So, you’ve recently discovered how powerful Instagram Stories can be if you want to boost your engagement rate, build your follower base, or just give people a quick glimpse at your life?
The more you play around with Instagram Stories, the more features you’ll discover. If you follow other people’s Stories, you’ll probably have noticed that more and more users choose to add Instagram auto captions — and you’ll want to learn how to do the same thing, especially now that Instagram Stories can be quite a bit longer than before.
There are some great reasons to add closed captions to Instagram videos:
- You’d be surprised how many people watch Instagram videos without audio. If you don’t have headphones and you’re in a public space — like in a waiting room or on the bus — it’s just polite to keep the sound off. Adding captions to your Instagram stories makes it possible for your followers and viewers to enjoy your content even if they can’t hear it.
- Even if people do have headphones, many environments are so noisy that it’s impossible to hear what’s going on. Closed captions come in handy here, too.
- The closed captions you add to your Instagram Stories were initially added as an accessibility feature. Captions are critically important for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and they really help people whose native language differs from yours understand your content better, too.
- Having said that, captions reinforce your content and add visual appeal as well. Are you trying to grow your brand and make it big on Insta? Not only should you use Stories to your full advantage, but adding captions is a great idea.
How to add captions to Instagram posts when you’re sharing a Story? Well, fortunately, it’s actually pretty easy to add automatic captions Instagram users will really appreciate. Once we show you how it’s done, you’ll probably end up wondering how you missed it.
What Are Instagram Stories?
Instagram Stories are fun, ephemeral videos that allow users to grow their brands and followings by sharing more intimate content that doesn’t necessarily need to stay on their feeds forever. The feature has grown ever more popular since the social media platform first announced Stories in 2016, and it’s evolved a fair bit, too.
As before, your Instagram stories will stay up for 24 hours before disappearing forever. During the time they’re up, your followers and viewers can respond and like the Story, and you’ve got a great chance to engage with your audience.
What’s quite new, on the other hand, is that you can now post 60-second videos without any interruptions. That’s quite a jump from the previous 15 seconds, and this added versatility probably explains why the feature is now even more popular than before.
While influencers often use Instagram Stories to share sponsored content, product launches, and behind the scenes looks, “normal” Instagram users might want to show their friends what a great time they’re having at a party, or what that new restaurant is like.
What Are Instagram Live Captions for Stories?
Instagram Story captions are nothing like the feed captions you add to “frame” your photos, provide context, or engage your followers. Rather, auto captions on Instagram are more like subtitles. Anything you say appears on screen in text form, allowing your audience to follow along more closely.
How to Add Captions to Instagram Stories: A Step-by-Step Guide
Do you see the value in closed captions but can’t figure out how to add video captions for Instagram to your Stories? We’ve got your back. Just follow along with this simple step-by-step guide, and you’ll be putting closed captions on Instagram Stories like a pro in no time!
Step 1: Create a New Instagram Story
Launch your Instagram app, and just swipe to the right to get started with a brand-new Instagram Story. You can either make a new video or swipe up to upload a video you already have from your media library.
Step 2: Open the Sticker Menu
Opening the sticker menu in your app is the next step in the process of adding captions to Instagram videos when you create a Story. You can tap the sticker icon at the top — which looks like a rounded off square smiley with a turned corner — or swipe up. This will open the Story options menu. Find the blue Captions option and tap it.
Step 3: Wait for Instagram to Add Captions to Instagram Stories
Once you tap the Captions option, your app will open a new screen. You’ll see a notification that Instagram is now “Transcribing Audio” — and you’ll have to wait for the social media platform to work its magic. The shorter your video, the faster this will be.
Step 4: Your Instagram Story Subtitles Are Ready
Once the app is ready, the closed captions for your Instagram Story will appear on your screen.
Hold on, though, because the process isn’t quite complete. If you want to learn how to add auto captions on Instagram, you should know that the app sometimes makes mistakes. You’ll manually have to review your captions to ensure they are correct.
Step 5: Edit Your Story Captions
Let’s break this step into four, because the editing process is where everything truly comes together as you discover how to get captions on Instagram Stories:
- Review your Story captions and make any necessary edits to ensure the captions accurately represent your video. Simply tap a word to change it and add any emojis you would like to include.
- Use the “Aa” buttons at the bottom of your screen to choose a font for your closed captions.
- Tap the color icon at the top of your screen (which looks like a circle with rainbow colors) to change the shade.
- Reposition and resize your Story captions by expanding and contracting them or dragging them to any location you want!
Step 6: Share Your Instagram Story
Once you’re happy with your Instagram Story captions — including their content, font, size, and position — you can share your Story the way you normally would.
See? We told you it was easy! You wanted to know how to add captions to Instagram post Stories, and now you do!
How to Add Audio Captions on Instagram Story Automatically
Do you often post Instagram Stories, and do you wish there was a way for the social media platform to generate captions automatically every time? These automatic captions — which will appear on Reels and Stories — don’t give you nearly as much control as the process we just described. They are super easy, though, and a good choice for busy creators who don’t mind basic captions.
Let’s take a look at how to do it!
Step 1: Go to Your Instagram Profile
Launch the Instagram app and tap the face icon in the bottom right corner. Navigate to Settings and tap Account.
Step 2: Select Captions From the Menu
You’ll find the Captions option between Language and Sensitive Content Control. Tap it and slide the toggle to the right.
That’s it! You’re now a pro. You know how to put captions on Instagram Story posts through the stickers menu, generating beautifully stylized closed captions, and how to add automatic captions that will appear on all your Stories and Reels without any extra effort.
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