Are you wondering how people make these custom Instagram reel cover photos? I’m talking about the ones that are branded and fit perfectly on their feed? Today, I’m walking you through how to make custom Instagram Reels Cover Photos using my FREE Instagram Reels Cover Photos template! 

Download my Free Instagram reels cover photo template!

You can grab a copy of this free download HERE! This template comes for Photoshop OR Canva. I definitely recommend Canva (especially if you’re not comfortable with Photoshop). It’s SO easy! Once you have confirmed your subscription, you’ll get the template in your inbox.

Open template in Canva!

I’m going to use my phone to edit this template, but you can 100% do this on your desktop too! Make sure you’re logged into Canva and then hit “use this template”, so Canva basically creates a copy for you! Definitely make sure you’re editing this to match your brand, colors, and feed. Now you can customize your image, your text, and all of the colors! A quick tip: the red box will show you what will actually show up on your feed, so anything you want to show on your feed, have it be in that box. This is a great way to share your content, so I definitely suggest it! When you’re done, save your cover photo to your phone’s camera roll

Adding it to Instagram Reels!

Once you’re on Instagram and you’ve created your Instagram Reel, on the last page you see a spot to click “Cover”. At the bottom of your screen, choose “add from cover photo”. Choose the image you just made! Make sure you toggle the “Share to Feed” option before you publish, too! This means it’ll show up in your regular feed AND your Reels. Once you hit publish, that cover photo is what will show up in your feed as well as on your reels section! 

Looking for more Instagram Reels hacks? Check out some tips on adding still photos to your Instagram Reels or get some more ideas for Reels you can create, too!