How to Automatically Turn Blog Posts into Instagram Reels with Make.com & Tailprint API

Every founder, developer, and content team knows the struggle: you spend hours researching and writing high-value technical articles or blog updates, only to watch them get zero social distribution because you don't have the time to manually edit vertical videos, write punchy scripts, and format captions for Instagram Reels and TikTok.

How the Architecture Works

Instead of brittle browser extensions or expensive $50/mo video SaaS tools, this workflow relies on lightweight event triggers and a dedicated headless rendering API:

Step 1: Set Up the RSS Trigger in Make.com

Create a new scenario in Make.com. Add the RSS module as the trigger:

• Module: RSS → Watch RSS feed items
• URL: Your site's RSS feed (e.g. https://tailprint.com/rss.xml or https://yourdomain.com/feed)
• Maximum number of returned items: 1
• Schedule: Every 15 to 60 minutes, or once daily depending on your publication schedule.

Step 2: Add the Tailprint Video Generator (HTTP Module)

Tailprint offers a specialized endpoint POST /v1/tools/reel/from-url that takes an article URL, parses its content, creates a compelling 4-slide script with a hook, pain point, solution, and CTA, and generates a ready-to-stream 9:16 MP4 video URL.

Add an HTTP → Make a request module with the following settings:

{
  "url": "{{1.url}}",
  "record_video": false
}

Step 3: Publish with Instagram for Business

Connect your Instagram Professional or Creator account connected to a Facebook page, then add the Instagram for Business module:

• Module: Instagram for Business → Create a Reel
• Account: Select your connected Instagram Business Account.
• Video URL: {{2.data.videoUrl}} (The public hosted MP4 URL returned by Tailprint)
• Caption: {{2.data.caption}} (The structured caption generated with bullets and hashtags)
• Cover Image URL: {{2.data.previewUrl}} (Optional high-res PNG cover card)

Developer Alternative: Calling the API via Node.js or cURL

If you prefer triggering video generation directly from your CMS webhook (Ghost, Strapi, Sanity, or WordPress), you can call the API in any backend environment:

// Run this whenever a new post is published in your CMS
const response = await fetch('https://tailprint.com/v1/tools/reel/from-url', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer ' + process.env.TAILPRINT_API_KEY,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    url: 'https://example.com/blog/my-new-release',
    record_video: false
  })
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log('Video MP4:', data.videoUrl);
console.log('Caption:', data.caption);
console.log('Slides PDF:', data.pdfUrl);

Why This Beats Traditional Video Creation