How to Share a YouTube Video to a Facebook Story

Looking to get your amazing YouTube videos in front of your Facebook Story audience? Getting your content from one platform to another isn't always a one-click affair, but it’s absolutely worth the effort for growing your community. While there’s no direct share to Story button for YouTube links on Facebook, there are a couple of excellent workarounds. This guide will walk you through the simple and effective methods to share a YouTube video to your Facebook Story, step-by-step, along with some powerful tips to get more of your followers to actually tap through and watch.

Why Share YouTube Videos to Your Facebook Story?

You might be wondering if it's worth the extra few steps. One hundred percent, yes. Your social media strategy shouldn't exist in silos, your platforms should work together to build a stronger brand. Sharing your YouTube content on your Facebook Stories is a powerful way to cross-promote and get more out of the content you already work so hard to create.

Here’s why it works so well:

• Boosted Visibility: Facebook Stories sit right at the top of the app, making them prime real estate for capturing immediate attention. Many users casually tap through Stories throughout the day, giving you a chance to appear in front of people who might have missed your latest feed post because of the algorithm.
• Audience Cross-Pollination: It’s likely that some of your Facebook followers don’t even know you have a YouTube channel, or maybe they just aren't subscribed yet. This is your chance to turn casual Facebook fans into dedicated YouTube subscribers. You're building a bridge between two of your most valuable audiences.
• Driving Direct Traffic and Views: Ultimately, you want more views on your YouTube videos. A well-placed 'link sticker' in your Facebook Story acts as a direct-to-video portal, funneling interested viewers right where you want them to go. This can give a new video a much-needed initial boost in viewership.
• Authentic, Low-Pressure Promotion: Stories feel more casual and in-the-moment compared to polished feed posts. This casual format is perfect for a friendly, "Hey, check out my new video!" prompt that feels less like a hard sell and more like an exciting update from someone they follow.

The Hurdles: Why There’s No Direct Share Button

Have you ever noticed how social platforms aren't big fans of directing users to their competitors? That’s exactly what's happening here. Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) wants to keep users engaged on their app for as long as possible. Creating a seamless, one-tap button to send a user from a Facebook Story over to YouTube (owned by Google) goes against their primary business goal.

Because they’re rivals competing for your audience's attention, they don't build integrations that make it easy to leave. But don’t worry, that’s where the power of the "Link" sticker comes in. It’s a reliable tool for this exact purpose, if you know how to use it right.

Method 1: The Simple Link Sticker Method (Step-by-Step)

This is the most direct and fastest way to get your YouTube video link into your Facebook Story. All you need is a background image and your video link.

Step 1: Grab Your YouTube Video Link

First things first, you need the unique URL for your video. Head over to the YouTube app or website.

• Navigate to the video you want to share.
• Below the video player, find and tap the “Share” button.
• A menu will pop up with different sharing options. Tap “Copy Link.”

Your video’s URL is now copied to your device’s clipboard, ready to be pasted.

Step 2: Start a New Facebook Story

Open the Facebook app on your phone. On the main feed, you'll see a “Create story” button with a plus sign at the top of the screen. Tap it to start creating your new Story.

Step 3: Choose or Create Your Story Background

You can't just post a link on a blank screen, you need a visual element to act as the base. You have a few great options here:

• Use a Custom Graphic: If you created a thumbnail for your YouTube video (and you totally should!), this is the perfect image to use here. It’s instantly recognizable and consistent with your branding.
• Take a Screenshot: A quick and easy option is to screenshot a compelling moment from your YouTube video and use that image. Choose a frame that sparks curiosity.
• Use a Stock Image or Branded Background: A simple, brand-colored background or a related stock photo can also work well. It keeps things clean and professional.

Select your chosen image from your phone’s camera roll. Facebook will load it into the Story editor.

Step 4: Add the Link Sticker

Now it's time to add the clickable element. In the top right of the Story editor screen, you’ll see several icons. Tap the sticker icon (it looks like a square with a folded corner).

• From the sticker tray that appears, find and select the “Link” sticker.
• A new window will appear asking you to add a link. Tap the input field and choose “Paste” to add your copied YouTube URL.
• If you want, you can customize the text that appears on the sticker itself. By default, it will show the URL domain, but you can tap “Customize sticker text” to change it to something more appealing like "Watch The New Video" or "Tap to View."

Once you’re done, tap “Done” and the sticker will appear on your Story.

Step 5: Drag, Pinch, and Get Creative

You can now resize the link sticker by pinching with two fingers and drag it anywhere on the screen. Place it in a spot where it’s clearly visible and doesn't cover the most important part of your background image.

This is also your chance to add more context. Use the text tool ("Aa") to write a compelling call-to-action like "My newest tutorial is LIVE! Tap the link to watch! ->," Add some relevant GIFs (like an arrow pointing to the link) or other stickers to make it stand out.

Step 6: Publish Your Story!

Once you’re happy with how it looks, just tap the “Share” button in the bottom right corner. Your Story is now live, complete with a clickable link that will whisk viewers directly to your YouTube video.

Method 2: The High-Engagement 'Teaser Video' Method

While the first method works, algorithms on nearly every platform favor video content. A static image is good, but a moving video teaser is even better at grabbing attention. This method takes a few extra minutes but can produce significantly better results.

Step 1: Create a Short, Vertical Teaser Clip

This is the secret ingredient. Instead of a static image, you’re going to use a short video clip to promote your full YouTube video. Here’s what to do:

• Scour through your full YouTube video and find the most exciting, funny, or intriguing 15-30 second segment. Think of it as a movie trailer.
• Using a simple video editing app on your phone (like CapCut, InShot, or even your phone's built-in editor), edit this clip down and format it for Stories. This means cropping it into a vertical 9:16 aspect ratio so it fills the entire screen.
• You can even add text overlays or captions directly in your editing app to make it more engaging for users watching with the sound off.

Save this finished clip to your phone’s camera roll.

Step 2: Copy the Link to the Full YouTube Video

Just like in the first method, head back to YouTube and copy the share link for the full-length video you’re promoting.

Step 3: Upload Your Teaser to your Facebook Story

Go to the Facebook app and tap "Create story." This time, instead of choosing a photo, select the vertical video teaser you just created.

Step 4: Place Your Link Sticker

Your video will start playing in the Story editor. Tap the sticker icon at the top, select the "Link" sticker, and paste your YouTube video URL. Customize the sticker text if you wish (e.g., “Watch The Full Episode”).

Step 5: Add a Super Clear Call-to-Action

With a video background, a strong text CTA is even more important because people might get so caught up watching the teaser they miss the sticker. Use the text tool to add a bold overlay like “TAP HERE TO WATCH THE FULL VIDEO” or “Full video on YouTube at the link!” Use emojis or GIFs to draw the eye toward the link sticker. You need to tell people exactly what you want them to do.

Step 6: Share and Impress

Review everything one last time, then tap "Share." You now have a dynamic, scroll-stopping video teaser that actively drives traffic to your main content. This method feels much more native to the Stories format and often leads to much higher click-through rates.

Best Practices to Get More Taps

Just posting the link isn't enough. You need to persuade people to tap it. Here are a few tips to maximize your clicks.

• Spark Curiosity: Your background image or teaser clip should make people ask, "What happens next?" Don't show the final result, show the process. Ask a question in your text that your video answers.
• Embrace the Arrow GIF: It might seem silly, but searching for "arrow" or "tap here" in the GIF library and placing a pointing animation next to your link sticker drastically increases the chances of people spotting it.
• Keep Your Branding Consistent: Use the same fonts and colors you use on your YouTube channel. This helps build brand recognition and makes your cross-promotion feel deliberate and professional.
• Talk to Your Audience: Use the "selfie" format to talk directly to your followers. Record a short video of yourself saying, "Hey everyone, I just dropped a new video all about [topic]! I am so excited for you to see it. You can watch the full thing by tapping the link right here." It's incredibly personal and effective.
• Check Your Analytics: On Facebook, you can view your Story insights to see how many people tapped on your link. Over on YouTube, go to your Analytics and check your Traffic Sources report. Look for "External" sources, and you might see traffic coming from `facebook.com`. This data tells you if your efforts are paying off.

Final Thoughts

Sharing your YouTube content on Facebook Stories is a brilliant strategy for growing your audience and making sure your hard work gets seen. While there's no official share button, using the link sticker with a great background image or an irresistible video teaser works perfectly to bridge the gap between the two platforms.

Trying to mentally stay on top of your main content and all the promotional pieces for Stories, Reels, and other platforms can get complicated quickly. To help with this, we built a visual content calendar right inside Postbase that helps us map out our entire strategy in one spot. Planning our YouTube upload schedule alongside all of the scheduled teaser clips makes cross-promotion feel organized and intentional, not like a last-minute scramble.