A Guide to Instagram Video Formats

Once known as the ultimate platform for sharing photos, Instagram has seen an explosion in video content that drives engagement. 

It now offers marketers and businesses great opportunities to successfully connect with users on Instagram using four video formats: Stories, Reels, Video and Live. With 200 million business accounts on Instagram, it’s a network that helps brands connect with their audience.

1.4 billion Instagram users are projected by 2025, according to Statista, making it the platform of choice for many creators and influencers. Using video on Instagram can be very effective for organic and paid campaigns as it allows you to: 

• Build trust with your audience 
• Use storytelling to bring your brand story to life 
• Create a deeper relationship with your audience
• Feature your products or services and show them in action

The best way to use video successfully on Instagram is to choose the type that will work for you. Bear in mind that short-form videos or long-form videos have different goals and engagement rates. 

Read our guide to find out more about Instagram video types so you can create the right formats for your brand and audience. 

“I'm a big fan of Instagram. It's got lots of different options. We have reels. We have posts with stories, highlights and guides and we can do Live video as well. So it's got more to it than TikTok. ” Zack O’Rourke, Founder & Director, Social Directions Agency

What are the 4 Instagram Video Types?

According to O’Rourke, platform-specific content is going to be a big thing. “What you post on Tiktok should look a little different to what you post on Instagram because you want to give people reasons to follow you on multiple platforms. I always post different content on every platform and while this means I post less on each platform, the content is designed for that platform.

When posting on Instagram, it’s important to know the four types of videos you can use and how each can promote your product or service in a different way.

1. Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories are short 15 to 60-second videos that disappear after 24 hours. This type of ephemeral content has become a popular way to showcase raw, casual, authentic and quirky content, in contrast to the more polished in-feed marketing videos. Instagram Stories feel more real and less manicured.

The maximum length for an Instagram Story video is 6 seconds. However, you can create a series of Stories, in a slideshow narrative. Photos in Stories appear for 7 seconds.

Brands can post as many Stories as they like. Like TikTok video content, Stories display in vertical mode, taking up the full mobile screen. There are 4 types of Stories you can use: 

• Standard - The default option for a Story, ‘Standard’ is an image or video that can include filters

• Create - You can add text or stickers and this format is great for asking a question or telling a story

• Boomerang - This format loops so the Story repeats constantly

• Dual - You can use front and back cameras to flip viewpoints to show an audience what you are doing e.g. for a quick walkthrough

• Layout - This can contain several images in a collage

You can also enhance your Stories with stickers, text, filters, polls, and emojis. There’s also an Instagram Story Highlights section where you can keep Stories on your profile as a collection (e.g. testimonials or upcoming events). 

Stories are a great way for brands to experiment with different types of content as unlike your feed, stories disappear in 24 hours.

They are also an effective way to attract users’ attention and boost brand awareness. This format taps into FOMO as people want to check out the video before it disappears. 

Instagram Stories Case Study: The Economist

The Economist uses Instagram Stories to drive more traffic to the news articles published in its magazine and online. 

The news site uses the Stories Highlights function to promote content and encourage people to click through to read. By curating content, its Stories stay around for longer and can drive more engagement. 

The Economist uses categories to make it easy for people to find content they may like such as ‘Weekly Reads’, ‘The Future of AI’, ‘The Most Popular Reads of 2024’ and ‘Culture’. 

As a respected newspaper, the Economist has a known brand and sticks to it across Instagram. Posts use the same font and layout along with eye-catching images and clear titles to encourage people to click.

Top tip: Here are some great AI tools you can use to design creative posts on social media. 

2. Instagram Video

Reels are Instagram’s take on the vertical-video format popularized by TikTok. Unlike TikTok, Instagram has created full-screen, portrait-oriented videos.

Videos you upload are automatically posted as Reels. This means there is no option to create a standard video post. The good news is that you can post longer and larger videos as a result.

Reels are multi-clip videos, between 15 seconds to 15 minutes. However, Instagram caps video length based on how long a reel should be to perform well. So when filming in the app, you can choose 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, and 90 seconds. Anything longer than 90 seconds can be uploaded as a video which will become a Reel. 

Reels are ideal for showcasing creative content using effects and music as they offer AR filters, timed text and green screen mode. Users can discover Reels in the ‘Reels’ tab on your profile, or Explore tab of their Instagram feed. Reels are very popular with Millennial and Gen Z users. 

Reels is typically the top-performing video content on Instagram getting an average engagement rate of 1.48%, according to Social Insider research. However, engagement on Reels has gone down by 20% so it’s important to keep an eye on the popular trends to tap into Instagram’s Reels algorithm.  

It can be tempting to simply re-use your TikTok content for Reels. However, bear in mind that your Instagram followers are likely to be older than your TikTok followers.

You can use Reels to showcase engaging aspects of the brand’s personality and can include hashtags and product tags. Users often regard Reels content as more ‘authentic’ than professional video content. 

Instagram Reels Case Study: Apple

As the creator of the iPhone, Apple can tap into the creations of Instagram users to showcase amazing Reels. 

User-generated content from artists, film directors and photographers is featured on Apple’s Reels to show amazing videos that demonstrate the use of its technology. They are tagged #ShotoniPhone which currently has over 30 million posts. 

Apple also commissions projects such as portraits and videos to showcase amazing environments or people. This makes for a wealth of amazing video content on Instagram. 

Here’s a great example of a commissioned project between Apple and @northlandscapes. 

Top tip: Check out our guide on how to use hashtags effectively on social media. 

Instagram Feed Videos

Historically, Instagram videos combined IGTV and in-feed videos. 

Now, Instagram feed videos are joining these obsolete features as videos are posted as Reels (although videos still feature in a company’s IG feed).

An exception is videos that are included in Instagram carousels which can feature up to 10 photos and videos, and appear in the feed. Here's an example (and screenshot below) from RemoteBase.co on Instagram.

4. Instagram Live

Instagram Live enables you to broadcast videos to your followers in real-time. Followers can watch live while you’re streaming or catch it later as a Story.

It takes courage to broadcast live as so many things can go wrong! However, it’s worth trying as live video is a highly engaging format, and enables you to be more ‘authentic’ and ‘in the moment’. You can show people sides of your brand that they wouldn’t normally see.

This type of video is ideal for:

• Brand events

• Product or service demos

• ‘A Day in the Life’ series

• Live tours

• Behind the scenes videos

• Live classes (e.g. a weekly yoga class or cookery class)

• Live Q&As with experts, company leaders or employees

You can make live videos interactive by inviting viewers to comment on the video or submit questions.

Although you don’t want your live video to be too scripted, you do need to prepare for it carefully (making a video script outline could help you stay on track). Ensure you have a strong internet connection and aim to make your broadcast as clear, high resolution, and stable as possible. 

Plus, make sure you have a clear narrative in mind before you go live. Your live video should include an element of storytelling to engage a prospect or customer.

And if things go wrong on the day, just incorporate the mistakes into the live experience!

And if things go wrong on the day, just incorporate the mistakes into the live experience!

A Quick Guide to Instagram Video Formats

“If you look at what’s trending on Instagram and TikTok, you'll notice that typically the angle is always changing,” concludes O’Rourke. “We want to keep the user engaged and get them from start to finish of a video. So what we do to hook that user in is to change the camera angle, change the location, put a graphic on screen, include captions.”

The key is to figure out the best video format for your business. We think that a mix of videos works best and can give you insight into what your audience likes and engages with. 

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