How to Make Videos for Instagram

Creating videos for Instagram that actually grow your brand can feel like a huge challenge, but it is an accessible and learnable skill for anyone. This guide will walk you through the entire process, step-by-step, from picking the right video format to pressing publish. You'll learn how to plan, shoot, edit, and optimize your videos to connect with your audience and build a loyal following.

Understanding Instagram's Main Video Formats

Before you hit record, it's good to know where your video will live. Instagram offers a few different video placements, each with its own purpose, audience expectations, and technical specifications. Picking the right format for your message is the first step toward getting more views and engagement.

Instagram Reels

Reels are the engine of discovery on Instagram right now. These short, snappy, vertical videos are designed for entertainment and are often served to people who don't follow you yet, making them phenomenal for reaching new audiences.

• Best For: Entertainment, trends, education, tutorials, behind-the-scenes content, and showcasing personality.
• Length: Up to 90 seconds.
• Aspect Ratio: 9:16 (full-screen vertical).
• Key Vibe: Fun, high-energy, relatable, and often paired with trending audio. The first three seconds are everything, you need a strong hook to stop the scroll.

Instagram Stories

Stories are the place for casual, authentic, and timely updates. Since they disappear after 24 hours (unless saved to a Highlight), they feel more informal and immediate. Use them to connect with your existing followers on a more personal level.

• Best For: Daily updates, behind-the-scenes glimpses, polls, Q&As, sharing other people's content, and limited-time offers.
• Length: Up to 60 seconds per Story slide.
• Aspect Ratio: 9:16 (full-screen vertical).
• Key Vibe: Lo-fi, authentic, and interactive. Use stickers, polls, quizzes, and question boxes to encourage your followers to engage directly with you.

In-Feed Videos

These are the classic videos you see as you scroll through your main Instagram feed. While Reels are for discovery, in-feed videos are great for delivering more detailed content to your current audience. They can be longer and feel a bit more polished or structured than a Reel might.

• Best For: Deeper storytelling, detailed product demonstrations, testimonials, longer tutorials, or anything that needs a little more time to breathe.
• Length: Up to 60 minutes.
• Aspect Ratio: You can use square (1:1), horizontal (16:9), or vertical (4:5). Vertical 4:5 is often best as it takes up the most screen real estate in the feed.
• Key Vibe: Informative and high-value. This is where you can nurture the audience you already have with content that solves their problems or tells a compelling brand story.

Your Step-by-Step Guide to Making Great Instagram Videos

You don't need a production studio or a Hollywood budget to create compelling videos. With a smartphone and a solid plan, you can produce content that looks professional and gets results. Here's a simple five-step process to follow.

Step 1: Plan Your Video with a Clear Goal

Great videos start with a great idea, not great equipment. Before you ever hit record, take a few minutes to think through your concept.

• Define the Goal: What do you want this video to achieve? Is it to entertain, educate, inspire, or persuade? A funny Reel has a different goal than a heartfelt testimonial. Knowing your goal guides every other decision.
• Know Your Audience: What do they want to see? What are their pain points? What kind of humor do they like? Create content for them, not just for you. Scroll through your comments and DMs for questions that can be turned into video ideas.
• Find Inspiration (and Trends): Spend some time on Instagram looking for inspiration. What kind of Reels are trending in your niche? Pay attention to the audio, the editing styles, and the on-screen text formats. Don't copy, but adapt popular formats to fit your unique message.
• Outline Your Story: Your video needs a beginning, a middle, and an end. Even for a 15-second Reel, this structure matters.
  • The Hook (0-3 sec): Start with a bold statement, a question, or captivating movement to grab attention.
  • The Middle (4-12 sec): Deliver the main value - the tip, the joke, the tutorial, the story.
  • The End (13-15 sec): End with a call-to-action (CTA) like "Follow for more!" or a punchline that resolves the setup.

Step 2: Shoot Your Video (Smartphone Tips)

Your phone's camera is more than powerful enough. What matters most is how you use it. Focus on getting these three simple things right.

Lighting is Everything

Good lighting is the difference between an amateur-looking video and a professional one. You don't need fancy equipment. Just find a window and face it. Natural daylight is your best friend - it's soft, flattering, and free. Avoid filming with a bright light or window behind you, which will turn you into a dark silhouette.

Clear Audio Matters

Viewers will forgive mediocre video quality, but they won't tolerate bad audio. If you're talking, make sure you can be heard clearly. Film in a quiet room away from traffic, fans, or echoing hallways. If you plan to make a lot of talking videos, a simple lavalier microphone that plugs into your phone is a fantastic and affordable investment (around $20).

Keep it Stable

Shaky footage is distracting. Prop your phone up on a stack of books, lean it against a wall, or invest in a small, inexpensive tripod. If you're shooting action or moving around, try to keep your hands as steady as possible. Many modern phones have built-in image stabilization that helps a lot, too.

Step 3: Edit Your Clips for a Professional Look

Editing is where your video comes to life. Today's mobile editing apps are incredibly powerful and easy to use. You can do everything right on your phone.

Top Mobile Editing Apps:

• CapCut: Owned by the same company as TikTok, it's packed with features like auto-captioning, tons of effects, and trendy templates. It's wildly popular for a reason.
• InShot: An excellent and intuitive all-around editor for trimming clips, adding text, musical backgrounds, and basic color correction.
• Instagram’s Native Editor: Don't overlook the editing tools right inside the Reels editor! You can trim clips, add text, voiceovers, stickers, and access Instagram's massive library of trending audio.

Your Editing Checklist:

1. Trim the Fat: Cut out any awkward pauses or dead air at the beginning and end of your clips. Keep the pace moving quickly.
2. Add On-Screen Text/Captions: A huge percentage of people watch videos with the sound off. Adding on-screen text that summarizes your key points makes your video more accessible and helps retain viewers' attention. Use tools like CapCut's auto-caption feature to do this fast.
3. Add Music or Trending Audio: For Reels, using trending audio is a great way to boost your visibility. Browse the Reels feed to see what sounds are popular, save them, and then add them to your video during the editing process in Instagram. For other video types, you can choose royalty-free background music to set the mood.
4. Use a Filter (Consistently): Find a filter or color grading preset that matches your brand aesthetic and use it consistently to create a cohesive look across your videos.

Step 4: Craft Your Post to Maximize Reach

The video itself is only half the battle. How you package it in your post is just as important.

Choose an Eye-Catching Cover Photo

Your cover photo, or thumbnail, is a huge factor in whether someone decides to watch your video - especially when it appears on your profile grid or the Explore page. You can select a frame from your video or upload a custom graphic. A great cover often includes the video's title to give context at a glance.

Write a Value-Packed Caption

Your caption should add context or value to the video. Ask a question to spark conversation in the comments, or use the space to elaborate on the topic in your video. It's also a great place for your call-to-action (CTA). Tell people what you want them to do next: "Save this post," "Share your thoughts below," or "Click the link in my bio."

Use Relevant Hashtags

Hashtags help Instagram understand what your video is about and show it to people who might be interested. Use a mix of 5-10 hashtags:

• Broad Hashtags: (e.g., #SocialMediaMarketing)
• Niche Hashtags: (e.g., #InstagramForBusiness)
• Community Hashtags: (e.g., #CreativeEntrepreneurs)

Step 5: Post, Analyze, and Repeat

Once you hit publish, your job isn't done. The final step is learning from your performance.

Check your Instagram Insights a day or two after posting. Pay attention to metrics like:

• Reach & Plays: How many people saw your video?
• Watch Time & Retention: How long did people watch? Did they drop off immediately, or did they stick around? This tells you if your hook is effective.
• Interactions: Likes, comments, shares, and saves. Shares and saves are powerful signals to the algorithm that you've created high-value content.

Don't get obsessed with one viral video. Instead, look for patterns. Do your talking-head videos get more saves? Do videos with trending audio get more reach? Use these insights to inform your next batch of content ideas.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to make videos for Instagram is a process of testing, learning, and refining, so don't be afraid to experiment to find what resonates with your audience. The key is to start creating, pay attention to what works, and stay consistent.

Once you get into a groove creating great videos, the next big challenge is staying consistent with your scheduling. At Postbase, we designed our platform for the modern, video-first world of social media. Our visual calendar helps you plan your video posts for weeks in advance, and our rock-solid scheduler makes sure your Reels get published reliably every time, so you can focus more on creating and less on managing.