How to Share an Instagram Reel to Facebook

Sharing your Instagram Reel to Facebook is one of the smartest ways to squeeze more life out of the content you work so hard to create. This guide breaks down every method for cross-posting, from the automatic set it and forget it approach to manually sharing older Reels you may have missed. We'll cover the simple steps to connect your accounts, the pros and cons of each sharing strategy, and some best practices to make sure your content lands perfectly on both platforms.

Why Should You Share Your Instagram Reels to Facebook Anyway?

Before getting into the how-to, it’s worth understanding why this is such a good strategy for creators, brands, and marketers. It boils down to working smarter, not harder.

• Amplify Your Reach: Not everyone who follows you on Facebook is on Instagram, and vice versa. Cross-posting instantly exposes your video content to a different segment of your audience, broadening your overall reach without any extra creative effort.
• Get More Value from Your Hard Work: Creating a great Reel takes time and energy - from brainstorming the idea to filming, editing, and finding the perfect sound. Sharing it to another platform maximizes your return on that investment, giving a single piece of content a second chance to go viral.
• Sustain Momentum: Feeding the algorithms on both platforms keeps your accounts active and visible. Consistent posting is a huge factor in organic growth, and sharing your Reels helps fill content gaps in your Facebook calendar with high-quality, engaging video.
• Understand Different Audiences: You might be surprised to see which Reels take off on Facebook compared to Instagram. This gives you valuable data about what resonates with each audience, helping you refine your content strategy over time.

First Things First: Connect Your Instagram and Facebook Accounts

You can't share anything if your accounts don't know each other exist. The magic happens inside the Meta Accounts Center, a central hub for managing your connected profiles. If you’ve already done this, feel free to skip to the next section. If not, here’s how to set it up.

How to Connect Your Accounts in the Meta Accounts Center

Follow these quick steps from your Instagram app:

1. Navigate to your Instagram profile and tap the three horizontal lines (the hamburger menu) in the top-right corner.
2. Select Settings and privacy from the menu.
3. Tap on Accounts Center, which is usually the very first option at the top.
4. Under "Accounts Center settings," tap on Profiles. You'll see your current Instagram profile listed here.
5. Tap Add accounts and choose the option to add a Facebook account.
6. Follow the on-screen prompts to log into your Facebook account and confirm you want to link the accounts.

Once connected, you’ll see both your Instagram and Facebook profiles listed together in the Accounts Center. Now you're ready to start sharing.

The 'Set It and Forget It' Method: Automatic Sharing for All Future Reels

If you want to streamline your workflow and ensure every Reel you create gets shared to Facebook without a second thought, you can turn on automatic sharing. This tells Instagram to recommend all future Reels on Facebook by default.

How to Set Up Automatic Sharing

1. Go back to the Meta Accounts Center on your Instagram app (Profile -> menu -> Settings and privacy -> Accounts Center).
2. Select Sharing across profiles.
3. Choose your Instagram account as the source from which you want to share.
4. Under the "Automatically share" section, find the option for Your Instagram Reels.
5. Tap on it and toggle the feature on. The setting might read as "Recommend future Reels on Facebook."

Pros and Cons of Automatic Sharing

• Pros: This is a massive time-saver. You'll never forget to cross-post a Reel, keeping a steady stream of content flowing to your Facebook Page without any extra steps. It's the most efficient method available.
• Cons: It offers less control. Your Instagram audience might have different expectations or a different sense of humor than your Facebook audience. What works on one may not land the same way on the other. Captions with Instagram-specific call-to-actions, like "tap the link in our bio," won't make sense on Facebook, and trends don't always cross over 100% smoothly between the two communities.

The Selective Approach: Sharing Reels to Facebook Case-by-Case

Most creators prefer to decide which Reels get shared to Facebook on an individual basis. This gives you the flexibility to post only your best content or content that feels appropriate for both audiences. This process happens on the final screen just before you publish a new Reel.

How to Share a Single Reel While Posting

1. Create Your Reel: Film and edit your Reel in the Instagram app, adding your audio, effects, text, and other creative elements.
2. Navigate to the Final Screen: Once your video is ready, tap "Next" to go to the final share screen where you write your caption.
3. Find the Facebook Option: Scroll down below the caption box. You'll see a section titled "Recommend on Facebook." (Depending on your app version, it may just say "Share to Facebook.")
4. Toggle It On: Tap this option. The toggle will turn blue, indicating the feature is on for this specific Reel.
5. Publish Your Reel: After you enter all the details for the specific reel, hit the "Share" button.

That’s it! Your Reel will now be published on Instagram and also be shared to your connected Facebook account, appearing in the Facebook Feed and the Reels section.

Oops, I Already Posted! How to Share an Existing Reel to Facebook

We've all been there. You create an amazing Reel, publish it in a hurry, and then realize you forgot to toggle the "Share to Facebook" button. Don't worry, you can still share it after the fact, though the options can vary slightly by account.

Method 1: The "Recommend on Facebook" Option For Published Reels

Meta has made this process easier for many users. Give this a try first:

1. Find the Reel you want to share on your Instagram profile grid.
2. Tap on it to open it in full-screen mode.
3. Tap the three dots (...) at the bottom right of the screen to open the menu.
4. Look for an option that says Recommend on Facebook.
5. Tap it and follow the confirmation prompts. Instagram will then share the Reel to your Facebook account. If you don't see this option, don't panic - move on to the next method.

Method 2: The Manual Download and Upload (The Watermark Workaround)

If the direct sharing option isn't there, you'll have to do it the old-fashioned way: download the video and upload it natively to Facebook.

1. Go to the Reel on your Instagram profile.
2. Tap the three dots (...) again.
3. This time, select Save to your device. The Reel will be downloaded to your phone's camera roll.
4. Now, open the Facebook app and create a new post. Choose the option to upload a video and select the Reel you just saved. You are ready to craft a relevant caption, add hashtags, and publish your video immediately or save it as a draft for some time later.

A quick word of caution: When you download a finished Reel from Instagram, it will have a small, semi-transparent watermark on it that includes the Reels logo and your Instagram handle. While this isn’t a dealbreaker, many social media managers prefer to upload a "clean" version without the watermark. The best way to do this is to always save the final edited video from your third-party editing app (like CapCut or InShot) or your phone's gallery before you upload it to Instagram. This gives you the original, watermark-free file to use anywhere you like.

Best Practices for Making Your Reels Shine on Facebook

Just because it's easy to cross-post doesn't mean you should hit "share" without thinking. A little polish can make your Reel perform much better on Facebook.

1. Check Your Music License

Not all music that’s trending and available on Instagram is licensed for use on Facebook. To avoid your video being muted or hit with a copyright notice, stick with audio from Meta's official Sound Collection, which is licensed for use across both platforms. If you use original audio or your own voiceover, you can disregard licensing restrictions.

2. Tweak Your Caption for a Facebook Audience

Review your caption before sharing. Remove any Instagram-specific phrases like "Link in bio" because that functionality works differently on Facebook. You can also edit the caption and hashtags after publishing the Reel on Facebook. Keep in mind that using fewer or no hashtags is often better for engagement on Facebook.

3. Retag Accounts Manually

If you tagged someone’s Instagram account in your Reel caption or on the video, that tag will not carry over to Facebook. After the Reel is live on Facebook, edit the post and manually tag the relevant person's profile or official brand page.

4. Upload Natively When Possible

While the direct "Share to Facebook" button is convenient, social media platform algorithms often give preference to content that is natively uploaded. For your most important videos, consider taking the extra minute to upload the watermark-free video file directly to Facebook. It can sometimes lead to better initial visibility in the feed.

Final Thoughts

Sharing your Instagram Reels to Facebook is a simple yet powerful tactic to grow your brand and maximize every piece of content you create. Whether you fully automate the process for maximum efficiency or prefer the control of selective sharing, integrating this step into your workflow ensures your videos reach the widest possible audience across Meta's platforms.

As social media managers ourselves, we know how much time it takes to juggle different platforms and content formats. That’s why we built Postbase from the ground up to handle today’s content, like Reels and Stories. We simplify the entire process, allowing you to upload your video once, customize captions for each platform, and schedule it everywhere without dealing with watermarks or disconnected accounts.