikelina) December 6, 2022
That’s right, Instagram has now added music to your regular photo posts as well. This is a great way to jazz up your posts and add another way for your audience to engage with your posts. With the virality of songs, they can help include your posts in huge trends, which can lead to more account exposure and engagement!
How to Add a Song to Your Instagram Posts
Adding a song to your Instagram posts is easy, there are two simple ways to add music to your posts:
Option 1
- Open Your Instagram app and click the +.
- Add the photo you would like to post.
- Click ‘Next’.
- Now click on the ‘Music Icon’ in the upper right-hand corner.
- Now you can scroll through your ‘For You’ songs, ‘Browse’ music, choose from your ‘Saved Music’, or choose to ‘Search Music’.
- Choose your song.
- Then choose which portion of the song you want to play by sliding the colorful bar below and choose the duration by clicking the ‘30’. You can also preview how the song sounds by clicking on the play button.
- Click done, add your caption and any other information you want to include like location, tags, audience, etc. And hit ‘Post’!
Option 2
- Open your Instagram app
- Select what content you want to post, and continue through the posting process.
- Click next and head to the caption portion of your posting process
- Once you are at the caption page, you will see ‘Add Music’
- Here you can ‘Search Music’ or look through ‘For You’, ‘Browse’, or your ‘Saved’ songs
- Choose your song and choose the duration and portion of the song you want.
- Hit ‘Post’
Can you Add Music to Your Instagram Post after Posting?
Let’s say you have already posted your photo and come to the conclusion that you want to add music to your post. The question is, can you add a song after posting without having to delete it and start all over?
Instagram does allow users to edit their photos after posting, but you are only able to edit aspects of the photo including location, caption, tags, and paid partnerships. Unfortunately, you do not have the option to add music in this editing feature.
There are a couple of options though if you want to add music to your post:
Option 1
You can screenshot the post so that you have the correct edit on your photo and crop the photo so that you can delete and repost the photo with music this time. It is important to note that you will lose your comments and likes on the photo since you will be deleting and starting fresh unless you copy your caption/hashtags so when you go to repost you can paste the caption
Option 2
A way you can add music without deleting your post as a whole is to choose to add music to your story instead of music. This is not posting, but it is a workaround to add music. To do this all you have to do is press the ‘triangle send icon’, click add to story, and click on the ‘Music Icon.’
How To Add Music to Instagram Posts with Multiple Photos
You can now add music to all your carousel posts or photo dumps. Yay! It is important to note though that this feature is not available on your computer, but we will walk you through how to do it on your iPhone, Android, and mobile browser:
Add Music to Instagram Posts with Multiple Photos on iOS
You will follow the same steps as you would if you are just posting one photo. All you would change is adding multiple photos instead of one.
- Open the Instagram app
- Tap the + and choose all the photos you want to post
- Go to the caption page
- Click add music
Add Music to Instagram Posts with Multiple Photos on Android
Luckily, these are the same steps as well.
- Open the Instagram app
- Tap the + and choose all the photos you want to post
- Go to the caption page
- Click add music
Add Music to Instagram Posts with Multiple Photos on Mobile Browser
This is also the same steps as you would on your iPhone and Android.
- Open the Instagram app
- Tap the + and choose all the photos you want to post
- Go to the caption page
- Click add music
How to Add Music to Instagram Reels
You can add music to all your Instagram Reels by selecting music from Instagram’s audio library. Business accounts will need to use songs approved for commercial use. Instagram will recommend songs suitable for commercial use. You can select the part of the song you want to include in the Reel.
How to Add Music to Instagram Stories
You can add music to your Instagram story by clicking on the ‘Music Sticker’ in the stickers collection on Stories. On the top of your screen you will see the music note icon, click on that, and choose music from your ‘For You‘ section, ‘Browse‘ section, or your ‘Saved Music.’
How to Add Music to Video Posts on Instagram
Aside from reels, Instagram used to allow regular video content to be uploaded. The question is can you add music to video content on Instagram? You now do not need to worry about this question because Instagram only allows video content to be posted as reels now which has always allowed and encouraged music.
Regular videos can be uploaded in a carousel post, but music will no longer be available if you are posting a mixture of both photos and videos.
Why Add Music to Your Instagram Posts?
There are many benefits to adding music to your Instagram posts. We are going to list a few key advantages to consider below.
Utilize Trending Audio
As we are aware, songs on social media become trending and can help your post gain more traction and increase your reach. This can help because your post has the opportunity to show up on the search page when people search for that sound or song you use.
More Entertaining
Adding music that plays while your audience is looking at your photo or photos makes for a more entertaining viewing experience!
No Cost
Adding music to your posts does not cost you a thing while being more entertaining and engaging. It may be a good tactic to try out before paying for hefty ads and boosts.
Posting Music on Instagram FAQ’s
If you have any further questions regarding adding music to posts on Instagram, we have curated a list of FAQ’s and answers for your convenience.
How Do I Add Music to My Instagram Posts?
To add music to a post on Instagram all you have to do is upload your chosen photo, click next, and click on the music note icon to choose your song.
How to Add Music to Instagram Posts on Computer
You cannot add music to your Instagram posts when using the online browser of Instagram via your computer, so be sure to use the mobile app if you want to add music.
Add Music to Instagram Post Not Showing
Make sure that you update your Instagram app to the latest version to be able to see and utilize this feature. To do so go to your app store and click ‘Update’.
What Does Instagram Use for Music?
Instagram uses all kinds of music whether it be from their own library, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Shazam. When uploading a post using music you can use music from their library.
But if you want to share a song from Spotify, Shazam, or Soundcloud, you have to go to that app and click share on any song you would like to share. This is only available on Instagram Stories.
If you want to learn how to find those trending songs on Instagram so that you can try adding music to your posts on Instagram, check out our blog on how to find trending audio on Instagram!