top of page

The Best Settings for an Instagram Story


Instagram stories are a fun and creative way to keep your audience in the loop. Posting Instagram stories will keep your consumers engaged in your day to day process of creating and maintaining your brand. Instagram has specific suggestions for the best settings for an Instagram story. The great thing about Instagram is that if you are filming a story directly on the mobile app, Instagram will upload it with the correct settings. Here are three tips to help you figure out the best settings for an Instagram story that you may want to upload from your phone gallery.






1) Aspect ratio should be 9:16 with with a max resolution at 1080x1920

Instagram has precise recommendations for story posts. If an Instagram story is filmed on the mobile app, Instagram will automatically upload your Story in the best format within the suggested criteria. However, if you are uploading your Story from your photo gallery, Instagram suggests that you film with a max resolution of 1080x1920. The 9:16 ratio is quickly becoming more popular as people spend more time watching videos on their phones. This ratio is the "vertical video" that fills your phone screen from top to bottom. Instagram Stories are formatted so you can easily scroll, like, and comment on multiple videos all while holding your phone in one hand.

2) Video codec should be H.264 to give you a .mp4 file

Instagram suggests that your story posts be within specific criteria for the finest results. Having your video be H.264 format will give your video a .mp4 file, which is the best for Instagram stories. This export setting will compress your story to ensure the best quality while staying within Instagram's size restraints. If you are uploading a Story to Instagram, we suggest using a video editing software, such as Premiere Pro, to export your video with the best settings.


3) You can upload up to 60 seconds at a time - Instagram will cut it into 15 second-cards

Each individual Instagram Story (called "cards") is limited to 15 seconds. However, Instagram is very helpful in this case. You can upload a longer video, and Instagram will automatically cut it into 15 second "cards." We suggest keeping your exported video to under a minute. Anything longer, and Instagram has trouble dividing the video up into the correct "cards." Pro Tip: your audience tends to loose engagement after 60 seconds, so keep your Instagram Stories short.


 

Do you have a specific video question? Schedule a free video analysis call at bit.ly/callawv


 


1,121 views

Related Posts

See All
bottom of page