When posting videos to Instagram, especially Reels, it's crucial to follow the platform's specific video requirements, including format, size, and duration.
At Vista Social, we aim to provide a seamless experience for our users, with the help of our video processing tool, by automatically converting videos to Instagram’s preferred format ─ saving you valuable time and effort.
Some things to note:
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Format Compatibility: Vista Social automatically converts your video to the necessary format (MP4, AAC audio, H.264 video, progressive scan) with the correct frame rate and bitrate.
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Duration Check: We ensure that videos fit Instagram’s duration limits—up to 60 seconds for feed posts and 15 minutes for Reels—trimming them if necessary.
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Resolution Adjustment: If your video exceeds Instagram's maximum dimensions (1920 x 1920 pixels), Vista Social will resize it to fit within these limits.
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Aspect Ratio Validation: We verify that the video matches Instagram's aspect ratio guidelines:
- Landscape: 16:9
- Portrait: 9:16
- Square: 1:1
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Note: If your video falls outside of the required width and height, padding will occur. This padding is not ideal and we certainly recommend that videos are uploaded within the requirement dimensions but if they are not, we will still make it work. Below are some examples. |
📽️ Examples
Example #1: Uploading a wide video as a Reel
This video is too wide to be a reel because reels have to be 9:16 (0.5625 aspect ratio). The video was 1920 wide by 1080 high which is 1.777777777777778 aspect ratio (much bigger then allowed aspect ratio). Bigger aspect ratio means image is too wide. We have to make it taller. Note how the black padded areas appear on top and bottom when we make it taller. Without this padding, this video would have failed to post. By adding this, the video is published.
Example #2: Uploading a tall video as a feed post
In this example a really tall video (2160 with × 3840 height = 0.5625 aspect ratio) was uploaded. It falls well outsize of 4:5 (0.8) and 16:9 (1.777777777777778) required aspect ratio for Instagram feed post videos. We basically have to make it wide. Which we do. Note that it creates padded areas on both sides of the video.
Recommendation
While our goal is to have every video published to Instagram without errors, and while padding videos are a fairly accepted norm for most video publishing, it is still recommended that our users upload videos that either fit within the aspect ratio requirements (no padding) or are very close to it (minimal padding).
Videos that are far outside these requirements will still be published, but padded regions will be fairly large. Not a huge deal perhaps, for most users!
Need further help?
If you have any questions or need additional help, feel free to contact our awesome support team. We are here to assist you! 💙
Related Reading:
Ideal image sizes and formats for your posts
Attaching images, videos, and other media to your posts
Video specs and guidelines per social network
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