# Create a reel

> Publish one vertical video to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Telegram and Discord.

Last updated: 2026-10-23 | Canonical: https://omnisocials.com/help-center/creating-content/create-reel

A reel is one short video that you publish to several channels at once. With the **Reel** post type you can schedule the same video as an Instagram Reel, a Facebook Reel, a TikTok video, a YouTube Short, a Telegram video and a Discord video.

## Where reels publish

| Channel | Publishes as | Maximum length | Maximum file size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instagram | Reel | 15 minutes | 300 MB |
| Facebook | Reel | 240 minutes | 1 GB |
| TikTok | Video | 10 minutes, or less if your TikTok account has a lower limit | 1 GB |
| YouTube | Short | 3 minutes | 1 GB |
| Telegram | Video | No limit | 50 MB |
| Discord | Video message | No limit | 1 GB |

The 1 GB maximum on TikTok, YouTube and Discord is the OmniSocials upload limit. On Discord, a video over 20 MB goes into the message as a link, and Discord plays it from there. TikTok sets the maximum video length per account (3, 5 or 10 minutes), and the editor shows your account's limit when you open the TikTok version of the reel.

## Create a reel

1. Click **Create Post** in the sidebar.
2. Click the **Reel** tab at the top left of the editor. Only Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Telegram and Discord stay in the channel bar.
3. Click **Select Reel** and pick a video from your Library, or drag a video from your computer onto the frame. A reel holds one video.
4. Write your caption under **Reel Description**.
5. Choose a cover under **Thumbnail**. See the next section.
6. Click a channel's icon to adjust that channel's version, for example the **Short Title** for YouTube.
7. Click **Schedule Reel** to pick a date and time, or **Post now** to publish right away.

![The reel editor with a video, the reel description and the cover settings](https://cdn.omnisocials.com/file/omnisocials-website-assets/help-center/creating-content/create-reel/editor.webp)

When the video is longer than a selected channel allows, the editor shows **Video too long** with the maximum for that channel. Trim the video or turn that channel off.

## Choose a cover

The **Thumbnail** section appears once you've selected a video.

- **Select from library**: click **Select Thumbnail** and pick an image from your Library. A 9:16 image works best.
- **Select from video**: move the slider to the frame you want to use.

![The Thumbnail section with a frame chosen from the video](https://cdn.omnisocials.com/file/omnisocials-website-assets/help-center/creating-content/create-reel/cover.webp)

Four channels handle covers differently:

- **TikTok** doesn't accept a custom cover image. Your TikTok video uses a frame from the video, so choose **Select from video** to pick that frame.
- **YouTube** shows a custom cover on Shorts only on channels where YouTube has turned on custom Shorts thumbnails, starting with Partner Program channels. On other channels the Short shows a frame from the video.
- **Telegram** doesn't use the cover. The video goes to your chat without it.
- **Discord** doesn't use the cover either. The video goes to your channel without it.

## Videos that aren't vertical

Reels play in a 9:16 frame. If your video has another shape, OmniSocials doesn't crop it. Viewers see it with bars above and below (landscape video) or on the sides, and the cover uses the middle of the frame. The editor shows a note when this applies. Add a 9:16 cover image for a clean tile on your profile grid.

## Settings per channel

Each channel's reel settings are post options: chips in the bar under the editor, and all of them in the panel that the arrow at the end of the bar opens. See [Set post options](/help-center/creating-content/create-post#set-post-options).

| Channel | Settings |
|---|---|
| Instagram | **Share to feed**, **Music**, **Trial reel**, **Location**, **Collaborators**, **First comment**, **AI info label** and **Comment to DM** |
| Facebook | **First comment** and **Comment to DM** |
| TikTok | **Who can view**, **Allow comments**, **Allow duets**, **Allow stitches**, **AI-generated content**, **Promotional content** and, with the TikTok comments connection, **First comment** |
| YouTube | **Privacy**, **Made for kids**, **AI-generated content**, **Notify subscribers**, **Tags**, **First comment** and, under **Details**, **Category**, **License**, **Language**, **Audio language**, **Allow embedding** and **Show view counts** |
| Telegram | The same options as a Telegram post, such as **Buttons**, **Send silently**, **Pin in the chat** and **First comment** |
| Discord | The same options as a Discord post without the poll: **Buttons**, **Forum post title**, **Send silently**, **Link preview**, **Ping @everyone and roles** and **Mark media as spoiler** |

The platform articles explain each setting: [Instagram](/help-center/integrations/instagram), [Facebook](/help-center/integrations/facebook), [TikTok](/help-center/integrations/tiktok), [YouTube](/help-center/integrations/youtube), [Telegram](/help-center/integrations/telegram) and [Discord](/help-center/integrations/discord).

## Up next

- [Schedule posts](/help-center/creating-content/scheduling)
- [YouTube](/help-center/integrations/youtube)
- [TikTok](/help-center/integrations/tiktok)