How To Share a YouTube Video to an Instagram Story

Dave Johnson May 7, 2023

Repurposing your YouTube content on other social media platforms, such as Instagram, helps you grow your brand and generate traffic. However, there is no direct way to share a video from YouTube to Instagram.

How To Share a YouTube Video to an Instagram Story

If you’re wondering how to share your YouTube video on Instagram, this article is for you. It’s a step-by-step guide covering sharing a YouTube video to Instagram Story and Instagram Swipe Up.

Note: If you share a YouTube Short or a video you do not own, do so at your own risk due to potential copyright infringement issues or breaking YouTube terms and conditions.

Sharing YouTube Videos to Instagram Stories

Though sharing YouTube videos is not direct, you can do it with a few steps and clicks. However, the process may seem long and confusing if it’s your first time. But we’ll break it down for you.

There are two ways to share YouTube videos on Instagram Story:

Share a YouTube video as a link—the safer option.
Share a YouTube video as a post.

Sharing YouTube Video on Instagram via Link

Sharing a YouTube Video via a link on Instagram is much more straightforward than adding it to a post. Here’s how the process works:

Open the YouTube video you want to share on your Android or iOS device, then click the “Share” link below the video title.
Select the “Copy Link” option.
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Open Your Instagram Account and tap the “” (add) icon at the bottom.
Tap on “STORY” near the bottom.
Snap a picture by tapping the “white” circle or select the “image thumbnail” icon in the bottom-left section to add an existing image.
Tap the ” ” (stickers) icon located at the top to open the stickers options.
Scroll and choose the “LINK” thumbnail icon.
Paste the “YouTube link” into the “URL” line.
Edit the Story to your liking, such as other stickers, filters, etc., then tap the “right arrowhead ” icon (next) to continue.
Tap the “Share” button to post your IG Story with a YouTube link.
In the “Also share to” screen, tap the “Done” button.

Sharing a YouTube Video as an Instagram Story Post

Sharing a YouTube video as a post is impossible, but you can share it via Instagram Stories using a special sticker. Huh? The process first requires you to have the video you want to share downloaded to your phone. Next, you must clip the video to 60 seconds or less, then edit the YouTube aspect ratio of 16:9 to 1:1 or 9:16, which is Instagram’s video requirement. You then create a new IG Story and add the “Link” sticker. Here’s how to do it.

Once you have downloaded the video, crop it to Instagram standards using the Inshot app.

Launch any preferred YouTube downloader app on a PC (Viddly, Video Get, YTD Video Downloader, etc.) or mobile (TubeMate, iTubeGo, YTD Video Downloader, etc.)
Set the download option to *.mp4 (Windows) or *.mov (iOS/Mac), or another Instagram-accepted format.
Edit the downloaded YouTube video using a PC Clipchamp (acquired by Microsoft), iMovie (macOS) InstaSize (iOS/iPhone/iPad), InShOt (iOS, Android—see below instructions), or another editor that lets you crop the aspect ratio to 1:1 or 9:16.
Transfer the downloaded/edited video to your Android or iOS device if applicable.
Open the Instagram app and tap the “” (add) icon at the bottom.
Choose “STORY” near the bottom of the screen.
Browse for and select your edited YouTube video.
If desired, edit the video with stickers, text, filters, and more, then tap the “right arrowhead “ icon to continue.
Tap the “Share” button to post your IG Story with the downloaded/edited YouTube video.
In the “Also share to” screen, tap the “Done” button.

How to Use InShOT to Change the Aspect Ratio of a YouTube Video

Tap the “Video” thumbnail/icon to search for and select the downloaded/edited YouTube video.
Open the video on the “Photos” app.
Select the “Crop” option located at the bottom of the screen to adjust the video’s frame.
Choose the “1:1” or “9:16” aspect ratio.
Select the “Checkmark” icon.

Your video is now cropped to Instagram aspect ratio requirements.

Sharing Your Content

Sharing your content across social platforms allows you to reach a large audience and brings you growth. As we wait for Instagram or YouTube to create a way to share videos directly, the above options are the go-to. They’ll make the process seamless.