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The Social Strategist

Screenshots of adding music to an Instagram post.

How To Add Music To Instagram Posts

Instagram, Social Media

Adding music to an Instagram post or story is a fun feature to use. It’s pretty common to use music in stories and reels, but how often do you include one in your feed posts? There are huge benefits to including music in these types of posts too! Here’s how to add music to Instagram post and 3 reasons why it matters.

Adding Music to Instagram Posts

When the music feature was first introduced to Instagram, it was solely available for Instagram stories. And then when Instagram released reels in 2020 you could include music in those. In 2022, the option to add music became available for Instagram feed posts. 

However, the music feature is still unavailable for carousel posts with videos. If the carousel post only has pictures, you can add a song, but not if it includes pictures AND a video. It is possible that this feature will be added in the future, but for now music is restricted to use in stories, reels, and posts.

How To Add Music To An Instagram Post

Adding music to Instagram posts is a fairly easy process, and it’s a great way to engage with your followers. Here’s how to add music to Instagram posts in 5 simple steps.

Step 1. Add a Photo

Tap the plus sign at the bottom middle of your Instagram feed to create a post. Upload the photo(s) you want to publish to your feed. Once you select your photos and edit them you’re ready to move on to the caption screen.

Step 2. Tap “Add Music” Located on the Caption Screen

Tap “Add Music” right next to the music note. It is located right underneath the first option to “tag people.” Once you tap it a list of songs will appear. From there you can look for the song you want to include with the post. 

screenshot of a photo of Michelle Gifford uploading to her Instagram account.

Another way to add music to your post is to hit the music note icon in the top right corner of your screen when editing your photo. 

If you change your mind about a song after you’ve already selected it, you can tap the song title and it will pull up the music library again for you to change the song.

Step 3: Select the Song You Want to Use

If you’re looking for a specific song, you can type its name or the artist in the search bar to bring up the search results. If you’re looking for a certain genre, you can type it in to bring up songs that fall under that category. 

I recommend using trending audio for your reels and posts whenever you can. This gives your content a huge boost in getting seen by more people. Whenever you see a song with an upward arrow that means it’s trending. You can click on that track to see how many times it’s already been used by others. 

screenshot of a list of songs you can choose to add to your Instagram post.

The best time to use the trending audio is when it’s in between 30-50K uses. This means it’s at the beginning of the trend so your content still has a chance to go viral. If the audio has already been used more than 100K times then it’s already been used enough for the trend to die down. 

If you are interested in trending audio and using it for your business page, I send out a weekly email that includes trending audio and more Instagram tips to help grow your biz online. My team and I do the research for you so you can focus on the rock-solid strategy you know will move the needle. Grab your weekly Instagram trending audio list HERE

Step 4: Choose the Duration and Section of the Song

After you’ve selected the song you want to add to your Instagram post, you need to select the part of the song you want to play and how long you want it to play. Here’s how to complete this step:

screenshot of editing the duration of the song in Michelle Gifford's Instagram post.

  1. For posts, Instagram allows you to play a song between 5-90 seconds. Once you select the song, you’ll be taken to a screen where you can edit the post.
  2. Tap the number 30 inside a circle. This will pop up your option to choose how long you want your song to play on the post.
  3. Next, you can slide the colorful bar left and right to choose what part of the song you want played in your post.
  4. Once you are happy with your selection, you’re all set! The section of the song you picked will play on repeat as long as the user is looking at your post.

Step 5: Hit Post

After you’ve selected the duration and section of the song, you’re able to add a caption and finish editing your post as normal. All that is left is to hit publish!

Screenshot of the caption screen when uploading a photo on Michelle Gifford's Instagram account.

Once the post is published, you should see the song title and artist right underneath your IG handle and geotag. You’ll also see a volume icon in the bottom right corner of the post. This allows users to choose to hear the song or to put it on mute. 

Why Add Music to Instagram Posts?

Now that we’ve walked through how to add music to an Instagram post, why would you want to add it (besides having something fun to listen to while your followers look at your post? There are 3 main reasons why you should add music to your Instagram posts. Let’s dive into each one and talk about why they matter.

1. The Instagram Algorithm is More Likely to Boost Your Post

The Instagram algorithm loves it when you play by its rules. One of those rules is using its features on your published content. When you do your part to use one of Instagram’s features (the music library) the algorithm rewards you by boosting your post and showing it to more potential followers.

Bonus points if you use trending audio!

2. Your Post is More Likely to Show Up On the Explore Feed

When you use a song in your post–especially a well-known song–you have a higher chance of showing up on the Explore feed. Someone could search for the song you included in your post and your post will show up as one of their search results. 

This is a great strategy for helping you gain more exposure and getting new people to see your Instagram profile. They could discover your post from the Explore feed and then if they like what they see they will view your profile and then decide if following you is the right fit for them.

This is just another way for you to gain more followers, so you might as well take advantage of it!

3. You Will Form a Deeper Connection With Your Audience

Almost everyone knows how music can ignite feelings, memories, and connections when you hear it. When you include a song in your post, one of your followers who sees it may have a good memory of that song and will then feel a closer connection to you.

Including music in your content is a great way to nurture your audience. Nurturing them will help your audience feel like they can trust you, your content, and hopefully your products. 

However, don’t overthink the song choices and try and predict what your audience wants to hear. Stay true to yourself and as you do, those who are meant to connect with your content will.

Main Takeaways

  • You can add music to any of your Instagram posts, includingsingle pictures and carousel posts, as long as your carousel post does not include a video.
  • Adding music to an Instagram post is more likely to boost that post.
  • Instagram posts with trending audio are more likely to show up on the Explore feed.
  • Adding music to your Instagram posts will help you form a deeper connection with your audience.

How to Add Music to an Instagram Post

Adding music to an Instagram post is so simple and can bring huge success to your overall reach. I can’t wait for you to take advantage of this Instagram feature and see the positive changes it makes to your content and following! 

If you liked this post and want to learn more about how to create a solid Instagram content strategy, check out these posts below!

I am so happy you’re here and hope to see you over on Instagram! You can follow me @iammichellegifford. Also, don’t forget about my weekly email subscription you can join HERE! I’ll give you all the best tips and strategies for growing your biz on Instagram FAST.

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