How To Repost a Reel on Your Instagram Feed, Reels, or Story

Reels play an essential role in creating an engaging Instagram presence. Self-made video content demonstrates your personality to followers, and sharing others’ Reels keeps your account fresh — without the work of crafting new and engaging material. 

But how do you share a Reel on Instagram, be it your own or a fellow creator’s? While uploading your own Reels is easy, resharing others’ work requires a few extra steps. Learn how to repost a Reel on Instagram to your Feed or Story below. 

How To Share a Reel to Your Feed: 4 Steps

Currently, Instagram doesn’t feature an in-app button to repost Reels to your Feed. To do so, complete the following four steps.

1. Download the Reel and Upload It as a Video

Instagram lets you download original Reels and those posted by public accounts that allow resharing. Open a Reel, tap the paper plane icon, and select “Download” to save the video to your device. 

Once you download the Reel, you can upload it to your Feed as a video the same way you would with an original post. 

2. Copy and Paste the Link to a Third-Party App

If you can’t download the Reel, you’ll need to copy its link to a third-party app. Options include Repost, Repost for Instagram, and Reposta. 

Once you download your chosen app, tap on a Reel, click the paper plane icon, and select “Copy Link” to transfer to your clipboard. Then, paste this link into the third-party app — some platforms will automatically attach a copied link upon opening. 

3. Edit the Reel

Before posting, you can alter the original Reel’s caption or keep it as is. You should always tag the original creator when reposting to your Feed — tap the Aa icon, select “Mention,” and enter the creator’s username to add a tag.

4. Post the Reel

Each third-party app has unique directions for reposting Reels. Follow the in-app instructions to repost the copied video.

How To Add a Reel to Your Story

Unlike reposting to your Feed, you can share short Reels (under 15 seconds) to your Story in the Instagram app. To do so, complete the following steps:

1. Open the Instagram app.
2. Find a Reel to share on your Story (either your own or someone else’s). 
3. Tap on the Reel.
4. Click the paper plane icon and choose “Add to Story.”
5. If reposting someone else’s content, tag the original creator. 
6. Add text, emojis, or links for context. 

Instagram automatically cuts off Reels reposted to your Story after 15 seconds. For Reels longer than 15 seconds, Instagram inserts a “Watch Full Reel” link in the top-left corner, which viewers can click to see the entire clip.

Here’s how to repost a Reel up to 60 seconds long:

1. Download the Reel — Tap the Reel, click the three dots in the bottom-right corner, and select “Save to your device” (this only works for videos posted by public accounts who opted-in to let users download their content). 
2. Edit the Reel — To remove the Instagram watermark (automatically included in the Reel), crop the video in your editing app.
3. Save the edited Reel — Tap the three dots in the bottom right-hand corner and choose “Save to camera roll.”
4. Share the Reel to your Story — Tap the “+” sign in your profile, tap “Story,” and select the downloaded Reel.
5. Add dynamic elements — Before reposting, remember to add captions, stickers, or links as you would with a typical Story.

‍Make Reposting a Part of Your Instagram Strategy

Reposting Reels is a great way to offer your followers daily, relevant content when on a time crunch. Here are a few more pointed benefits of adding Reel reposting to your Instagram strategy. 

Bring in More Views

The primary benefit of reposting Reels is bringing viewers to your Stories and Feed. Reposting other creators’ Reels grants their followers better access to your content, boosting your visibility.

Instagram’s content-sharing algorithm rewards users who post trending content. Every additional view you generate prompts the algorithm to recommend your content to more people, increasing your reach and brand awareness with a new audience.

Encourage Audience Engagement

You can boost audience engagement by reposting popular Reels — those that incite discussion and sharing. These same viewers might travel to other content on your account, increasing overall follower counts and engagement levels.

The Instagram algorithm also favors high-engagement accounts and so might share posts and Reels from your profile more prominently.

Develop Authority

Popular Reels often contain valuable information fulfilling specific user needs. When you share Reels containing insightful knowledge, you position yourself as an authority figure in your niche. Showcase expertise in specific topics with mass appeal to maximize your reposting strategy.

Build Your Brand

The Reels you share on your Stories and Feed impact how your audience views your brand. Choosing Reels that demonstrate your humor, style, and opinions ensures your content remains consistent. For example, if your content is geared toward comedy, sharing Reels from your favorite comedians (and tagging them in your posts) reinforces your branding.

Create Positive Relationships

Reposting Reels helps you build positive relationships with other creators and fosters collaboration within the greater Instagram community. When you repost someone’s material, you lay the groundwork for future collaboration. They might even reciprocate and share your content with their followers, in turn expanding your audience.

Spend Your Time More Strategically

Reposting Reels helps you avoid inactivity, which can hurt audience engagement and cause you to lose followers. While you continue to engage followers with reposted videos, you can use this extra time to produce your own high-quality content.

4 Considerations When Reposting Reels

A well-executed reposting strategy typically outperforms a random approach of reposting Reels without rhyme or rhythm. Consider these four tips before you re-share.

1. Give Credit (and Gain Permission)

Always credit the original creator, which shows your respect for the artist and their work and aren’t appearing to display it as your own. Note, though, that simply tagging the original poster may not entirely protect from copyright infringement or intellectual property theft claims. The best practice is to gain written permission from the creator to reshare and credit their work.

If you want to modify someone’s Reel, it’s even more crucial to ask for permission first. Cropping, filtering, or trimming content without consent may change the original Reel’s context, risking social and legal complaints. 

2. Select Relevant Content

Prioritize Reels that appeal to your target audience. Before reposting, consider whether a Reel aligns with your overall content strategy. If the video doesn’t relate to your brand’s objectives, it might not be the best one to repost.

For instance, if your primary viewers are teachers working with preschoolers, you can repost valuable Reels for parents of young learners — conversely, you’d choose not to reshare posts from influencers who review and promote baby products, catering to a similar but separate audience of new parents. While these two target audiences have overlapping needs and interests, your own posting strategy must adhere to its niche topics. This tactic keeps your Insta-grid on-brand and increases the chance that your content “hits” with viewers.

3. Add Value

Every viewer is looking to get something out of a video — be it helpful information, answers to a question, or just a good laugh. Before reposting, consider the value you hope to deliver. Then, prioritize Reels that fill this gap.

4. Think About Strategy

Let’s say you want to increase your follower count. The Instagram algorithm favors posts associated with trending topics, so posting content that capitalizes on current trends can increase your visibility. Research the kind of material that’s currently attracting the most views and shares, use hashtags, and leverage keywords in your captions to encourage the algorithm to promote your posts. With more eyes on your content, your chances of earning new followers grows.

Get Your Reels Reposted With Captions

Reposting Reels is a worthwhile addition to any Instagram branding strategy, but you also want to produce original high-quality videos for others to share.

Captions’ creative studio makes it easy to craft captivating content. Using AI tools, you can add captions, remove background noise, and trim filler words with just a few clicks. By sharing polished, professional-looking in Reels, you’ll see likes, comments, and follower counts pouring in before you know it.

‍Try Captions today and start getting more shares and reposts on Instagram.