How to Post a TikTok on an Instagram Story with Sound

Sharing that perfect TikTok to your Instagram Story feels like a no-brainer, but it often comes with a frustrating problem: the sound disappears. This guide cuts straight to the solution. You'll learn the best way to post your TikToks to Instagram Stories with their original audio fully intact, and we'll cover some pro-level tips to make your cross-platform content shine.

Why Share Your TikToks on Instagram Stories?

Repurposing your best TikTok content for Instagram Stories is one of the smartest things you can do for your brand or personal account. Instead of seeing it as posting the same thing twice, think of it as a strategic move to grow your reach and save a massive amount of time.

Here’s why it works so well:

• Cross-Promote Your Accounts: Your Instagram followers might not know you’re on TikTok, and vice-versa. Sharing a great TikTok gives your Instagram audience a reason to follow you on the other platform for more content like it. It’s a simple, effective way to build a bridge between your communities.
• Save Time and Effort: Creating original content is time-consuming. Why let a high-performing video live on only one platform? By repurposing, you get double the value out of the hard work you’ve already put in, keeping your content calendar full without burning yourself out.
• Reach a Different Audience Segment: Even if someone follows you on both platforms, they may not see a specific video due to different algorithms. The people who see your content on TikTok aren’t always the same people who see your Instagram Stories. Sharing your TikToks on Stories gives your best work a second chance to be seen by engaged followers.
• Maintain Content Freshness: Stories are ephemeral - they disappear after 24 hours. This makes them the perfect place for content that’s timely, casual, or serves as a quick nudge toward your other platforms. A well-placed TikTok can keep your Story feed active and interesting between more polished feed posts.

The Core Problem: Why Does the Sound Disappear Anyway?

So, you grab the link from your TikTok, paste it into an Instagram Story sticker, and… silence. The video plays, but the viral sound, original audio, or trending music that made it great is gone. This happens for a couple of key reasons, primarily related to how the platforms handle content sharing and music rights.

When you use the “link sticker” in Instagram Stories, you are not actually embedding the video file itself. You’re simply creating a clickable link that opens the TikTok app (or a web browser). Instagram's Story player doesn't have the permissions - or the direct integration - to pull and play the audio from another platform’s video link. It just shows a silent preview as an enticement to click.

Additionally, music licensing is a huge factor. The music licenses TikTok secures with artists and labels are for use within the TikTok platform. Those licenses don't extend to third-party platforms like Instagram. To avoid complex legal issues, the easiest solution for these platforms is to simply mute audio from direct links. This is why you need a method that bypasses linking altogether and instead brings the video file - audio and all - directly into Instagram.

The Best Method: Download and Re-Upload Your Video

The most reliable and professional way to post a TikTok on an Instagram Story with sound is to download the video file to your phone and then upload it as a new Story clip. This method involves getting a clean version of your video, without the TikTok watermark, so it feels native to Instagram.

Step 1: Get a Clean, Watermark-Free Version of Your TikTok

First things first, you need the video file. While TikTok lets you save your videos directly, doing so adds a prominent watermark that moves around the screen. Not only does this look unprofessional, but social platforms like Instagram are known to limit the reach of content that is visibly repurposed from a competitor. A clean video without a watermark will always perform better.

Here's how to download your TikTok without the watermark:

1. Open TikTok and find your video. Navigate to your profile and tap on the video you want to share.
2. Copy the video link. Tap the Share icon (the arrow pointing right). In the menu that appears, find and tap "Copy link." The video’s unique URL is now saved to your clipboard.
3. Use a third-party downloader. Open your phone's web browser and search for a "TikTok video downloader without watermark." You'll find several websites that provide this service for free. Be mindful of pop-up ads and choose a reputable-looking site.
4. Paste your link and download. On the downloader website, you’ll see a field where you can paste the link. Paste the URL you copied from TikTok and follow the site's prompts to download the video. It will typically be saved as an MP4 file directly to your phone’s camera roll or downloads folder.

Now you have a high-quality video file with its original sound, totally clean and ready for Instagram.

Step 2: Upload Your Downloaded Video to Instagram Stories

With the video file saved on your phone, the rest of the process is simple and takes place entirely within the Instagram app. You're treating it just like any other video you would upload to your Story.

1. Open Instagram Stories. Launch the Instagram app and either tap your profile photo in the top-left corner or swipe right from your home feed to open the Story creation screen.
2. Access your camera roll. In the bottom-left corner of the screen, tap the small square preview of your photo gallery or just swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
3. Select your TikTok video. Find the watermark-free video you just downloaded and tap on it. Instagram will automatically load it into the Story editor.
4. Check the audio. The video should play with its full, original sound. If you don't hear anything, tap the speaker icon at the top of the screen to make sure it's not muted. The audio from the video file is embedded, so it should work perfectly.
5. Customize and post. Now you can add Instagram’s native elements to make it more engaging. Add interactive stickers like polls or quizzes, drop in some relevant GIFs, or write some text to provide context. Once you’re happy with it, tap “Your Story” to share it.

Alternative Method: Screen Recording (And Why It’s Not Recommended)

If for some reason you can’t use a downloader website, screen recording is a backup option. However, it comes with several disadvantages and should only be used as a last resort.

Here’s how it works:

1. Prepare your phone. Set your phone to "Do Not Disturb" mode to prevent notifications from popping up during your recording.
2. Open your TikTok. Find the video you want to record.
3. Start screen recording.
   • On an iPhone, swipe down from the top-right corner to open the Control Center and tap the record icon (a circle within a circle).
   • On an Android device, swipe down from the top of the screen to open the Quick Settings panel and find the "Screen Recorder" tile.
4. Play the video. Once recording has started, let the entire TikTok play - with the sound on. Make sure your phone’s volume is turned up.
5. Stop recording and trim. Once the video ends, stop the screen recording. The new clip will be saved to your photo gallery. Use your phone's built-in editor to trim the beginning and end of the clip, removing the parts where you were starting and stopping the recording.

Why This Method Isn't Ideal:

• Quality Loss: Screen recordings often result in a lower-resolution video and compressed audio compared to the original file.
• Unwanted Elements: It's easy to accidentally record on-screen elements like the TikTok user interface, the system time and battery life at the top of your screen, or even a stray notification if you forget to turn on "Do Not Disturb."
• Extra Work: The process of recording and meticulously trimming the footage takes more time and effort than the download-and-upload method.

Bonus Tips for Maximum Engagement

Getting the video and sound onto your Instagram Story is just the first step. To make your repurposed content truly effective, keep these strategies in mind:

• Credit the Original Creator (If It's Not You): If you’re ever sharing someone else's amazing TikTok (and you have permission), always give them credit by tagging their Instagram account in your Story. It's good social media etiquette and helps grow the community.
• Use Instagram's Native Story Features: The Instagram algorithm favors content that uses its native tools. Add a poll, a quiz, an “Add Yours” sticker, or a relevant GIF to your video. These interactive elements encourage your audience to engage with your Story, which increases its visibility.
• Include a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA): What do you want people to do after watching your Story? Tell them! Use the link sticker to send them directly to your TikTok profile with a CTA like, "Follow me on TikTok for more!" or "Watch the full video on TikTok!"
• Resize a Full-Screen Video: Sometimes, you might upload your full 9:16 TikTok video, and Instagram will slightly zoom in and crop it. To fix this, just use your fingers to pinch to zoom out a tiny bit when editing your story. This will fit your video in the frame properly, showing all sides as you intended.

Final Thoughts

In short, the best way to move your content is by downloading your TikTok video without the watermark and uploading that clean file directly to your Instagram Story. This single technique preserves the video and audio quality, makes your content look native, and bypasses all the technical and licensing issues that cause silent Stories.

Repurposing your video content is a powerful way to stay consistent and grow your audience, but juggling schedules and formats across different platforms can quickly become overwhelming. At Postbase, we built our tool specifically for today’s creators who live and breathe short-form video. Instead of fighting with clumsy legacy platforms that treat Reels and TikToks as an afterthought, you can use our visual calendar to plan, schedule, and publish your videos across all your networks seamlessly - giving you more time to create and less time spent on manual uploads.