Sooner or later, everyone comes to such a wonderful function in Instagram as stories. These are short videos in length, in which you can introduce your followers to your surroundings, as well as advertise any product.
Before starting to shoot such “short films”, any user thinks: how many seconds are in Instagram stories? Will there be enough time to present your idea to profile readers? Stay with us, we will figure it out together.
Allowed time for one story
So, how many seconds does a story last on Instagram? The system of this social network sets duration limits for each video. This is primarily for the convenience of followers. After all, which subscriber would enjoy watching their idol’s three-hour “movies”. One story can last up to 15 seconds. “And how can you fit everything in?” you may ask. Developers have made an adjustment and increased the limit to 60 seconds, but with one caveat. More on that in the next section.
Making history out of a big video
If the length of the video you want to post exceeds a quarter of a minute, follow these steps:
- Open any video editor.
- Add the necessary material.
- Divide it into mini-clips of 15 seconds each. The total duration of the clips should not exceed 60 seconds.
- Save the result.
- Launch the Instagram app on your device.
- Log in to your account using your username (nickname/email/mobile number) and password.
- Swipe the screen from left to right and switch to the story editing mode.
- Swipe your finger from bottom to top and select the 15-second mini-clips from your gallery.
- Apply filters if necessary.
- Preview the result and click the “Next” button.
- Select the category of subscribers who will have access to your one-minute video sequence.
- Tap “Share”.
Done. Your story is now displayed at the top of the screen in the feed section.
Note. To select multiple files from the gallery, press and hold one of them and check the others.
Is it possible to repost videos longer than one minute?
The maximum duration of a video in a story should not exceed 60 seconds. Unfortunately, it is currently not possible to exceed this limit. Developers do not plan to increase the set limit in the near future.
However, if you still need to post a longer video, here are some notes:
- The allowable length of a video file on IGTV is up to 10-15 minutes;
- The allowable length of a video file in a regular feed post is up to 1 minute.
Useful tip: In a regular feed, you can post multiple 60-second videos in different posts.
Don’t forget about live streaming, which can last up to 1 hour.
How to increase the duration of stories
But how to use Instagram without tricks? There are a couple of tricks that can show your followers the video they need at the right time. This can be done in three ways.
The first one:
- Authorize in the Instagram app.
- Open the story shooting mode. To do this, swipe the screen from left to right.
- Add a link to your long video in IGTV in the text.
- Share.
The second one:
- Go back to the story shooting mode.
- Publish one story.
- Return to the shooting mode.
- Add the second clip.
The third one:
- Enter the “Insta” program and log in with your username and password.
- Tap the “person” icon in the bottom menu.
- Select a post in the feed with a suitable video and open it.
- Click on the “paper airplane” icon and the “Add publication to story” message.
- Confirm the placement.
When will the story be deleted?
As a rule, one story will stay in your followers’ feed for exactly 24 hours. Then the system simply deletes them. This is done to avoid server overload and to constantly update content.
However, there are a couple of tricks that can allow your video story to delight readers for a little longer. They are completely simple and absolutely legal.
We are extending the storage period for stories
To increase the storage time of stories in your profile, there are a few ways you can go about it.
The first method:
- Open the Instagram app and log in.
- Go to the story mode.
- Tap on the “gear” icon located in the upper left corner of the screen.
- Check the “Save to Archive” box. You can also choose to “Save to Gallery” if desired.
- Wait for the video to be deleted after 24 hours.
- Republish the saved materials.
The second method:
- In the main menu, select the “person” icon.
- Find the “Highlights” column and click on the plus sign.
- Check the appropriate story.
Now you will have a section called “Highlights” where your most important stories will be stored.
Note: To remove a video from “Highlights,” you need to open the story and click on the “three dots” (menu). Then select “Delete” and you’re done.
For Business Accounts
For owners of professional accounts or marketing profiles, it will be useful to know some interesting tips related to stories. Namely:
- On your account page (the “person” icon), you can open “Settings” – “Statistics”. Scroll down to “Stories” and see detailed information about views of your video stories, etc.
- In the “Statistics” section and in the “Audience” tab, you will be able to see information about your subscribers and take note of it. For example, that the majority of people go online on Saturday evenings. Accordingly, it is better to post new content at that time.
So, we have found out how many seconds a story is on Instagram. It is worth remembering this in order to make everything more high-quality. After all, a poorly timed video will not be liked by many.