How to Upload YouTube Shorts to Instagram Reels

Repurposing your best YouTube Shorts as Instagram Reels is one of the smartest ways to maximize your content’s reach without creating anything from scratch. Taking a video that’s already performing well and giving it a new home on a different platform is an efficient content strategy that top creators use every day. This guide will walk you through exactly how to do it, covering everything from removing watermarks and handling music rights to providing a complete step-by-step process for getting your videos from YouTube to Instagram.

Why You Should Post Your YouTube Shorts on Instagram Reels

If you're already putting effort into creating YouTube Shorts, reposting them as Instagram Reels is a no-brainer. Think of it as getting double the exposure for the work you've already done. It’s an effective way to grow your brand, connect with new people, and keep your content calendar full without burning yourself out. Here’s why this strategy is so effective:

• Reach a Completely New Audience: While there's some overlap, the audiences on YouTube and Instagram are not identical. Someone who follows you on YouTube might not have discovered your Instagram profile yet, and vice versa. By posting in both places, you introduce your content to a new set of eyes, growing your overall community.
• Maximize Your Content's Lifespan: A video can get buried in the feed quickly. By posting a successful Short to Reels, you give it a second chance to go viral. What might have performed modestly on YouTube could take off on Instagram, or the other way around. You’re A/B testing your content across different platform algorithms.
• Save a Ton of Time and Energy: Content creation is demanding. Repurposing allows you to fill your content schedule without being on a constant hamster wheel of filming and editing. You can maintain a consistent posting schedule on multiple platforms, which signals to the algorithms that you’re an active creator.
• Build a Cohesive, Cross-Platform Brand: When people see your consistent style, voice, and content on different platforms, it reinforces your brand a lot better. Cross-promoting naturally encourages followers from one platform to check you out on another, creating more dedicated fans.

Before You Start: Critical Steps for Repurposing Content Correctly

You can't just download a YouTube Short and slam it onto Instagram. To give your content the best chance of succeeding - and to avoid getting penalized by the algorithms - you need to handle a few things first. Treat this as your pre-flight checklist.

Step 1: Get Rid of the Watermark

This is non-negotiable. Instagram and other platforms can detect watermarks from competing apps (like the YouTube Shorts logo) and they don't like it. Their algorithms are designed to promote native content, and a video with another platform's watermark is a dead giveaway that it's repurposed. Posts with watermarks often get their reach suppressed. You have two main ways to get your video without the watermark:

• The Best Method: Use the Original Video File. The easiest way to avoid any watermark issues is to upload the original video file you created before you posted it to YouTube. If you still have the video saved on your phone or computer, you’re golden. This is the highest quality and safest option. Always get in the habit of saving your final video files in an organized folder.
• The Second-Best Method: Use a Third-Party Downloader. If you don't have the original file, you’ll need to download the video from YouTube. There are countless websites and apps that let you download YouTube videos by pasting the link. Search for "YouTube Shorts downloader" online, and you'll find plenty of options. Just be mindful - use reputable sites, be aware of pop-up ads, and never download any strange software. These tools typically give you an option to download the video file without the YouTube watermark.

Step 2: Take Care of the Audio

This is the most common mistake people make. You cannot use music you added from the YouTube Shorts library on Instagram. The licenses are not transferable. If you upload a video with audio you don’t have the rights to, your Reel could be muted or taken down, or your account could even be flagged for copyright infringement.

Here’s how to handle it properly:

• Download Your Short Without Audio: Ideally, your original video should only contain your voice or original sounds. If you added a trending track inside the YouTube Shorts editor, download the video without that music.
• Add Audio Inside Instagram: Once you have your video (silent or with original audio only), upload it to Reels and use Instagram's music library to add a trending song. This ensures you’re fully compliant and can even boost your video’s performance by tapping into what’s currently popular on the platform.
• Use Royalty-Free Music: If the original video needs background music, use a track from a royalty-free service during your initial edit. That way, the audio is safe to use on any platform.

Step 3: Adapt the Content for the Instagram Audience

While the video itself might be the same, the packaging should be tailored to Instagram. The culture, lingo, and expectations are a bit different. A quick check of these elements can make a repurposed video feel perfectly native.

• Write an Instagram-Specific Caption: Don't just copy-paste your YouTube title. Instagram captions can be longer and more conversational. Ask questions to encourage comments, use a few emojis, and tell more of a story. A good caption can drastically change the way viewers engage with your Reel.
• Use Relevant Hashtags for Reels: Hashtag strategies differ between platforms. Research trending hashtags on Instagram related to your niche. Use a mix of broad hashtags (like #DIYproject), specific ones (#kitchenremodel), and community-focused ones (#homeimprovementtips). A good goal is 5-10 hyper-relevant hashtags.
• Update Your Call-to-Action (CTA): On a YouTube Short, your CTA might be "Check out the full video, link in the description!" or "Subscribe for more!" On Instagram, that doesn’t always make sense. Change it to something like, "Follow for more tips," "Comment your favorite tip below," or "Save this post for later."

The Full Process: Uploading Your YouTube Short to Instagram Reels

Alright, you’ve done your prep work. You have a clean, watermark-free video file with safe audio. Now it's time for the easy part - uploading it. Here’s how you do it step by step.

Part 1: Downloading Your Short (without the watermark)

First, you need the video file on your phone. As mentioned earlier, using the original, pre-uploaded file is best. If that’s not an option, here is the general process for downloading it from YouTube:

1. Open your YouTube app and navigate to your channel and the Short you want to download.
2. Tap the "Share" icon on the video.
3. Select "Copy link."
4. Go to your web browser and open a YouTube downloader website.
5. Paste the link into the download bar on the site.
6. Follow the instructions to download the video file (MP4) to your device. Be sure to select the highest quality available and "no watermark" if given the option.

Once the video is saved to your phone’s camera roll or gallery, you’re ready for the next phase.

Part 2: Uploading to Instagram Reels

With your video prepped and ready on your phone, you now upload it inside the Instagram app.

1. Open the Instagram app and tap the "+" or create icon, then select "Reel."
2. In the bottom left corner, tap the small square to open your phone’s photo gallery.
3. Select the YouTube Short video file you just downloaded. You can trim the beginning or end if needed. Tap "Add."
4. Now, tap the "Audio" icon at the top. Here is where you can search for and add a trending song from Instagram’s library. Adjust the volume to balance the original sound of your video (like your voice) and the new music.
5. Tap "Next." This will take you to the main editing screen.
6. Here, you can add text overlays, stickers, filters, and other effects. This is a great opportunity to make the content feel more native to Instagram. For example, add on-screen captions or highlight a key point with text that animates on screen.
7. Once you're happy with your edits, hit “Next” again.
8. Now you’re on the final screen. This is where you'll:
   • Write Your Caption: Craft a compelling caption optimized for Instagram.
   • Edit the Cover: Don't leave this to chance! Tap "Edit Cover" and either select a frame from your video or upload a custom cover photo. A good cover stops the scroll.
   • Add Hashtags: Add your researched hashtags, either in the main caption or as the first comment.
   • Tag People: Tag any relevant accounts.
   • Add Topics: Tag up to three relevant topics to help Instagram show your Reel to the right audience.
   • Choose Where to Share: Make sure "Share to Feed" is toggled on to get the most initial visibility.
9. When everything looks good, hit the final "Share" button. Your Short is now live as an Instagram Reel!

Final Thoughts

Working smarter, not harder, is the key to sustainable success as a content creator. Repurposing your YouTube Shorts for Instagram Reels is a prime example of this strategy in action, allowing you to maximize content reach, grow across platforms, and save valuable time and energy. By following the right steps to prepare your video and adapt it for a new audience, you can create a smooth and effective content workflow.

Managing content across multiple platforms like YouTube Shorts, Reels, and TikTok is exactly why we built Postbase. Instead of juggling files and manually posting everywhere, our platform was designed from the ground up for today's video-first reality. You can upload your video once, customize the captions and hashtags for each platform, and schedule everything from one clean, visual calendar. It keeps accounts reliably connected and makes sure your posts go live when they're supposed to, every single time.