How to Repost an Instagram Reel to Your Story

Sharing an Instagram Reel to your Story is one of the quickest and most effective ways to breathe new life into your content and get more eyes on your videos. This simple act can amplify your reach, engage followers who might have missed the original post, and add dynamic content to your daily narrative. In this guide, we'll walk you through exactly how to repost your own Reels, share content from other creators, and apply smart strategies to get the most engagement from every share.

Why Share an Instagram Reel to Your Story?

Before jumping into the "how," let's quickly touch on the "why." You might think, "I already posted it as a Reel, why post it again?" The answer lies in how people use Instagram. Not everyone scrolls through the Reels feed, but millions of users tap through Stories daily. Sharing your Reel to your Story gives a single piece of content a second chance to shine.

Here are a few key benefits:

• Increased Visibility: It catches the attention of followers who primarily engage with Stories and might have missed your Reel in their busy feed.
• Extended Lifespan: A Reel's feed visibility might fade after a couple of days, but sharing it to your Story resurfaces it for a fresh 24 hours.
• Higher Engagement: Stories offer interactive features like polls, sliders, and question boxes that the Reels feed doesn't. You can use these to spark conversation around your video content.
• Driving Traffic: Each Story share automatically links back to the original Reel, making it a frictionless way to drive viewers directly to the full video, where they can like, comment, and follow.

How to Repost Your Own Instagram Reel to Your Story

Ready to give your own content a boost? Sharing a Reel from your profile to your Story is a straightforward process that takes less than a minute. Here’s a breakdown of the steps.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Navigate to Your Profile: Open the Instagram app and tap your profile picture in the bottom-right corner to go to your main profile page.
2. Open the Reels Tab: Below your bio, you’ll see several icons. Tap the clapperboard icon to view all of the Reels you've published.
3. Select the Reel to Share: Scroll through your videos and tap on the Reel you want to repost to your Story. It will open and begin playing in full-screen mode.
4. Find the Share Icon: On the right side of the screen, you'll see a collection of icons for liking, commenting, and sharing. Tap the paper airplane icon (the "Share" button).
5. Add to Your Story: A menu will pop up from the bottom. The first option at the bottom-left will be a button that says “Add to story.” Tap it.
6. Customize Your Story: You’ll now be in the Story creation interface. The Reel will appear as a sticker in the center of the screen. You can now resize it, move it around, add text, GIFs, or other stickers. We’ll cover customization tips in more detail below.
7. Publish Your Story: Once you’re happy with how it looks, tap the "Your Story" button in the bottom-left corner to post it live. Now, anyone who views your story can tap the video to be taken directly to your original Reel.

How to Repost Someone Else’s Instagram Reel to Your Story

Found a Reel from another creator that resonates with your brand, teaches something valuable, or is just genuinely entertaining? Sharing it with your audience is a fantastic way to offer value, spark connection, and give a shout-out to talented creators. The process is nearly identical to sharing your own Reel.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Find the Reel You Want to Share: Whether you discover it in your feed, on the Explore page, or by visiting a creator’s profile, open the Reel so it’s playing full-screen.
2. Tap the Share Icon: Just like with your own content, tap the paper airplane icon on the right side of the screen.
3. Select "Add to Story": From the pop-up menu, tap the “Add to story” button.
4. Add Your Spin: You'll be taken to the Story editor. Here, it’s a brilliant practice to add your own context or commentary. Use the text tool to write why you’re sharing it, what you find interesting, or to ask your audience a question about it. This turns a simple repost into a conversation starter.
5. Give Credit (Optional but Recommended): Instagram automatically includes a small, tappable link back to the original creator. However, it's considered good etiquette to add a more visible tag. Use the text tool to type "@" followed by their username to create a visible, clickable mention. It’s a great way to show support and foster community.
6. Post to Your Story: Once you’ve added your custom flair, tap the "Your Story" button to share it with your followers.

Smart Ways to Customize Reels in Your Story

Just tapping "Add to Story" and publishing gets the job done, but taking an extra 30 seconds to customize the share can dramatically improve its performance. Here are some simple but powerful ways to make your shared Reel stand out.

Change the Background

By default, Instagram puts a generic color gradient background behind the Reel sticker. To make it more on-brand or visually appealing, you can easily change it:

• Tap the Reel sticker preview once. It will toggle to show a clean, small preview without the creator's profile picture.
• Then, tap the "Stickers" icon at the top and select a photo from your camera roll to use as a background.
• Alternatively, you can tap the pencil/draw tool, select a color from the bottom (or long-press a color to open the color spectrum), and then tap and hold down on the background for 1-2 seconds. The entire background will fill with your chosen solid color.

Use Interactive Stickers

Turn a passive view into an active engagement. Place a sticker near the Reel to encourage interaction:

• Poll Sticker: Ask a simple yes/no question related to the Reel. Example: For a food recipe, "Would you try this?"
• Quiz Sticker: Test your audience's knowledge about a topic in the Reel. Example: For a travel Reel, "Guess which city this is!"
• "Add Yours" Sticker: Prompt your followers to share their own version of something related to the Reel. This is a powerful tool for generating user-generated content (UGC). Example: For a Reel about a morning routine, "Show us your WFH setup."

Add Guiding Text and GIFs

Never assume people know what to do. Use compelling copy and animated arrows to guide their actions.

• Add text like "Tap to watch!" or "Full tutorial here!" to explicitly tell people to click through to the Reel.
• Search for a "tap here" or "arrow" GIF in the sticker library and place it pointing toward the Reel sticker. This small visual cue works wonders.

Troubleshooting: Can't Share a Reel to Your Story?

Sometimes you’ll hit a snag and find that the "Add to Story" option is missing. Don't worry - there's usually a simple explanation.

For Other People's Reels

• The Creator Has Disabled Resharing: This is the most common reason. Instagram users can choose to disable the ability for others to share their posts to stories. If this is the case, you'll need to respect their choice. You can find this setting under Settings > Privacy > Story where you can toggle "Allow sharing to story."
• The Account is Private: You cannot share content from a private account in any public way, including to your Story.

For Your Own Reels

• Copyrighted Music Issues: If you're a Business Account, using trending audio from the music library can sometimes restrict sharing capabilities due to music licensing agreements. Instagram prioritizes personal use for trending sounds. You might notice the Reel can't be "boosted" for the same reason.
• App Glitches or Outdated Version: It sounds cliché, but sometimes the fix is as simple as closing and reopening the app or heading to the App Store or Google Play to make sure you have the latest version of Instagram installed.

Final Thoughts

Sharing an Instagram Reel to your Story is more than just a button click, it's a strategic move to maximize your content's lifecycle and boost its engagement. By repurposing your best videos and curating valuable Reels from others, you can keep your Stories dynamic, provide nonstop value to your audience, and consistently drive traffic back to your main content.

Strategically planning out your social media calendar, including both primary posts and the follow-up shares to Stories, makes all the difference. At Postbase, we built our visual calendar specifically to address this workflow. We empower busy creators and marketers to see their entire content plan at a glance, allowing them to schedule their Reels, TikToks, and Shorts and then plan their corresponding Story shares all in one place. It eliminates the last-minute scramble and lets you build a more intentional, effective content strategy so your best work always gets the second look it deserves.