How to Add Music to a Facebook Post

Adding a song to your Facebook post can be the difference between a user scrolling past or stopping to watch, listen, and engage. Music turns a static photo or a silent video into a full-sensory experience, instantly setting a mood and grabbing attention. This guide will walk you through exactly how to add music to every type of Facebook content, from personal profile updates and Stories to professional Business Page posts and Reels.

Why Does Adding Music to Your Posts Even Matter?

In a sea of silent content, sound is a powerful tool. It’s more than just background noise, it’s an audience hook. Think about the last Reel that made you laugh or a Story that felt perfectly cinematic - chances are, the audio choice played a huge role. Here’s why it’s worth the extra few taps:

• It Stops the Scroll: An intriguing opening sound can immediately capture someone's attention as they browse their feed, encouraging them to pause.
• It Creates an Emotional Connection: Music triggers emotion faster than visuals or text. A nostalgic song, a happy beat, or a somber tune can instantly tell your audience how they should feel about your content.
• It Dives into Trends: Using a trending sound on a Facebook Reel can skyrocket your visibility, exposing your content to people who don't already follow you through the platform's discovery algorithms.
• It Boosts Watch Time: Good audio makes videos more compelling. A well-chosen track can keep viewers engaged longer, which is a key metric that tells Facebook your content is valuable.

How to Add Music to a Standard Facebook Post (Photos & Text)

Facebook has made it easier to add music directly to standard photo or text posts on your personal profile. This creates what Facebook calls a "Music post," a format designed specifically for sharing songs you love. It’s perfect for announcing what you're listening to or tying a song to a specific memory or photo.

Using the "Music" Post Feature:

This is the most direct way to create a post with music that plays automatically in the feed. It’s ideal for featuring a song front and center.

1. Open the Facebook app and tap "What's on your mind?" at the top of your Feed.
2. Below the text box, you'll see a list of post options. Tap the "Music" icon (it often looks like a colored card with a musical note).
3. This opens Facebook's music library. Search for the song you want to feature. Use the search bar to find a specific artist or track, or browse through the recommended categories.
4. Once you select your song, you can preview it. Tap "Done" to add it to your post.
5. Now, you can customize your post. You can change the background color or image, display the song’s lyrics, or pick the simple album art layout. Add your own thoughts or context in the text box above the music sticker.
6. When you're happy with it, tap "Post." Your followers will see the post in their feed and can tap to play the full song.

The Best Way: Adding Music to Facebook Stories

Facebook Stories are designed for multimedia content, making them the perfect place to add music. The process is intuitive and gives you a lot of creative control over how the song appears and sounds.

A Step-by-Step Guide for Stories:

Here’s the most common and effective way to layer music onto your Stories.

1. Create Your Story: Open the Facebook app and tap the "+" icon next to "Create Story" at the top of your feed. You can either capture a new photo or video or upload one from your camera roll.
2. Open the Sticker Tray: Once your visual is in place, look for the editing options, usually on the right side of the screen. Tap the icon that looks like a sticker (a square with a smiling face).
3. Select the Music Sticker: In the sticker tray, you’ll see an option labeled "Music." Tap it to open Facebook's extensive music library.
4. Find Your Perfect Track: You can browse suggestions, search for a specific artist or song, or check out different genres. When you find a song you like, tap on it.
5. Customize Your Clip: After selecting a song, a timeline editor will appear at the bottom of the screen. You can slide the bar left and right to choose the specific part of the song you want to use. Stories allow up to a 15-second clip.
6. Choose Your Look: You can also change how the music appears on screen. Tap through the different style options to display full-screen lyrics that animate with the music, show the album art thumbnail, or just have a small sticker with the song title.
7. Position and Post: Drag the sticker to place it wherever you want on your Story. You can resize it by pinching with two fingers. Once everything looks good, tap "Share to Story."

Adding Music to Facebook Reels

Reels are Facebook's short-form video competitor to TikTok, and just like on that platform, audio is everything. Using trending music is one of the most effective strategies for getting your Reels discovered. You can either add a song from the library or use the original audio from another user’s Reel.

A Step-by-Step Guide for Reels:

1. Start a New Reel: In the Facebook app, tap a "Reels" section in your feed or menu and then tap the "Create Reel" button. You can upload a pre-edited video or record a new one directly in the app.
2. Add Your Audio: On the right-hand side of the editing screen, tap the "Audio" icon (the music note). This takes you to the music library designed specifically for Reels.
3. Select Your Music: Here you can browse what's popular, see recommended tracks, or search for something specific. You can also save sounds you've discovered on other Reels for later use.
4. Choose Your Segment: Once you tap a song, an editor will appear allowing you to select which part of the track you want to use. This is especially helpful for matching the music's climax to a key moment in your video.
5. Record or Sync: If you're recording a new video, the selected audio will play in the background as you shoot, helping you sync your actions to the beat. If you've uploaded a clip, your chosen audio will replace the video's original sound. You can also adjust the volume levels of the original audio and the added music.
6. Finalize and Share: Add any other effects, text overlays, or interactive stickers. Write a compelling caption - mentioning the sound if it’s a trend - and then share your Reel.

Pro tip: As you’re scrolling through Reels, look for sounds with an upward-trending arrow next to them. This indicates the sound is gaining popularity, and using it early could give your content a visibility boost.

Important Rules: Music Copyright for Business Pages

Here’s where things get a bit tricky, but it's hugely important to get right. While personal profiles have access to a massive library of pop music, Facebook Business Pages do not.

This isn't a glitch, it's a legal feature. Businesses using popular music to promote products or services without the proper (and very expensive) commercial license would be committing copyright infringement. To protect both businesses and Meta itself from lawsuits, Facebook provides a different library for Pages.

What Business Pages Can Do:

• Use the Facebook Sound Collection: When you try to add music to a Reel or Story from a Business Page, you’ll be directed to the Facebook Sound Collection. This is a library of thousands of royalty-free songs and sound effects that are safe for commercial use. The tracks might not be chart-toppers, but they are high-quality and get the job done without legal risks.
• Create Your Own Sound: Make your own original audio! This is a great way to build a unique brand identity. If your audio gets popular, other users might even start using it in their own Reels.
• Use Royalty-Free Music Services: You can license a track from a third-party service like Epidemic Sound or Artlist, add it to your video using an external editing tool, and then upload the finished video to Facebook. Be aware, however, that Facebook's automated system might still mistakenly flag your content. Though you'll have the license to win a dispute, it can be a hassle. For zero headaches, the Sound Collection is the safest route.

Final Thoughts

Adding music to your Facebook content is a straightforward way to increase engagement and make your posts more memorable. Whether you're using the music sticker for a Story or leaning into a trending sound for a Reel, mastering the platform's audio features will help you create content that connects. Just remember to navigate the separate copyright rules for business accounts to keep your content safe.

At Postbase, we believe you should spend more time finding that perfect track for your Reel and less time wrestling with a disconnected or confusing scheduling tool. We designed our simple, modern social media management platform to handle the repetitive tasks - like visually planning your content calendar, reliably scheduling video across platforms, and managing all your comments in one inbox - so you have more mental space for creativity. With Postbase, you can get back to what actually matters: making awesome content that your audience loves.