How to Find Trending Audio for Instagram Reels

Finding the right sound for your Instagram Reel can feel like the difference between five views and five thousand. The algorithm loves serving up content that uses trending audio, giving your Reel an organic boost that you just can't get with a quiet video. The good news is that you don't need a crystal ball to figure out what's popular. This guide will show you several practical and repeatable methods to find trending audio so you can stop guessing and start creating content with confidence.

Method 1: Hunt for Trends Inside the Instagram App

You can find a goldmine of trending sounds without ever leaving Instagram. The platform leaves clues everywhere pointing you toward audio that’s currently capturing attention. You just have to know where to look.

Spot the "Trending" Arrow

This is the most direct signal from Instagram that an audio track is hot right now. As you scroll through your Reels feed, pay close attention to the audio credit at the bottom of the screen. An audio clip that is gaining significant momentum will have a small, upward-pointing arrow icon right next to its name.

Seeing that arrow is an immediate green light. It means Instagram's algorithm has recognized the sound's rapid growth and is actively pushing content that uses it. If you find a trending sound that fits your niche, don't hesitate. Save it and brainstorm a way to use it as soon as possible.

Check the Audio Page for Usage Numbers

Every sound on Instagram has its own dedicated page that shows you every public Reel created with it. This page also tells you exactly how many times the sound has been used. While not as direct as the trending arrow, this number is a powerful indicator of a track's popularity.

Here’s how to do it:

1. When you find a Reel with audio you like, tap the scrolling audio title at the bottom of the screen.
2. This takes you to the audio's main page. At the top, right below the audio title, you'll see "###k Reels" or "### Reels." This is your usage count.

What's a good number? It's relative. A sound with 5,000 uses might be massive in a tiny niche, while a viral pop song might have over 500,000 uses. The key is to look for momentum. If you see a sound with around 10k-50k uses, it's often in the perfect sweet spot - popular enough to be trending but not so saturated that your content will get lost in the noise.

Let Instagram's Editor Be Your Guide

Instagram actually makes recommendations directly inside the Reel editor. Instead of starting with a video and adding sound later, try starting with the sound first.

When you start creating a new Reel, tap the music note icon to open the audio library. The "For You" tab is now powered by an algorithm that suggests sounds it thinks you'll like and, more importantly, sounds that are trending right now. You’ll often see sounds explicitly labeled with the word "Trending" here. Scrolling through these recommendations for a few minutes is one of the quickest ways to find popular audio that's already been vetted by the algorithm.

Analyze Your Niche and Competitors

The best trends for you are the ones that are popular with your audience. Spend some time doing a bit of digital detective work. Go to the profiles of 5-10 other creators or brands in your niche, including your direct competitors.

• Sift through their Reels feed: Sort their Reels by "Most popular" to see what has performed best for them. What sounds are they using on their most-viewed videos?
• Look for patterns: Do you see multiple creators in your space using the same sound byte or song? That's a strong signal that this audio resonates with the audience you're trying to reach.
• Save sounds as you browse: Whenever you hear something with potential, tap the audio and hit the "Save Audio" button. This builds a personal library of relevant, pre-approved sounds that you can pull from whenever you're ready to create.

Method 2: Use TikTok as Your Crystal Ball

It’s an open secret in social media that most trends on Instagram Reels actually start on TikTok. Sounds often go viral on TikTok first, and then migrate over to Instagram about one to two weeks later. If you want a real advantage, being an active observer on TikTok is like getting trend reports before anyone else.

Scroll Your "For You Page" with a Purpose

Your "For You Page" (FYP) on TikTok is the most powerful trend-discovery engine in the world. Instead of mindlessly scrolling, view it as market research. As you browse, start paying attention to repetition.

If you hear the same audio clip used by three or four different creators for different video concepts within a ten-minute scroll session, you’ve likely found a budding trend. Save that video or make a note of the sound. The more you interact with content in your niche on TikTok, the better the algorithm will get at feeding you the specific trends your audience will likely enjoy on Instagram a week later.

Visit the TikTok Creative Center

For a more data-driven approach, use TikTok’s free and incredibly powerful tool: the TikTok Creative Center. Here, you can click on the "Trend Discovery" section and find lists of trending songs, hashtags, and videos.

The best part is the filtering. You can filter trending audio by region and see what’s been popular over the last 7 or 30 days. It even charts the song’s popularity over time and shows you popular videos using it. Checking this once a week will keep you miles ahead of the curve, giving you time to plan content for Reels using sounds that are just about to hit their peak on Instagram.

Method 3: Go Beyond the Social Apps

Sometimes, the biggest audio trends start outside of the primary social media apps. Paying attention to pop culture and music charts can give you a different kind of edge.

Check Spotify's Trend Playlists

What the world is listening to often dictates what goes viral online. Spotify curates several playlists that essentially track real-time virality. Check out playlists like "Viral Hits" or browse the "Top 50 - Global" chart. Songs that reach the top of these lists often become the background music for massive trends on Reels and TikTok. This is particularly useful for finding popular commercial music to use in your videos (if you have the appropriate business account licensing).

How to *Actually* Use Trending Audio for Growth

Finding a trending sound is only half the battle. The magic happens when you use it in a way that provides value and reflects your brand. Simply lip-syncing or dancing to a song (unless you're a creator in that space) isn’t a strategy.

Adapt, Don't Just Copy

The biggest mistake brands and creators make is blindly copying a trend without linking it back to their own content. The goal should be to participate in the trend, not just replicate it. Ask yourself: "How can I use this sound format to teach, entertain, or inspire my specific audience?" For example, if a trend involves pointing to text on the screen, use that text to share three facts about your industry or a common myth your customers believe.

Timing Is Everything

Like any trend, audio has a lifecycle. Jumping on a sound too early can mean your audience doesn't recognize it yet. Hopping on too late means they are already sick of it. The sweet spot is the "early majority" phase. As a rule of thumb, when you check an audio page, sounds with 10,000 to 100,000 uses are often in a great growth phase. If a sound has over a million uses, you can still use it, but your Reel will be competing with a lot more content.

Add a Unique Spin

Even when using a trend, your content needs a spark of originality. Maybe you add a bit of humor, an unexpected visual twist, a surprising statistic, or exceptionally high-quality footage. The audio hooks them, but the originality of your video is what earns their follow. The sound gets you in the door, your content convinces them to stay.

Stay True to Your Brand Voice

Not every trend is for every brand. If a sound is based on a meme that is crude, negative, or just completely off-brand for you, it is 100% okay to skip it. In fact, you should skip it. Chasing trends at the expense of your brand's identity and values will only confuse your audience. Authentic and consistent content will always win in the long run.

Final Thoughts

Finding trending audio on Instagram isn't about getting lucky, it's a skill you can develop by knowing where to look on Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms. By being observant and strategic, you can turn audio into a powerful tool for organic growth. Remember, the true secret to success is not just finding the trend but artfully adapting it to serve your unique audience and brand message.

Once you’ve found that perfect sound and created your Reel, the last thing you should have to worry about is whether your scheduling tool can handle it. As a team that was tired of old-school platforms struggling with modern video, we built Postbase to make publishing seamless. We designed our platform for short-form video from day one, ensuring your Reels and TikToks upload in high quality and go live exactly when you schedule them - every single time - so you can stay focused on the creative work that drives your brand forward.