How to Put Lyrics on an Instagram Post

Adding song lyrics to your Instagram post taps into a powerful way to add emotion, context, and personality to what you share. Whether it’s for a Story, Reel, or static feed photo, this guide will walk you through every method for putting lyrics on your content, from quick sticker drags to creating custom graphics that stop the scroll.

Using the Music Sticker for Instagram Stories

The easiest and most common way to add lyrics is through Instagram Stories. Instagram has a massive library of licensed music with lyrics that sync automatically, giving you tons of creative freedom in just a few taps.

A Step-by-Step Guide

Here’s the simplest way to get animated lyrics on your Story:

1. Create Your Story: Open the Instagram app and swipe right to open the Story camera. Take a photo, record a video, or choose one from your camera roll.
2. Access the Sticker Tray: Once your image or video is ready, tap the sticker icon (the smiling square) at the top of your screen.
3. Select "Music": From the options, tap the "Music" sticker. This opens Instagram's music library.
4. Find Your Song: You can browse through categories like "For You" or "Trending," or you can use the search bar at the top to find a specific artist or song title.
5. Select the Song and Clip: After choosing a song, a timeline appears at the bottom. Drag the slider to select the 15-second clip you want to feature. For many popular songs, lyrics will automatically appear on the screen.
6. Choose Your Lyric Style: With the lyrics visible, you'll see several style icons above the timeline. Tap through them to change the font, animation, and appearance of the text. Some options display as a small block of text, while others fill the screen with dynamic, karaoke-style typography.
7. Customize and Place: Once you’ve settled on a style, you can tap the color wheel at the top to change the lyric color. Use two fingers to resize, rotate, and drag the lyrics anywhere on your Story.
8. Publish: Tap "Done" and share your Story with your followers.

Tips for Making Your Story Stand Out

• Match the Vibe: Choose a lyric style that complements the mood of your photo or video. A bold, animated font works for high-energy content, while a simple, classic font might fit a more thoughtful moment.
• Pin the Sticker: If you're using a video, you can "pin" the lyrics to a moving object. Just press and hold the lyric sticker, then drag it over the person or object you want it to follow. The lyrics will move, shrink, and grow with the object, creating a cool, dynamic effect.
• Build a Narrative: Don't just pick a popular song. Select lyrics that enhance the story you’re telling with your visual content. A lyric about wanderlust pairs perfectly with a travel photo, connecting with your audience on a more emotional level.

Adding Lyrics to Your Instagram Reels

Reels are all about grabbing attention with audio and visuals. Adding lyrics can make your video more engaging and accessible, especially for viewers who watch with the sound off. The process is similar to Stories but offers a few different creative avenues.

Method 1: Using Instagram's Built-in Audio and Lyrics Feature

This is the most straightforward way to get lyrics on a Reel, pulling from Instagram’s official audio library.

1. Start a New Reel: Open the Reels camera and tap the "Audio" icon on the left-side menu.
2. Choose Your Music: Just like with Stories, search for and select the song you want to use for your Reel. This audio is now a part of your video to trim as needed.
3. Record or Upload Your Clips: Create your video content with the selected song playing. You can record a series of clips or upload pre-existing videos from your camera roll.
4. Go to the Editor: Once you're done assembling your clips, tap "Next" to enter the editing screen.
5. Add Lyrics with the Text Tool: Here’s where it slightly differs from Stories. Tap the text icon ("Aa") at the top. For many songs from the official music library, a lyrics option will appear. Tap that, and automatically synced lyrics will be added to your Reel, which you can edit the same way as you would in a Story.

Method 2: Creating a Custom "Lyric Video" Style Reel

For more creative control, or if the song's official lyrics aren't available, you can create a lyric video by manually adding text overlays that sync with the music.

• Start with Audio: Add your song to the Reel as usual.
• Add Text for Each Line: Tap the text icon ("Aa") and type out the first line of the lyric you want to display. Pick a font and color.
• Time the Text: After adding the text, tap on the text box at the bottom of the timeline. A slider will appear, allowing you to drag the start and end points. Time it so the text appears on screen exactly when it’s sung in the song.
• Repeat for All Lyrics: Add a new text box for each subsequent line and repeat the timing process. While it’s more time-consuming, this method gives you total command over the final look, letting you animate words and phrases however you want.

How to Put Lyrics on a Photo for Your Instagram Feed

Regular feed posts are a little different because you can't use Instagram's Music sticker on a static photo. But you can still add lyrics in a stylish way. You have two main routes: baking the lyrics into the image itself or putting them in the caption.

Approach 1: Using Third-Party Apps to Create a Lyric Graphic

The best way to get lyrics visually onto a feed post is to add them to your picture before you upload it to Instagram. User-friendly design apps make this incredibly simple.

Using a Tool Like Canva

1. Start a New Project: Open Canva (or a similar app like Adobe Express) and choose the "Instagram Post" template to make sure your dimensions are correct.
2. Upload Your Photo: Import the image you want to use and set it as the background of your design.
3. Add and Style Your Lyrics: Select the "Text" tool and add a text box. Type or paste the lyric quote you want on your image. Now, you can edit it:
   • Choose a Font: Pick a font that matches your photo's aesthetic. A sleek sans-serif font might work well for a modern, minimalist image, while a script font could suit a romantic or whimsical photo.
   • Adjust Color &, Size: Select a color that has good contrast with the background image so the text is easy to read. Resize and position the text so it complements, rather than competes with, the elements of your photo.
   • Add Effects: You can add effects like a drop shadow, an outline for the text ("lift" or "hollow"), or place a semi-transparent shape behind your text to make it pop against a busy background.
4. Download and Post: Save the design in high-resolution to your phone or computer. From there, upload it to Instagram just like you would any other photo.

Approach 2: Putting the Lyrics in Your Caption

The simplest way to associate lyrics with a photo is to place them directly in the caption. But a little bit of formatting goes a long way.

• Format for Readability: Don't just post a dense block of text. Use line breaks (tap the "Return" key) to give the lyrics space to breathe, reflecting the song's original structure. Use periods, spaces, or emojis on blank lines if you have trouble getting Instagram to respect line breaks correctly.
• Give Proper Credit: Always tag the artist and include the song title. It's good social media etiquette and helps others discover the music. You could write it like this:
  "Cause you’re a sky full of stars ✨"
  - @coldplay, A Sky Full of Stars
• Add Your Own Context: Share why those lyrics resonate with you. Connecting a lyric to a personal experience or feeling makes your post more authentic and encourages comments from people who relate.

Creative Ways to Use Lyrics in Your Instagram Content Strategy

No matter how you add lyrics to your posts, using them effectively is what really matters. Here are a few ideas to turn song quotes into a valuable part of your content.

• Tell a Better Story: A single lyric can capture the feeling of a whole album. Pair lyrics about wanderlust with a photo in the mountains or lyrics about friendship with a picture of your friends to make your posts more impactful.
• Create Relatability: Lyrics often capture feelings we've all experienced but can't quite put into words. Sharing a lyric about "the Sunday scaries" creates an instant connection with followers who know that feeling.

Final Thoughts

From lively animated lyrics in Stories to beautifully designed quotes on feed posts, you have plenty of creative options to share your favorite music with your followers. Whether you choose Instagram's built-in tools for a quick post or spend time creating something custom in an app, the goal is always the same: to connect with your audience in a more meaningful way.

Mastering these techniques helps create visually engaging content, but managing it all can be challenging. That’s where we aimed to simplify things with Postbase. My team and I built it so you can schedule all your visual content, from lyric graphics to video posts, in a clean, visual calendar, helping you stay consistent without the headache of jumping between platforms.