How to Get Original Audio on Instagram Story

Tired of scrolling through the same ten trending sounds on Instagram? Using your own unique audio is one of the best ways to stop the scroll and give your brand a voice - literally. In this guide, we'll walk through a few different ways to get your original audio on Instagram Stories and Reels, from simple in-app tricks to creating studio-quality sound with external tools.

Why Bother with Original Audio? Building Your Brand Through Sound

Before we get into the “how,” let’s quickly touch on the “why.” In a sea of remixed pop songs and viral soundbites, original audio makes you instantly recognizable. It’s a powerful tool for building a distinct brand identity. Think about it:

• It Sets You Apart: Using your own sound - whether it's your voice, a custom jingle, or unique ambient noise - differentiates your content from everyone else using the same popular clip.
• It Builds Authority and Trust: When followers hear your voice explaining a concept, sharing a story, or walking them through a tutorial, it creates a much deeper, more personal connection than using a generic song.
• You Can Start a Trend: Every viral audio trend had to start somewhere. If you create a soundbite that's funny, relatable, or useful, other creators might start using it. When they do, every new Reel or Story using your sound links back to you, serving as free promotion and driving traffic to your account.
• It Stops the "Mute" Scroll: Unique narration or a surprising sound effect can be enough to make someone who typically scrolls with their phone on silent tap to turn the volume on.

Okay, now that you’re ready to become the next viral audio star, let’s get into the step-by-step methods.

Method 1: Creating "Original Audio" Directly on Instagram

The simplest way to create a piece of "Original Audio" that others can use is by posting a Reel. While the audio won't be immediately shareable from a Story alone, creating it via a Reel first makes it available for all your future content, including Stories.

This method is perfect for capturing a specific moment - a funny quote, a satisfying sound, or an ambient recording - and turning it into a reusable audio clip.

Here’s how it works:

1. Film Your Video: You can either record a video directly inside the Instagram Reels editor or upload a pre-recorded video from your camera roll. The key is that this video contains the audio you want to isolate.
2. Create the Reel: Open Instagram, tap the "+" icon, and select "Reel." Upload your video clip. You can edit the clip as needed - trimming it to just the part with the audio you want to highlight. Add any text or effects you wish.
3. Publish Your Reel: Once you're done editing, write your caption and publish the Reel to your profile.
4. Identify Your Audio: Go to your published Reel. At the bottom of the screen, you'll see a small audio icon with text that says "Original audio" next to your username. Instagram automatically generates this for any Reel video that doesn't use audio from its music library.

How to Use Your New Original Audio in a Story:

Now that your sound exists, you can easily add it to any Instagram Story.

1. Open the Story Camera: Tap the "+" icon and select "Story."
2. Create Your Story: Take a photo, record a new video, or upload content from your camera roll.
3. Access the Audio Library: Tap the sticker icon (the smiling square) at the top of the screen and select the "Music" sticker.
4. Find Your Sound: In the music search bar, you won't be able to search for "Original Audio." Instead, you'll need to go to your Reel first. Tap on the "Original audio" link at the bottom of your Reel and then tap "Use audio." This will open the Reels camera with your audio pre-loaded. From there, you can record or upload. For adding to stories...
5. A Simpler Way: The most direct route for Stories after creating a Reel is to go back to the Reel, tap "Original Audio," and there you'll find an option to "Save Audio." This adds the sound to your "Saved" folder in the music library, making it much easier to find and add to your Stories later. Just go to Stickers > Music > Saved to access it.

Method 2: Adding Your Voice - The Art of the Voiceover

Sometimes you don’t need a reusable soundbite, you just need to narrate the content you’re posting right now. The voiceover feature is perfect for tutorials, behind-the-scenes commentary, or adding a personal story to a photo or video clip. This audio is “original” to the Story itself, even if it doesn't become a shareable clip for others.

When to Use the Voiceover Tool:

• Explaining a Process: Perfect for DIY tutorials, recipes, or workout guides. You can show the visuals and explain the steps with your voice.
• Telling a Story: Share the context behind a photo or video. A voiceover can turn a simple travel shot into an engaging travel diary entry.
• "Day in the Life" Content: Narrate your daily routine to give your audience a more intimate look at your brand or life.

How to Add a Voiceover to Your Story:

1. Prepare Your Visuals: Open the Instagram Story editor and record or upload the video or series of photos you want to narrate.
2. Open the Audio Tools: Tap the music note icon at the top of the screen.
3. Select "Voiceover": Alongside controls for camera audio and music, you’ll see a "Voiceover" button with a microphone icon. Tap it.
4. Record Your Audio: A recording timeline will appear at the bottom of the screen. You can drag the marker to where you want the voiceover to start. Press and hold the red record button to record your audio. You can record in one long take or in several smaller chunks.
5. Adjust the Volume: After recording, tap the music note icon again to bring up the audio controls. Here, you can adjust the volume of your original "Camera Audio" and your new "Voiceover." This is useful if you want to have quiet background noise from the original video playing underneath your voice.
6. Finish and Post: Tap "Done," add any other stickers or text, and share your Story.

Method 3: Leveling Up - Creating and Importing Custom Audio from Other Apps

For a truly polished sound, you might want more control than Instagram’s native tools offer. Using a third-party video editing app lets you mix audio, add sound effects, clean up background noise, and perfect your timing before you even open Instagram.

Popular and easy-to-use apps for this include CapCut, InShot, and VN Video Editor. The general workflow is similar for each.

Here’s the General Process:

1. Import Your Video: Start a new project in your chosen editing app and import the video clip(s) for your Story or Reel.
2. Add Your Audio Layers: This is where you have total creative freedom. You can:
   • Record a high-quality voiceover directly in the app.
   • Import a song from a royalty-free music library (like Epidemic Sound or Artlist).
   • Add multiple sound effects (like a "swoosh" for a transition or a "ding" for an alert).
   • Adjust the volume levels for each individual audio track, making your voice clear while keeping music or effects in the background.
3. Edit and Sync: Trim your video clips and audio tracks so everything lines up perfectly. Many apps allow you to automatically generate captions from your voiceover, which you can edit for accuracy.
4. Export the Final Video: Once you're happy with your video and its perfectly mixed audio, export the entire file to your phone's camera roll. The audio will be "baked into" the video file.
5. Upload to Instagram: Now, just upload this polished video to your Instagram Story or Reel just like any other content. Because you added the sound outside of Instagram's library, it will be recognized as "Original Audio" if you post it as a Reel, making it available for you and others to use later.

Tips for Making Your Original Audio Stand Out

Creating original audio is one thing, creating effective original audio is another. Here are a few tips to make your sounds more engaging.

• Clarity is Everything: Make sure your recording is clear and easy to understand. Avoid recording in noisy rooms with a lot of echo. Using an external mic (even the one on your headphones) can make a huge difference.
• Give It a Catchy Name: If you upload a Reel and it creates an "Original Audio," tap on the audio name to rename it! An audio named "Easy 3-Step Morning Coffee Recipe" is much more appealing and searchable than "Original audio - [YourUsername]."
• Always Add On-Screen Text or Captions: A huge percentage of users watch Stories without sound. Use Instagram's "Captions" sticker to automatically transcribe your voiceover, or add your own text overlays to summarize what you're saying. This makes your content accessible to everyone.
• Create for Reuse: Think about what makes a sound "remixable." Is it a funny reaction? A relatable frustration? A short, valuable tip? A quote someone else might want to lip-sync to? Audio that provides a template for others to create their own content has the highest chance of going viral.

Final Thoughts

Using original audio on Instagram stories is an incredibly effective way to build a memorable brand, connect with your audience on a personal level, and stand out in a crowded feed. Whether you’re simply recording a voiceover, publishing a Reel to capture a cool sound, or creating a complex audio mix in another app, you’re taking a big step toward making more engaging and unique content.

Creating amazing content like this is half the battle, the other is planning and scheduling everything consistently without getting overwhelmed. At Postbase, we built our platform to solve exactly that challenge. Because we’re designed for modern E-com marketers, our visual calendar makes it easy to schedule your video-focused content, like Stories and Reels, across multiple platforms. So you can focus on creating cool audio, knowing the rest of your calendar is handled.