Instagram Reels have been a game-changer for marketers since they were introduced in 2020. The ability to discover content on the Meta-owned social media channel has never been easier, and brands are finding success by incorporating short-form video into their Instagram content strategies.
The potential for generating revenue through Instagram Reels is practically limitless. However, the short-form video format is quite unlike anything that has gone before on Instagram, making it a particularly difficult challenge for marketers. It’s quicker, wittier, and trendier than ever before, and what worked last week may not work the next. We’ve put up an in-depth guide on how to begin producing Instagram Reels and achieving success with short-form video to help you and your brand navigate this territory.
- What Are Instagram Reels?
- How to Make a Reel on Instagram
- Instagram Reels Sizes and Dimensions
- How to Access Instagram Reels Analytics
- How to Get Your Reels on the Instagram Explore Page
- Using Instagram Reels to Grow Your Business
What Are Instagram Reels?
Instagram Reels are a type of short video that is fun and easy to watch. You can scroll through many videos at once, similar to TikTok.
Reels are simple to make, and people enjoy programming that is genuine, which presents a dilemma for advertisers. Reels that appear to be over-produced will not perform well; nevertheless, any social media manager can pick up their phone and start recording material without much effort, making it easier to film Reels at a regular cadence.
Instagram Reels are highly discoverable on the Explore page, making it a primary destination for viewers who may not have heard about your brand to find and engage with your content.
Instagram Reels vs TikTok: How Are They Different?
While TikTok popularized the short-form video format, there are a number of distinctions between Instagram Reels and TikTok that businesses should think about when deciding which platforms to utilize. While Instagram Reels for brands may take some planning, if your brand already has a established presence on Instagram, you’re ahead of the game. Your existing followers will be able to see and engage with your new content. With TikTok, you have to start from scratch in terms of building an audience. Some other key differences are:
- Instagram Reels is shareable on Instagram Stories and viewable to your existing followers
- Length: Instagram Reels are up to 60 seconds long, while TikToks can be up to 3 minutes long
- Social Channel Connectivity: Instagram is owned by Meta, and your brand accounts, advertising, and product catalogs can all be integrated to be consistent across Facebook and Instagram management tools; TikTok isn’t connected to any other social networks
- Purpose: Instagram has a feature called reels, while TikTok is entirely focused on short-form video
Instagram Reels vs Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories were introduced in 2016, and over the years they have become a staple of the Instagram platform. Instagram Reels were introduced in 2020, and like Stories, they were introduced to complement Instagram’s existing features, rather than replace anything. Stories and Reels are not competing features, and, in fact, work together well for brands that are invested in both.
Reels can be shared as Instagram Stories, which can be a powerful cross-promotional strategy to make sure your material is seen by as many of your followers as possible.
How to Make a Reel on Instagram
Reels on Instagram are easy to make; simply aim your phone’s camera at a subject and press record. With the channel’s creative tools, marketers can quickly create high-quality Reels. You access the button for posting a reel from the same navigation menu where you post regular Post and Stories content. That is where you come in. You may either record live content on the fly or record video from your phone utilizing this feature. Make good use of the timer to capture short spurts of hands-free film, and experiment with Instagram’s powerful editing capabilities to create seamless transitions, line up objects and backgrounds, join multiple clip videos together, and explore the Instagram music library to really help your video stand out.
If you’re looking to post produced videos, keep this in mind: lo-fi footage shot on your phone in the moment is often seen as more authentic by viewers and therefore performs better. You don’t have to break the bank or spend hours upon hours filming to create successful content – sometimes spontaneity is key!
Pro Instagram Reels tip: Aim for around 60 seconds. Just like on TikTok, people scroll quickly through short videos on Insta, so you need to hook them fast if you don’t want them to keep scrolling. It’s totally ok to post way shorter Reels than the max time!
How to Add Music to Instagram Reels
Select the music icon from the left navigation menu. Instagram will then show you a variety of top songs as well as original audio to use. You may also search for music that you’ve saved, or utilize the search button in the upper right corner to look for specific songs.
Read How to Find Trending Audio here
How to Add Effects to Instagram Reels
From the left navigation menu, select the icon represented by three sparkles. From there you can add branded or trending special effects to your Reel, or even alter its appearance in real-time using extremely popular AR effects. If you’re struggling to find a particular effect, don’t worry – you can also search for it directly from this page.
Instagram Reels Sizes and Dimensions
Reels are recorded in 1080p wide and 1920p long dimensions. Usually, your phone or Instagram camera will automatically adjust the size as you film. However, if you’re uploading produced video, then you’ll need to be aware of the dimensions of a Reel.
How to Access Instagram Reels Analytics
The Insights feature on Instagram provides Reels analytics to businesses and creators alike. In most situations, companies use a business account for their Instagram marketing campaigns. However, if you want to learn more about the slight discrepancies between these two types of accounts, be sure to read our blog post on Instagram creator accounts.
From your account, go to Insights and then Accounts Reached in the History section. You may examine the success of your Reels from there. Select the arrow to the right of your number of Reels to get even more detailed information on how particular Reels have performed.
How to Get Your Reels on the Instagram Explore Page
Instagram closely guards the secret to its algorithm. While we can only speculate what goes into making content that is served at the top of users’ Explore pages, there are a few best practices for successful content:
- Find the reels that your audience is most interested in, and utilize it when determining what to film next
- On Instagram, your primary demographic may be different than it is on TikTok; figure out who they are (for example, whether they’re likely to be older), and see if your brand needs to take a different approach to get them interested
- Encourage your clients to interact with your content and work hard to build an active community of users –– engagement is a strong indication for Instagram’s algorithm that Reels are worth sharing with more audiences, and great material has the potential to snowball into an overnight success
- Use popular, relevant tags to explain your material to Instagram’s algorithm, especially if you are targeting a specific group
- By using Instagram’s analytics, you can discover what part of your reach is from users who don’t follow you. Doing this will help show which content does better on the Explore page
Using Instagram Reels to Grow Your Business
Now that Instagram has more than 2 billion monthly active users, it’s a social media platform that your brand cannot afford to miss out on. Although Facebook still boasts the most significant number of monthly active users across all social channels, Instagram is quickly catching up and may even surpass Facebook in the near future
If you’re looking to refresh your brand’s presence on Instagram, Reels are the perfect way to do so. They departure from traditional features will helpBInvesting in this new format may feel like starting your Instagram presence from scratch, but it could be exactly what you need to gain some more followers
Reels, with its ability to create captivating short-form videos, may be what your brand needs to boost interaction
1. Use Instagram Reels in your Ad Strategy
Brands may use Instagram’s paid promotion features to get their Reels adverts in front of more people. They can be liked, saved, and shared just like any other piece of content.
The old-fashioned approach to generating brand awareness through your Reels is to purchase sponsored spots on Reels. The cost of a single ad, which runs for 30 days, is $1,000. This approach may help you use your best-performing Reels to reach out to more people and be discovered by those who have not heard of your company before. Advertisements for Reels may appear in the feed, on the Discover page, and in the Reels tab.
2. Provide Product Tutorials
The short-form video format is ideal for delivering product or service explanations that are succinct but effective. Makeup tutorials using company products are being produced by beauty companies, and consumer electronics companies are giving demonstrations of the newest technology. Reels are an excellent method to communicate your brand’s value proposition with new audiences, whether it’s a positive or negative element.
3. Give Sneak Peeks of Upcoming Launches and Sales
Instagram Reels are easy to share, and viewers enjoy feeling like they’re in the know. By using short-form video in your campaign strategy, you may entice your followers to engage with and spread your material by providing unique sneak peeks and teasers of upcoming releases, or product sales. The higher engagement Reels receive, the better they perform, therefore adding a hint of mystery can help your brand’s performance on the algorithm.
4. Partner with Instagram Influencers
Short-form video is all about the creators. Viewers prefer Reels with a human face, and by collaborating with creators that already have an engaged audience, your brand will benefit considerably as it enters the format. Creator partnerships take more legwork than typical influencer sponsorships because you are actually co-creating a video with a user, but the effort is well worth it.
5. Give a Behind-The-Scenes Look at Your Brand
Many brands are succeeding by having their employees participate in Reels, which gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the people who make up the brand. This is an opportunity for you to show your audience that there are real humans behind your business and form a deeper emotional connection with them.
Enjoy yourself while filming your Reels- don’t take them too seriously! The best content is almost always humorous and lighthearted. Be creative and film videos that will capture people’s attention.
