In a world driven by visual storytelling, Instagram Reels have become a powerful tool for creators and businesses alike. These short-form videos offer a unique opportunity to engage your audience, showcase your creativity, and can even help to grow your following.
For brands, Reels are a great way to showcase identity, give a business some personality and provide added value to audiences in a way that may not translate in a static grid post. Not only does this help to attract new customers, with the algorithm favouring video content on the platform, but it’s brilliant for building trust and consumer loyalty through entertaining, inspiring, educational, and most importantly digestible content.
With millions of Reels being posted daily, it’s essential to stand out from the crowd. In this blog post, we’ll explore some effective tips on how to create better Instagram Reels for your business.
- Create original content
Creativity and originality are the key to success with Instagram Reels. However, with thousands of creators sharing to the platform every day, coming up with an original idea is harder than it looks.
Luckily, there’s no need for you to completely overhaul your planning process when it comes to Instagram Reels. Take inspiration from the content that you love as a user, or that you’ve seen gain the most engagement and put your own spin on the idea to create something fresh.
For instance, if you’re a travel brand, this could be a series of packing hacks (educational) or showcasing an amazing getaway set to trending music or with satisfying transitions (inspiring). The main thing to remember is to add value with your Reels.
- Start with a strong hook
Humans’ attention spans are drastically shrinking and nowhere is this more apparent than social media. If content isn’t engaging, users will flick straight past.
Avoid the ‘millennial pause’ or long-winded rambling intro. Instead, start your Reel with a strong hook, to entice viewers in, pique their curiosity and encourage interaction.
Choose something that will spark their attention and motivate them to keep watching.
Try starting with lines like ‘Did you know…’ or ‘The secret nobody wants you to know…’ to hook viewers in.
- Include on-screen text and subtitles
40% of video is watched without sound on Instagram, and an even greater percentage on LinkedIn and Facebook. 50% rely on captions meaning optimisation for silent viewing has never been more important.
Adding on-screen text and subtitles is a must for brands wanting to expand their reach to broader audiences across their social platforms.
Not only are subtitles helpful for people who like to watch content with the sound turned off, but it also shows a dedication to accessibility for people with hearing difficulties. In fact, more than 1.5 million people worldwide experience hearing loss, so increasing the accessibility of your Reels has never been more important.
Adding captions is easy – just tap the ‘Captions’ sticker in the Reels page of the Instagram app and wait for the audio to transcribe. You can then go back and edit the text to make sure that it all makes sense.
- Share reels to your feed
Sharing Reels to your Instagram grid is a sure-fire way to boost views, as it puts them in prime position for any users visiting your page.
If you want to post your Reel to your brand’s grid, but you are worried that it will ruin your carefully curated feed, then remember that you can upload an Instagram Reel cover image which maintains the overall aesthetic.
- Use music
The Instagram algorithm prioritises videos based on what it believes a user is most likely to interact with, and trending audio is perfect for stopping scrollers in their tracks.
Creating your own audio or add music from the Instagram music library to increase the reach of your reel.
Browse through the library to view a list of tracks curated for you or use the search bar to find specific songs. It’s also helpful to ‘favourite’ sounds which might work for your brand to build up a bank of audio that’s perfect for showing off your business.
- Engage with trends
Jumping on popular trends within the platform can be a handy way to engage audiences and join conversations that are happening digitally across the world.
Although trends are often short lived, the right level of involvement, at the right time can benefit a business by bumping up their followers while showcasing a relatable brand personality.
Remember, participate in trends only when it’s timely and where the trend can be made relevant to your brand so you can put your own spin on it.
- Analyse and iterate
Lastly, pay attention to the performance of your Reels. What have your audience engaged with? Is a certain style of content gaining the most traction? How long are people watching the Reel for?
Instagram Insights provides valuable data on views, likes, shares, and more – which can help you to answer these questions. Use this data to refine your content strategy and create even better Reels in the future.
Ready start creating Instagram Reels for your business?
Creating better Instagram Reels is all about finding a balance between planned creative content that established brand affinity and grows a follower base over time, and the more spontaneous reactive content that drives peaks of engagement.
By implementing these tips and continuously refining your approach, you can captivate your audience, develop your brand personality, grow your following, and make a lasting impact in the world of short-form video content.
If you’d like a hand developing your Instagram Reels strategy, get in touch at: [email protected]
