Post one video to TikTok, Reels and YouTube Shorts
How to make one vertical video work on TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts: size, length, safe zones, captions, and how to schedule all three.
On this page
Short vertical video is the format with the most reach on almost every platform. The good news: one well-made video can go to TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. You just need to make it once, the right way.
The settings that work on all three
| Setting | Use this |
|---|---|
| Size | 1080 × 1920 px |
| Shape | 9:16 vertical |
| Length | under 3 minutes (shorter is usually better) |
| File | MP4, H.264 |
| Sound | original audio, or music you have the rights to |
Three minutes is the maximum for YouTube Shorts. Instagram says Reels longer than 3 minutes won't be recommended to new audiences, so keeping under that works everywhere.
Keep text out of the edges
Each app puts buttons and captions over your video: likes and comments on the right, your name and caption at the bottom, and tabs at the top. Keep key text and faces in the middle of the frame. A simple rule: leave the top 250 px, the bottom 350 px and the right 120 px clear.
Don't upload a video with another app's watermark
A video downloaded from TikTok carries the TikTok logo. Instagram has said it won't recommend Reels with visible watermarks from other apps. Always post the original file to every platform.
Change the caption, not the video
The video can be the same; the words around it shouldn't be:
- TikTok: a short, casual line and a few specific hashtags.
- Instagram Reels: a hook in the first line and up to five hashtags.
- YouTube Shorts: a clear title people would search for. Shorts are also found through YouTube search.
A simple routine
- Film once, vertically, with your subject in the middle.
- Edit in any app and export the clean original.
- Write three captions: one per platform.
- Schedule all three, a few hours apart if you like, so you can answer comments on each.
- After a week, compare views and watch time and make more of what worked.
How Feedlio helps
In Feedlio you upload the video once, pick TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, and give each its own caption or title. Feedlio checks the size, length and format for each platform before publishing and shows how the video will look. With bulk posting you can drop in a batch of videos and schedule them across days in one go.
