How to Add Music to Facebook Reels on Desktop

Trying to add the perfect trending audio to your Facebook Reel from a desktop can feel like a simple task that’s surprisingly difficult. You've edited your video masterpieces on your computer, and now you just want to add that one sound that’s all over your feed. This guide will walk you through exactly how to do it by explaining the limitations of Meta's desktop tools and showing you the best workaround that social media managers use every day.

The Official Method: Adding Music to Facebook Reels on Desktop (and Its Limits)

First, let’s go through the official process using Meta Business Suite, so you can see where the roadblock appears. On paper, it works. In reality, it’s missing the one thing most creators and brands actually need: access to the full library of popular and trending music.

Here’s how you access the desktop Reels editor:

1. Log into Meta Business Suite.
2. Navigate to the "Content" tab from the left-hand menu.
3. Click the "Create Reel" button in the top right.
4. Upload your video file from your computer.

Once your video is uploaded, you'll see an editing interface. On the right-hand side, there's an “Audio” section with a green music note icon. When you click “Add audio,” you’re taken to the Meta Sound Collection.

And this is where the problem lies.

Understanding the Meta Sound Collection vs. the Full Music Library

The Meta Sound Collection is a library of royalty-free music and sound effects that Meta has licensed for businesses and creators to use in their content without fear of copyright strikes. It's safe, it's legal, and it's perfect if you just need some generic background music for a simple product demo.

However, it does not contain the licensed, popular music from major artists that fuels trends on Reels and TikTok. The songs going viral right now? You won’t find them here. This is a common point of frustration for marketers and creators who want to participate in trends to boost their visibility and create relevant content.

Why the difference? Music licensing is incredibly complex and often platform-specific. The deals Meta has with record labels to allow users to put hit songs in their personal Reels on the mobile app are different from the licenses available for content created through their business tools on a desktop. For now, the desktop experience is built for safe, commercially licensed audio, while the mobile experience is built for consumer-driven, trend-focused creation.

The Best Workaround: A Simple Desktop-to-Mobile Workflow

So, if the desktop tool won't let you add trending music, what's a creator to do? The best solution is a hybrid workflow that leverages the power of desktop editing for your video and the superior audio library of the mobile app. You get the best of both worlds: a professionally edited video and the perfect trending sound.

This process might seem like a few extra steps at first, but once you do it once or twice, it becomes second nature and is still far faster than trying to edit a complex video entirely on your phone.

Step 1: Edit Your Video on Your Desktop

This is where you should do the heavy lifting. Use your favorite video editing software - Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, or even a user-friendly tool like CapCut’s desktop app - to create your Reel.

• Assemble Your Clips: Cut your footage, arrange your clips in the right sequence, and get your timing perfect.
• Color Grade: Adjust the colors to match your brand’s aesthetic. This is much easier and more precise on a large monitor than on a tiny phone screen.
• Add Text Overlays &, Graphics: If you have specific fonts, brand logos, or animations, add them here.

A very important tip: When you're ready to export, make sure you do it without any background music. You only want the raw video clip with any spoken audio (like a voiceover) intact. Adding music now will just clash with the track you're going to add on Facebook later. Export the video file in a high-quality format (like MP4) and save it somewhere easy to find.

Step 2: Get the Video From Your Computer to Your Phone

Now you need to move that finished video file from your computer to your phone’s camera roll without losing quality. Emailing or messaging the file can often result in heavy compression that makes your video look blurry and pixelated. Instead, a direct transfer is always best.

Here are a few reliable methods:

• For Mac/iPhone Users (AirDrop): This is the easiest and fastest option. Right-click your video file on your Mac, select Share >, AirDrop, and send it directly to your iPhone. It will save directly to your Photos app in full quality.
• For PC/Android or Mixed Devices (Cloud Storage): Upload the video file to a cloud service like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive from your computer. Then, open the corresponding app on your phone, find the file, and select "Download" or "Save to device." This will save it to your camera roll.
• For Anyone (USB Cable): The old-school method never fails. Connect your phone to your computer with a USB cable and manually transfer the file into your phone’s photo or video folder.

Step 3: Find and Save Your Trending Audio in the Facebook App

Before you even start creating your Reel, you can find and save the audio you want to use. This makes the final step super quick. While you're casually scrolling through Reels for inspiration, get into the habit of saving sounds you like.

1. Open the Facebook mobile app and tap the Reels icon to browse content.
2. When you find a Reel with a sound you want to use, look at the bottom of the screen. You'll see the audio title scrolling. Tap the audio title.
3. This will take you to the audio's main page, where you can see other Reels that have used it. At the top of the screen, tap the "Save audio" button.

This adds the sound to your personal library within the app, so you don't have to go searching for it when it's time to post.

Step 4: Combine Your Video and Audio in the Facebook Mobile App

This is the final, easy step where it all comes together. With your perfectly edited video on your phone and your desired audio saved, you're ready to post.

1. Open the Facebook app and tap "Create Reel".
2. In the bottom-left corner, tap the gallery icon and select the video you transferred from your computer.
3. On the right side of the screen, tap the "Audio" icon (a musical note).
4. Near the top, you'll see a "Saved" button. Tap it, and you'll see a list of all the sounds you’ve saved. Select the one you want to use.
5. Facebook will automatically sync your video with the audio. You can use the slider at the bottom to choose which part of the song you want to feature.
6. Tap "Controls" if you need to adjust the volume. This is very important if your original video has a voiceover. You can lower the music's volume so people can still hear you speaking clearly.
7. After selecting your audio, add any final touches like captions with Facebook's built-in text tool, stickers, or polls.
8. Write your caption, add your hashtags, choose your cover image, and post your Reel.

Tips for a Smoother Reels Music Strategy

To make this process even more efficient, here are a few extra tips used by professional social media managers to stay on top of audio trends without getting overwhelmed.

Keep an "Audio Library" Reference

Don't just rely on your "Saved Audio" folder in the app. Create a simple spreadsheet or a note on your computer where you can track audios you want to use. For each audio, save the link to it, make a note about the type of trend it's used for (e.g., "fast-paced montage," "funny reaction sound"), and jot down some ideas for how your brand could use it. This helps you plan content proactively.

Know Before You Edit

Before you even begin editing a video on your desktop, decide if it relies on a specific audio trend. If you're creating a lip-sync or a trend where the video must sync perfectly to audio cues, it helps to play the audio from your phone while you're editing on your desktop to get the timing just right. For videos that just need background music, timing is less of an issue.

Understand Business Account Music Limitations

Even on mobile, official Facebook Business Accounts may sometimes see a more restricted music library than personal creator accounts. This is again due to commercial licensing rules. If you find your access to popular music is limited, it is often because of your account type. Using audio from the Meta Sound Collection is always the safest bet for ad campaigns or sponsored content, but for organic marketing, most brands successfully use the broader library available to personal and creator profiles.

Final Thoughts

While adding popular music to Facebook Reels directly on a desktop isn't as straightforward as we'd all like, this proven desktop-to-mobile workflow gives you the best of both worlds. You get the power and precision of desktop video editing combined with access to the full, trending audio library that lives on the mobile app. It keeps your quality high and your content relevant.

Dealing with these multi-step workflows across different devices is exactly the kind of friction that complicates social media management. We built Postbase to streamline these processes. You can plan your entire Reels strategy in our visual calendar, upload your high-quality, edited videos from your desktop, and prepare everything else in advance - captions, hashtags, and scheduling times. While you'll still need the mobile app for that final audio touch, having everything else ready to go in one place can turn a clunky, multi-step process into a quick final check before posting, saving you time and keeping your content strategy perfectly organized.