How to Share a Reel on Instagram in 2026: A Guide for Marketers

TL;DR 

• To share a reel to your Story: open the reel, tap the paper-plane icon, hit "Add reel to your story," and customize before publishing. Viewers see it as a tappable sticker linked to the original.  
• To share someone else's reel, you follow the same flow, but it only works if the original creator hasn't restricted resharing in their reel settings.
• To share a reel to Facebook: tap the paper-plane icon, then choose Facebook from the share sheet. Cross-posting needs to be enabled in the settings first.
• To post a reel only to your Story (not your feed): untoggle "Share to feed" before publishing. 
• If you can't share a reel to your Story, check these in order: the creator restricted resharing, the account is private, there's a flagged strike on the account, or the app needs an update.

Why marketers reshare reels to Story

There are three reasons this works: 

• First, cross-audience visibility. 57% of Instagram users watch them daily. This type of content on Instagram is consumed far more actively than traditional posts. Resharing content to Story puts it in front of that audience instead of hoping they stumble on it.
• Second, every tap counts. When someone watches a reshared reel from inside a Story, that view registers as a play on the original reel. So resharing doesn't just expand reach; it inflates the reel's actual performance numbers.  
• Third, it lets you add context the reel itself doesn't have. A Story sticker gives you room for a caption, a CTA, or a poll, something pointing people toward what you actually want them to do next. The reel does the showing. The Story does the telling. 

How to share a reel on Instagram Story

Adding a reel to your Story takes just a few taps. 

Sharing a reel from your phone

1. Open the reel you want to share, your own or someone else's.
2. Tap the paper-plane (share) icon on the right side of the screen.
3. Tap "Add to story" in the share sheet.
4. Customize it. Resize the clip, add text, stickers, or music using the icons at the top right. Tap the video once if you want it full screen. 
5. Tap "Your Story" in the bottom corner to publish.

That's it. The reel attaches as a tappable sticker, and anyone viewing your Story can tap through to the original. 

Watch the 30 sec video Tutorial. 

Two things to bear in mind:  

• Stories only autoplay the first 15 seconds of a reel. If you want the full thing to play, download it to your camera roll first and upload it as a regular story post instead of resharing through the share sheet.

Sharing a reel from your desktop

Right now, Instagram's desktop version doesn't have a native button for posting Stories, reel or otherwise. 

There are two ways around it:  

Method 1: the browser developer tools workaround

1. Open Instagram in a desktop browser and log in.
2. Right-click the page and select "Inspect".
3. Click the device toolbar icon in the inspection panel. It looks like a small phone and tablet.
4. Refresh the page. The mobile interface loads.
5. Click the "+" on your profile picture to upload a photo or video from your computer.

Sharing an Instagram Story from the desktop. Watch the full 1-minute tutorial. 

This works, but it's limited. You can add text, but interactive features like music, polls, or link stickers aren't available this way. And you still can't reshare a reel directly. You'd need to download it first, then upload it as a standard story.

*To download a reel, use Instagram's own save option for your own content or a third-party downloader for reposting someone else's public content. 

Method 2: using a scheduling platform

On platforms like Sprout Social or Later you can upload, edit, and publish Instagram Stories straight from your computer, with full access to interactive features and the ability to schedule in advance. 

Desktop vs. mobile sharing

How to share someone else's reel to your story

The steps don't change. Tap the paper-plane icon, hit "Add to story," done. 

But this will work only if a Reel is from a public account and the owner allows resharing in their settings. So, make sure that you’ll tell your influencers about it.

Influencers you work with should allow you to share their content in Stories.

Got a paid partnership? Get a reshare clause into the influencer contract before you launch anything. Most 2026 creator deals already default to a 30 to 90 day window for this kind of organic repost on top of the paid one. 

Reposting a happy customer's reel without a contract at all? Tag them, drop a thank you sticker, move on. If the account is small or the content feels personal, send a quick message before you share an Instagram reel to your story. Costs you ten seconds. Saves you an awkward DM later.

As for attribution, Instagram tags the original creator automatically, handle and all, sitting right under the reel preview. Tap it, and you land on their original post. The platform built that in on purpose, and it's part of how content rights stay protected on both sides. Source.

How to share a Reel only to a Story (not a feed)

Can you post a reel only to your story? Yes, and it takes one toggle. 

1. Create your video in the Reels camera, add audio and effects, then tap Next.
2. On the sharing screen, scroll down past the cover settings.
3. Find "Share to feed" and turn it off.
4. Tap Share to publish.

Source.

The reel goes live as a Story sticker only. No grid appearance. Followers see it for 24 hours, then it's gone for good. 

🚧 If that toggle isn't available in your app version, there's a manual workaround: save the reel to your phone during creation, then upload it separately as a regular Story. Same 24-hour lifespan, just one extra step.

Why marketers resharing Reels on Instagram as Stories only

• Clickable links the feed won't allow. A feed caption can't carry a link, but a Story sticker can drop one right over the video, sending viewers straight to checkout. (Here’s a step-by-step Tutorial on how to add a link to an Instagram Story). 
• A different audience. Feed reels get pushed to strangers for discovery. Stories go almost entirely to existing followers, making this a tool for talking to your core audience. 
• Protecting the grid. Brands that invested in a cohesive profile aesthetic don't want a low-production trend video sitting there forever. Story-only lets them ride a trend without disrupting the layout.
• Avoiding diluted reach. Some marketers wait 24 hours after a reel goes live before resharing it to Story. Push both at once, and people who already saw the reel tend to skip past the Story fast, which Instagram algorithm reads as weak retention.
• Built-in urgency. Since Stories vanish after 24 hours, a time-limited promo posted only there nudges people to act now, since now is the only window they've got.

How to share an Instagram Reel to Facebook

Cross-posting to Facebook is one of the easiest moves in your whole toolkit, and works the same whether you're posting fresh or reposting something already live.

From your phone

If you're creating a new reel and want it on both platforms at once, first link your Facebook and Instagram accounts here and then do following: 

1. Create your reel in Instagram as usual.
2. On the final sharing screen, scroll down and tap "Also share on” and you’ll see options to share your reel on your FB page, threads and Story. 
3. Click on "Share your reel to Facebook" to post it on your FB page. 
4. Want it in your Facebook Story instead of the feed? Tap "Share to" and pick Story over Feed. 

Already published the reel and want to share a reel from Instagram to Facebook after the fact? Even easier:

From desktop

It’s actually pretty easy to share an Instagram reel to Facebook from a browser. 

Feed vs Story: when to share where

That's the whole flow for how to share a reel to Facebook. Compare that to the Story workaround from earlier, where desktop fights you every step. Facebook cross-posting plays nice on both.

How to fix Facebook cross-share issues 

Don't see the Facebook option in the share sheet? Run through three checks before you panic that something's broken.

• Link your accounts. Make sure your Instagram and Facebook accounts are actually linked in Settings → Account Center.
• Enable Sharing Across Profiles for Stories. Not just the general account link, the toggle lives one screen deeper than people expect, so it's easy to miss.
• Update the app. Instagram shifts the cross-platform share UX with version updates fairly often, and the option occasionally vanishes for a release cycle or two until the next patch lands.

One more thing for business accounts: linking your personal profile isn't enough. The Facebook Page itself needs to be connected through Meta Business Suite, separately from whatever personal account link you've already set up. When you work with influencers, make sure that their settings are in shape.

And if Facebook isn't your only target, the same logic extends further. You can share reels to YouTube and TikTok too, each with its own cross-posting quirks. Read more about content repurposing for brand managers. 

Why can't I share a reel to my story? 6 most probable reasons

For most people, this is a five-second annoyance. For anyone running campaigns, it's lost reach and a deliverable that might not be doing what the contract assumed. 

So, here's what might be happening: 

1.  Instagram is mid-rollout. Instagram runs constant A/B tests, ships features gradually, and occasionally yanks sharing functionality while fixing something behind the scenes. One account gets the feature, another doesn't. See a reshare option disappear across multiple accounts on your team overnight? That's almost always the reason. 
2.  Bugs. Creator updated the app and the reshare option is still broken? Don't wait it out. Have them clear the cache or just reinstall the app. Fixes most lingering bugs faster than the next patch, and it takes two minutes, way less painful than assuming the campaign's dead in the water. 
3. Creators turn it off. Influencers have many reasons to disable resharing - audience control, privacy, an exclusivity clause with another brand, simple ownership over where content circulates.  Confirm Story resharing is enabled when you set up the campaign, before the brief even goes out. Skip that step, and amplification through Stories just won't happen, no matter how good the content is. 
4. The account is private. Private accounts block Story resharing completely. This can be the case when it’s a brand customer rather than an influencer. 
5. A flagged account, with zero visibility into why. A recent strike against community guidelines can limit sharing features. So, if that happens ask a creator to check Account Status under Settings → Account. Check-in with a creator about their account's sharing functionality 1 to 2 days before launch, not the morning of, so you actually have time to fix it if something's restricted. 
6. Region-specific rollout gaps. Features don't launch everywhere at once. One teammate in one market might have full reshare access while someone else, same campaign, different country, doesn't. Worth a quick check if behavior looks inconsistent across a multi-market rollout.

Want your influencer Reels to deliver better results? Here's how 

Sharing a Reel is easy. Making it perform starts long before you hit the Share button. And it starts before the video is even recorded, with choosing creators whose audience matches your campaign goals. 

That's where an influencer marketing platform like IQFluence helps. 

1. Find creators whose audience matches your ideal customers.
2. Compare engagement, content and audience quality before reaching out.
3. Manage creator outreach and partnerships without juggling spreadsheets.
4. Track campaign performance in one place to see which creators deliver the best results.