How to Share a TikTok Video to Instagram

Creating the perfect TikTok and knowing it would perform just as well on Instagram is a common feeling for creators. Repurposing content across platforms is not just smart, it’s an essential strategy for growing your brand and maximizing your reach. This guide will walk you through exactly how to share your TikTok videos to Instagram Stories, Reels, and your main feed - covering methods both with and without that pesky watermark.

Why Share Your TikToks on Instagram?

In a world of a million different platforms, creating unique content for each one can feel exhausting. Repurposing your TikToks for Instagram is a high-impact strategy that saves you precious time and energy. Think of it as doubling your content's lifespan. By sharing a video that's already proven to work, you give it a chance to connect with a new segment of your audience - or even the same followers who just happened to miss it the first time around.

While the audiences on TikTok and Instagram often overlap, user behavior and content consumption patterns differ. A video that finds its groove on TikTok's "For You Page" might have a completely different kind of success as an Instagram Reel, driven by shares, saves, and hashtag discovery. By cross-posting, you’re not just recycling content, you’re giving it a second shot at virality in a slightly different ecosystem. It also helps maintain a consistent brand presence, keeping your feeds active and engaging without burning yourself out trying to produce double the content from scratch.

The Watermark Dilemma: To Keep or Not to Keep?

Before you start sharing, there's a big decision to make: should you post your video with the TikTok watermark or without it? The answer largely depends on where you’re posting it on Instagram.

Instagram has been very clear about one thing: its algorithm for Reels prioritizes original, high-quality content created *for* Instagram. They have openly stated that they actively deprioritize content with visible watermarks or logos from other apps. This means an Instagram Reel with a TikTok watermark is significantly less likely to be pushed out to new audiences on the Reels tab or Explore page. For your Reels feed, removing the watermark is non-negotiable if you want to maximize your reach and engagement.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

• Keep the Watermark for Stories: For Instagram Stories, a watermark is generally fine. Stories are casual, temporary, and mostly seen by your existing followers. Seeing a TikTok watermark isn't a huge deal, and it offers quick, easy attribution back to your TikTok account. The direct sharing method is built for this.
• Remove the Watermark for Reels and Feed Posts: For Reels and in-feed video posts, removing the watermark is absolutely the way to go. A clean, watermark-free video looks far more professional and feels native to the platform. Most importantly, it gives your content the best possible chance of being favored by the Instagram algorithm and reaching viewers beyond your current followers.

Method 1: Sharing Directly to Your Instagram Story (with Watermark)

If you want a super simple way to share a TikTok with your existing followers, sending it directly to your Instagram Story is the easiest option. This method is fast, requires no extra apps, and maintains the watermark, which can also direct people to your TikTok profile.

Here’s how to do it step-by-step:

1. Open the TikTok app and navigate to the video you want to share (this can be your own or someone else's).
2. Tap the Share icon on the right side of the screen (it looks like a curved arrow).
3. In the "Share to" section, look for and tap the Instagram icon. If you don't see it right away, you might need to swipe left to find it among the other apps listed.
4. TikTok will process the video for a moment and then automatically open your Instagram app, creating a new Story draft with your TikTok video.
5. From here, you can treat it like any other Instagram Story. You can resize it with a pinch or zoom gesture, move it around, add text, stickers, GIFs, or draw on it.
6. Once you’re happy with how it looks, tap the "Your Story" button at the bottom left to post it.

This whole process takes less than a minute. It’s perfect for quick shares and less polished, behind-the-scenes style content that thrives in a Story format.

Method 2: Sharing to Instagram Reels or Feed without the Watermark

For posting on your grid - either as an Instagram Reel or a regular in-feed video - you'll want to take a few extra steps to download the video without that watermark. This small effort can make a huge difference in your video's analytics and reach.

The best way to do this is to get the original video file before TikTok adds its branding. Here are two ways to get it done.

Pro-Tip: Save Your Original Video Before Posting to TikTok

The absolute easiest way to get a clean, watermark-free copy of your video is to save it before you publish it on TikTok. After you've finished recording and editing your video within TikTok - adding sound, effects, and text - you have an option to save the final product right before hitting publish.

On the final screen before you post (where you write your caption and edit your cover), you’ll often see a "Save to device" toggle or you can look for a download button on the editing screen. If you grab the video at this stage, it will be saved to your phone's camera roll without any TikTok watermark, ready to be uploaded anywhere you want. This is the cleanest method, as it involves no third parties and gives you the highest quality version of your video.

Using a Video Downloader Tool

Sometimes you forget to save the video beforehand, or you decide you want to repurpose an older TikTok. In that case, you’ll need a third-party tool to snag it sans watermark.

While there are plenty of apps and websites for this, they all generally follow the same simple process. A quick search for "TikTok video downloader" will give you plenty of free options to choose from.

Here's the general process:

1. Open TikTok and find the video you want to download.
2. Tap the Share icon, and then tap Copy Link. This copies the direct URL of the video to your phone’s clipboard.
3. Open your web browser and go to one of the TikTok downloader websites you found.
4. Paste the link you copied into the search bar on the website and hit the download button.
5. The tool will typically give you an option to download a version "without watermark." Select that option.
6. The clean video file will be saved directly to your phone’s camera roll or downloads folder.

Step 2: Posting the Clean Video to Instagram

Once you have the watermark-free video on your phone, you're ready to share it natively on Instagram for the best possible performance.

How to post on Instagram Reels:

• Open Instagram and tap the + icon at the bottom of the screen.
• Select Reel from the menu.
• Tap the icon in the bottom-left corner to open your camera roll, and then select your newly downloaded video.
• Important: Tap "Audio" and add a trending sound from Instagram’s own library. Reusing trending TikTok audio has its place, but using one of Instagram's native trending sounds dramatically increases the chance that the algorithm will show your Reel to more people.
• Write a compelling caption that’s tailored for your Instagram audience. Add a strong Call-To-Action (CTA), and use a mix of relevant, niche, and trending hashtags.
• Select an engaging cover photo for your Reel from the video itself or upload a custom one.
• Tap Share, and your video will go live as a beautiful, native-looking Instagram Reel.

Best Practices for Repurposing TikTok Content for Instagram

Just reposting is good, but optimizing is even better. To get the most out of your repurposed content, keep these best practices in mind:

• Customize Your Captions and Hashtags: Don't just copy and paste the same caption from TikTok. Instagram audiences (and character limits) are different. Write a fresh caption and use hashtags that are relevant and trending on Instagram.
• Use Instagram's Native Text and Audio: If you added text overlays on TikTok, consider if they still fit on Instagram. Whenever possible, using Instagram's native text and audio features makes your Reel feel more integrated and less like a repurposed video.
• Check Your Timing: Your best time to post on TikTok might not be your best time on Instagram. Use Instagram's Insights to see when your audience is most active and schedule your posts accordingly.
• Engage From the Start: As soon as your Reel goes live, be ready to reply to comments. Early engagement signals to the Instagram algorithm that people are interested in your content, which can help boost its visibility.
• Review the Format: TikTok and Instagram Reels both use a 9:16 vertical format, so formatting is usually seamless. However, it never hurts to double-check that no important on-screen text or visuals get cut off in the Reels preview or on your main feed grid.

Final Thoughts

Sharing your TikTok creations on Instagram is an incredibly efficient way to keep your content calendar full, reach new audiences, and extend the life of the videos you’ve worked so hard on. By following these steps - especially taking the extra moment to remove the watermark for Reels - you’re setting your content up for the best possible performance across both platforms.

Creating and repurposing all this content can be a lot to juggle between apps. That’s why we built Postbase with creators and social media managers in mind. You can visually plan your entire content schedule in one beautiful calendar, upload your videos once, and schedule them out across TikTok, Instagram, and more. We handle the rest, including providing a unified inbox to manage all your comments and DMs, letting you focus on creating great content that connects with your audience.