How to Save a Template on Instagram

Saving templates on Instagram is one of the fastest ways to create trending Reels and engaging Stories without starting from scratch every time. Instead of trying to manually time your clips to a popular audio track, templates let you drop your own photos and videos into a pre-made sequence. This article breaks down exactly how to find, save, and use templates for both Instagram Reels and Stories.

What Exactly Are Instagram Templates?

When most people talk about "Instagram templates," they're referring to a feature within Reels. Essentially, an Instagram Reel template copies the audio and clip timings from another creator's video. When you use one, Instagram provides you with a series of empty placeholders, each timed perfectly to the beat drops, audio cues, or vocal points of the sound.

Your job is simple: fill in those placeholders with your own media. It’s a game-changer for a few big reasons:

• Jump on Trends Instantly: Trends on Reels move fast. By the time you figure out the editing style and clip lengths for an emerging trend, it might already be fading. Templates let you participate in a trend the moment you see it, with just a few taps.
• Speed Up Your Workflow: The most time-consuming part of editing a Reel is often syncing cuts to the audio. Templates eliminate that step entirely, turning a 30-minute editing session into a 5-minute task.
• Get Creative Inspiration: Feeling stuck? Browsing templates can give you fresh ideas for how to showcase your products, tell a story, or share a behind-the-scenes look at your business. You can use another creator's rhythm and flow as the foundation for your own message.

Beyond Reels, Instagram has also introduced "Add Yours" templates for Stories, which allow you to create and share customizable layouts with pinned text, GIFs, and images for your followers to use. We'll cover those, too.

Finding and Saving Reel Templates: A Step-by-Step Guide

Before you can use a template, you have to find one. The good news is that Instagram gives you several ways to discover them. The key thing to remember is this: you don't save a "template" into a dedicated library. You save the Reel that contains the template. It’s a subtle but important distinction. Here’s how it works.

Step 1: Find a Reel With a Template You Like

First, you need to find a video that is usable as a template. You can do this in a few ways while browsing Instagram.

Method 1: Spot the "Use template" Button in Your Feed

As you scroll through your Reels feed, keep an eye out for a button that says "Use template" just above the creator’s username. This button only appears when the creator has used the template format and the audio is available for use. When you see it, you've found a Reels template you can use immediately or save for later.

Method 2: Explore the Reels Template Browser

If you're actively looking for inspiration, your best bet is Instagram's own template library. It’s a bit hidden, but it's a goldmine of ideas.

1. On the Instagram home screen, tap the plus sign (+) at the bottom and select "Reel."
2. Instead of recording or uploading media, look for the "Templates" option at the top of the screen. Tap it.
3. This opens the Template Browser. Here, you'll find two tabs: Recommended (templates Instagram thinks you'll like based on your activity) and Trending (the most popular templates on the platform right now).

Just scroll through, watch the examples, and see which formats might work for your own content. It’s the perfect place to start if you have no idea what you want to create.

Step 2: Save the Reel Containing the Template

So you found the perfect template. If you want to use it right away, you can just tap the "Use template" button. But if you want to save it for a future post, you need to bookmark the Reel itself. This is where many people get a little confused, as there isn't a "Save Template" button.

Here’s the correct way to save it for later:

1. On the Reel you want to save, tap the three dots (...) on the right-hand side of the screen.
2. From the menu that appears, tap the Save icon (it looks like a bookmark). The Reel is now saved to your general "Saved" folder.

Pro Tip: Organize Your Templates with Collections

If you save a lot of content, your main "Saved" folder can get messy quickly. To keep all your great template finds in one place, create a dedicated Collection.

1. After you tap "Save," you'll briefly see an option at the bottom of the screen to "Save to Collection." Tap this.
2. You can add the Reel to an existing collection or tap the plus sign (+) to create a new one.
3. Name your new collection something obvious, like "Reel Templates" or "Video Ideas," and tap "Done."

Now, whenever you find a cool template, you can save it directly to this folder, creating an organized library of pre-vetted ideas ready for you to use anytime.

How to Use Your Saved Instagram Templates

You’ve done the hard part: you've found and saved some awesome templates. Now it's time to put them to work. The process is straightforward once you know where to look.

Step 1: Access Your Saved Reel

1. Navigate to your Instagram profile.
2. Tap the three-line menu (hamburger icon) in the top right corner.
3. Select "Saved" from the menu.
4. If you organized your templates into a specific Collection ("Reel Templates," for example), tap on that folder. Otherwise, you'll find the video in the "All Posts" folder.

Step 2: Open and Use the Template

1. Tap on the saved Reel you want to use to open it.
2. Now, you'll see the same button from before: "Use template." Tap on it.
3. The Reels editor will open, showing you a series of empty slots with the exact timing from the original video.
4. Tap "Add media" and select your own photos and videos from your phone’s camera roll. Instagram will automatically place each piece of media into a slot and trim it to the correct length.
5. Optional: Want to feature a different part of your video clip? Just tap on the individual clip in the timeline at the bottom and you can drag it left or right to adjust which portion appears in the final video.
6. Once all your placeholders are filled, tap "Next."
7. Here, you can add text overlays, stickers, or filters just like you would with any other Reel.
8. Tap "Next" one more time to go to the final screen, where you can write your caption, add hashtags, tag accounts, and select a cover image before sharing.

That’s it! You've successfully turned a saved idea into a brand new, on-trend Reel in a fraction of the time it would have taken to edit manually.

Beyond Reels: Using "Add Yours" Story Templates

Reels aren't the only place you'll find templates anymore. Instagram is pushing its "Add Yours" sticker feature to a new level by allowing users to create locked-in Story templates that others can build on top of.

What Are "Add Yours" Story Templates?

An "Add Yours" template is a custom-designed Story layout created by another user. It can include specific GIFs, text boxes, and pinned images that become a "fixed" part of the background. When someone uses the template, they can add their own text, mentions, and images, but they can't remove the original elements pinned by the creator.

Think "This or That" questionnaires, "Get to Know Me" bingo cards, or photo dumps with cool captions - all built as a native Instagram template.

How to Find and Use Them

Unlike Reels, you can't really "save" these templates to a designated folder. Right now, using one is an in-the-moment activity.

1. You'll discover these templates by tapping through other people's Stories.
2. Look for the "Add Yours" sticker. When it's a template, the sticker prompt will often say something like "Tap to create your own."
3. Tap the sticker. Instagram will immediately pull the template background into your Story editor.
4. The original creator's pinned elements will appear on your screen. Now you can get creative and add your own text, photos, GIFs, and whatever else you want.
5. Post it to your own Story for your followers to see and share themselves.

How to Create Your Own "Add Yours" Story Template

Creating one of these is just as easy as making a regular Story. This is a great way to encourage audience engagement and start a trend of your own.

1. Open the Story creator and design your background. Add a background image, GIFs, and any text you want everyone's template to include.
2. Once your design is ready, open the sticker tray and find the "Add Yours template" sticker.
3. Now's the important part: tap on each element (GIF, text box, etc.) that you want to be a permanent, unchangeable part of your template. This "pins" them to the background. Anything you don't pin can be moved or deleted by people who use your template.
4. Once your template is set, post it to your Story. Your followers will now see the "Add Yours" sticker and can start using your custom creation!

Final Thoughts

Mastering both Reels and Story templates is a massive shortcut to creating attractive, timely content without an overcomplicated editing process. By saving Reels that feature great templates and organizing them into Collections, you can build a personal library of ideas ready to go at a moment's notice, helping you stay consistent and relevant.

Once you’ve batch-created a week’s worth of amazing Reels using your saved templates, the next step is getting them on your calendar. I know firsthand how challenging it is to keep a content schedule organized, especially when you're managing multiple social platforms. That's why we built Postbase with a clean, visual calendar that lets you drag and drop your finished videos to plan your entire strategy. Because our tool was designed specifically for short-form video, you can schedule your Reels confidently, knowing they'll publish reliably every time.