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  Article updated: May 22, 2024

Edit your videos in Hootsuite

You can edit the videos in your posts using the web version of Hootsuite's built-in video editor. Make videos your own by adding effects, or cropping them to fit each social network.

Video editing requirements

The video editor in Hootsuite supports the following:

  • Video format - H.264/AVC and H.265/HEVC in an MP4 video file
  • Audio - MP3 in MP3 or MP4 video, AAC in MP4 or M4A video
  • Resolution - Up to 4K UHD for both playback and export
  • Length - Up to two minutes for Instagram stories and reels. For all other videos, a maximum of ten minutes is recommended.

You can not use the Hootsuite video editor to edit videos for YouTube or Pinterest at this time.

Important: Video editing is only supported on Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge versions 94 and later.

Edit your video

When composing a new post or editing scheduled or draft content, point to a video thumbnail and then select Edit video to open it in the video editor.

A cursor pointing to a video thumbnail, revealing the options to view settings and edit the video.

Work with the video editor

You can use the video editor to create and edit videos, to add and edit audio tracks, and to add and customize text, photos, stickers, and filters.

Element tools - Select from the tools on the left to add and customize video elements like audio, images, text, shapes, and stickers. Once you've added an element to your video, you can select it and use the tools in the top toolbar to edit and customize it.

Trim - To trim your video length, drag the video start and end time.

Example video timeline with start and end drag points highlighted.

Enhancements - Select your video (not the timeline), and then use the tools at the top of the video to edit your video background; adjust your brightness, saturation, and contrast; add filters and effects; and more.

Video editor toolbar with More selected, showing option.s

Add video cover images

Some social networks offer the ability to customize your video cover images (thumbnails) while some do not. You cannot customize video cover images on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram personal, Instagram stories, or TikTok. You also cannot customize video cover images for Instagram posts with multiple images or videos (carousels). For Facebook Pages and Instagram Business accounts, point to a video thumbnail and select Video settings to choose a suggested cover image or upload a custom image.

Notes:

  • Playable previews don't appear in Hootsuite for videos with HEVC/H.265 codecs.
  • For information on LinkedIn video requirements for ads, see the LinkedIn help article LinkedIn video guidelines.

Make your video content accessible

Point to a video thumbnail and select Video settings to add SRT captions to Twitter and Facebook videos. SRT file names must have the following format: filename.[language code]_[country code].srt. Language codes are two lowercase letters and country codes are two uppercase letters. For example: hypevideo.es_ES.srt. Refer to the Facebook list of valid language and country codes.

Tip: If you need to publish your subtitles in multiple languages, use the Schedule and duplicate (or Post and duplicate) option to build the post again with a different SRT file.

Looking for more info on .srt captions? Check out Inclusive Design for Social Media: Tips for Creating Accessible Channels. Visit the Hootsuite Blog for news, tips, tools, and tactics to help you succeed on social media.

Understand video processing times

There’s a short delay before Hootsuite publishes large videos and videos that need processing. Processing begins after you select Post or Schedule. While a video is processing, you can’t edit or duplicate the post.

If you want to change a scheduled video post, you need to make your changes at least 30 minutes before the scheduled publishing time.

A status window alerts you when processing is complete.

Status window showing video processing status.

 

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