How to Add a Voice Memo to an Instagram Reel

Using a one-of-a-kind voice memo is a fantastic way to make your Instagram Reel stand out with genuine personality. This guide cuts through the confusion and shows you, step-by-step, exactly how to record your audio, combine it with your video clips, and upload a Reel that’s uniquely yours.

Why Bother with a Custom Voice Memo Anyway?

In a sea of trending sounds, original audio helps you stand out. While using popular audio can increase visibility through the algorithm, it doesn't build a personal connection quite like your own voice. Using a custom voice memo offers several powerful advantages for any creator, marketer, or brand.

• Unmatched Authenticity: Hearing your real voice - with its unique tone, pacing, and emotion - creates an immediate connection with your audience. It transforms a generic video into a personal story, making your content feel more relatable and trustworthy.
• Better Storytelling: Some stories can’t be told with a 15-second music clip. Voice memos allow you to add context, share a detailed anecdote, explain a complex process in a tutorial, or share a personal reflection. They give you complete creative control over the narrative.
• Viral Potential with Original Audio: When you use your own recorded audio, Instagram credits you with creating an "Original Audio." If your Reel takes off and other users start using your sound, your profile name gets displayed on every single Reel that uses it. This is an incredible way to gain organic exposure and followers.
• No Copyright Worries: You never have to worry about copyright strikes or your audio being removed when it’s 100% your own. This is especially important for businesses and creators who are monetizing their content and can't risk having a Reel muted due to licensing issues.

Part 1: Recording and Saving Your Voice Memo

Before you even open Instagram, the first step is to get a clean, high-quality audio recording. Your phone’s built-in voice memo app is perfectly capable of getting this job done.

For iPhone Users (Voice Memos App):

1. Find and open the Voice Memos app. It’s a native Apple app, so it should already be on your phone.
2. Find a quiet spot to minimize background noise. Get close to your phone’s microphone (usually at the bottom) without being so close that your plosives (p- and b-sounds) create a popping sound.
3. Tap the red Record button at the bottom and start talking.
4. When you’re finished, tap the button again to stop.
5. The new recording will appear at the top of your list. Tap the three dots (...) next to it and select Save to Files. Choose a logical folder like "On My iPhone" or an iCloud Drive folder to easily find it later.

For Android Users (Recorder App):

Most Android phones come with a built-in voice recorder app, although the name might vary (e.g., "Recorder," "Voice Recorder").

1. Open your voice recorder app.
2. Just like with an iPhone, find a quiet place and position the phone’s microphone near your mouth.
3. Tap the record button to begin and the stop button to finish.
4. Once saved, use the share option from within the app to save your memo to Google Drive, Dropbox, or directly to your device's files. The goal is to get it saved in an accessible location.

Part 2: Combining Your Video and Audio

Here’s the part that trips most people up: you can't directly add an audio file from your phone's files into an Instagram Reel. You first have to "bake" the voice memo into your video file. There are two primary ways to do this: a simple but lower-quality method and a higher-quality method using a free app.

Method 1: The Quick and Easy Way (Using a Second Device)

This is the simplest, low-tech route. It's not the best for audio quality, but it works in a pinch if you don't want to download any new apps.

What You'll Need:

• Your primary phone for recording the Reel.
• A second device to play the voice memo (another phone, a tablet, or a computer).

The Steps:

1. Queue up the audio: On your second device, open the voice memo you recorded.
2. Prepare your recording setup: Find a quiet room to reduce echo and outside noise. The quality of this method depends entirely on how well your recording phone can capture the sound from the other device's speaker.
3. Record The Reel: Open Instagram and go to the Reels camera. Play your voice memo on the second device. While it’s playing aloud, start recording your video on your primary phone. Hold your video clips on screen like you normally would.
4. Edit in Instagram: Once your video is recorded with the voice memo as the live audio, you can trim the clip and make other edits as usual.

The downside? The audio quality will be noticeably lower, as it's being played out of a speaker and re-recorded. This method is best for simple, casual voiceovers where perfect clarity isn’t the top priority.

Method 2: The Best Quality Way (Using a Video Editing App)

This is the professional approach that yields the best results. It gives you crystal-clear audio and precise control over timing. We recommend using a free, user-friendly app like CapCut or InShot, both are available on iPhone and Android.

Step 1: Get Your Files Ready

Make sure you have both your video clips and your saved voice memo file accessible on your phone.

Step 2: Create a New Project in Your Editing App (Using CapCut as an Example)

1. Open CapCut and tap + New Project.
2. Select all the video clips you want in your Reel and tap Add. The app will arrange them in a timeline at the bottom of the screen.

Step 3: Add Your Voice Memo

1. Below your video timeline, find and tap the Audio icon.
2. Select Sounds.
3. Tap the folder icon (for "From device") on the right.
4. Find and select the voice memo file you saved earlier using the From Files option. Tap the + button to add it to your project.

Your voice memo will appear as a new audio layer on your timeline, typically a green or blue bar beneath your video clips. You can now drag or trim it to place it exactly where you want it to begin.

Step 4: Mute the Original Video Audio

Chances are, your original video clips have their own sound (background noise, indistinct chatter, etc.). You need to mute this so your voice memo is the only thing people hear.

• Tap on your first video clip in the timeline. Find the Volume option in the bottom menu and drag the slider down to 0.
• Repeat this for every single video clip in your timeline.

Step 5: Export Your Final Video

Once your voice memo is perfectly timed with your video clips and the original video audio is muted, you're ready to export.

• Tap the export icon (usually an arrow pointing up) at the top-right corner of the screen.
• Choose your resolution (1080p is great for Instagram) and frame rate (30 fps is standard).
• The app will merge the video and superior audio into a single video file and save it to your phone's camera roll.

Part 3: Uploading and Finalizing in Instagram

You’ve done the hard part! Now you just need to upload your masterpiece to Instagram.

1. Open Instagram and start creating a new Reel.
2. Instead of using the camera, tap the blue plus (+) square in the bottom-left corner to open your camera roll.
3. Select the new video you just exported from CapCut (or your other editor).
4. Tap Next. On the edit screen, you now have the option to add background music, if you'd like. Tap the Audio icon.
5. Search for a song or sound. After selecting one, tap on the "Controls" button. You will now see two volume sliders: one for "Camera audio" (which is your voice memo) and one for the song you just added.
6. Lower the music volume significantly (usually to around 5-15) so that it acts as subtle background ambience and doesn't overpower your voice memo. Your "Camera audio" should remain at 100.
7. Add your captions, stickers, and any other final touches, and you're ready to post! Write a compelling caption, add your hashtags, and share your Reel with the world.

Final Thoughts

Adding a personal voice memo to your Instagram Reels is an excellent way to boost authenticity and share stories that can’t be told with trendy audio alone. While it requires a few extra steps using a video editing app, the superior audio quality and creative control make your content vastly more engaging and professional.

Once you nail the process of creating standout, original audio for your Reels, the next step is building a consistent content plan. Here at Postbase, we focused on making that part easy. Since our platform was built from the ground up for short-form video, you can schedule your finished Reels across different platforms with our visual calendar, knowing they will reliably publish exactly when you set them. Creating the content is your art, getting it in front of your audience on time is our science.