How to Make a Vertical Video to Promote Your Song on Reels, TikTok, and Shorts

• For a promo clip, pick the 15 to 30 seconds you most want people to hear and export it in vertical 9:16.
• Make the first second show the song title and the mood of the track.
• Keep the title and the visuals near the middle, away from the app's buttons and captions.

Use the 15 to 30 Seconds You Most Want Heard

People swipe past vertical videos with one finger. If your clip starts with the intro, many viewers leave before the best part arrives.

Start at the top of the chorus, or at the build right before it. For a vocal track, that is usually the first line of the chorus. For an instrumental, start on the phrase people remember.

A clip of 15 to 30 seconds is easy to work with. It is short enough to hear in one go, so more people reach the end, and some will watch it loop.

If you post to YouTube Shorts, keep the clip under one minute. A Short longer than one minute is blocked worldwide if it has even one copyright claim (Content ID), according to YouTube's help page as of October 2026. If a distributor has registered your release with Content ID, your own song can receive a claim.

Show the Song in the First Second

TikTok's own guidance says the first few seconds decide whether people keep watching. In a promo clip, the opening frame should answer two questions:

• Which song is this? Show the title and your artist name.
• What does it sound like? Let the cover art or background set the mood.

Also think about people watching with the sound off, on a train or in a quiet room. To them, a still image does not look like a music post at all.

A line or bars that move with the audio show that music is playing, even when the sound is muted. If the clip starts on the chorus, the movement is already strong in the first second.

Keep the Title Clear of Buttons and Captions

Apps place buttons and text on top of vertical videos. On Reels, TikTok, and Shorts, the covered areas are roughly the same:

• The bottom third or so: caption, account name, and the name of the sound
• The right edge: like, comment, and share buttons
• The top edge: tabs and search

Place the title and the visuals away from those three areas. The title sits well about a third of the way down, and the visuals a little below the center. Because the buttons sit on the right, moving the visuals slightly to the left gives them more room.

The exact areas change by app and by device. Before posting, check the preview in each app and make sure nothing important is hidden.

Make the Video in Sonoray

The Sonoray editor can export just part of a track in 9:16. You do not need an account, and the exported video has no watermark.

Sonoray does not add text to the video. Put your song title and artist name into the background image before you start.

Prepare the background as a vertical 9:16 image. A landscape or square image is cropped from the center to fill the frame, so its left and right sides are cut off. The background position cannot be moved, so if you want to use your cover art, place it inside a vertical image first.

1. Prepare a vertical 9:16 background image with your song title and artist name on it.
2. Load your audio file in the editor.
3. In Setup, set the format to 9:16 and choose your image as the background.
4. In Range, set the start point first and then the end point, choosing 15 to 30 seconds. Moving the start point also moves the end point.
5. Choose a shape. A thin line (Line) or bars (Bars) are less likely to cover the title or the artwork.
6. In Adjust, open Size & position and place the visuals a little below the center. A lower height keeps them clear of the title.
7. In Export, set the resolution to 1080p and export an MP4. The file will be 1080 × 1920.

Export on a computer with Chrome or Edge.

With the height kept at 10%, the line never reaches the title, even on loud parts. Position X is set to 45% to leave a little space before the buttons on the right.

To use the same look for your next song, go to Browser presets in Setup, enter a preset name, and click Save current. A preset keeps the format and the look of the visuals. You choose the song, the background image, and the range again for each video. When every clip shares one look, people scrolling your profile can tell the songs are yours.

If you want lyrics to appear line by line, use a video editor that can edit captions, such as CapCut. You can load the MP4 from Sonoray there and add the lyrics.

Posting the Same Clip to All Three Apps

A 9:16 export works on Reels, TikTok, and Shorts without changes. At 15 to 30 seconds, you will not run into any app's length limit.

Watch out for app logos. A video saved from TikTok carries the TikTok logo, and Instagram has said it shows Reels with other apps' logos to fewer people. Upload the original MP4 from Sonoray to every app.

If you want other people to use your song in their own videos, check whether your distributor delivers to TikTok and Instagram. Once the song is available as a sound in those apps, viewers can make videos with it.

Turn Your Chorus Into a Vertical Clip

Try the range and the placement first with a sample track.

Open the editor