What are Instagram Reels?
Reels are vertical videos which can be up to 60”.
These videos can come either from “stitching” photos and videos that the user has taken at another time, or from a video that will be taken through the application and specifically in the environment of the reels tool.
“And how are they different from stories”?
One difference is that the reels of an account can be seen by anyone, whether they follow an account or not. Also, reels stay forever in the user’s account (and don’t disappear like stories) and finally marketers can target the audience that has seen them.
Also, the user can interact and the comments and likes he makes on them can be seen publicly.
(To put it bluntly, reels were created to counter Instagram’s TIK TOK rival awe)
How to make Instagram Reels
The easiest way is to press the familiar + at the bottom or top right of the screen and select Reels
But, before you start pushing buttons you should think about:
the audience you will address, so you can decide on the style of the video you will create: will it be casual, humorous, informative, …?the goal you want to achieve for your brand in order to decide on the content of the video: you want impact, interaction, traffic, presentation of company - products, ...the script of the video you will create: who & what is presented, what he says / shows, in what order. You will make a product presentation, behind-the-scenes, Q&A,... (see more ideas at the end of the article)
Best practices
After deciding the above, you create the video, either directly from the reels or using videos and photos that you already have on our mobile phone.
We can “dress up” our final creation musically with our own music (which others will be able to use for their own reels) or with music that we will find in the Instagram music library (you can also find trending music such as and TIK TOK).
Other options you have are the speed of the video and the well-known effects that we also know from stories.
After you finish with the creative part and make a preview, you choose the “cover” and write a sentence that describes the reel.
You can also share the reel on your Insta feed to increase exposure.
Another move to increase exposure is to tag another user and – if he accepts – the reel will also be seen by his followers.
From the best practices, the following could not be missing: do not use something you made on TIK TOK to upload a reel because the Insta algorithm will not promote it as much as a native video.
Speaking of the Instagram algorithm for reels, what is known to those who use social applies.
The algorithm "rewards" reels that:
- they have a lot of interactions (and therefore are original, impressive, provide some value or entertain users).
- They have music from the Instagram music library or original music.
- They use texts, filters and effects.
- They are uploaded directly from the reels
- They are vertical.
The algorithm "penalizes" reels that:
- They don’t have good resolution.
- They have too much text.
- Uploaded by other apps.
- They don’t meet Instagram’s criteria
Statistics for Reels
The statistics for the reels can be seen per reel or in total.
To see the statistics per reel you simply go to the reel for which you want to see the statistics (pressing the 3 dots and selecting “Insights”)
There you will find statistics for:
- How many times the reel “played”.
- How many accounts did it reach?
- How many likes, comments, saves, shares did it get?
Ideas for Reels to make
The theory is good, but let’s go into practice. Here I have the answer to the question that always hurts: “what reels should I make”?
As I explained at the beginning of the article, what has to do with creating content in any form must follow a strategy. Once you’ve set your strategy, here are some ideas for implementing it:
- Tell your story: who you are, what you have done in your life, how you faced obstacles and how you overcame them, what you have learned from your failures, how you achieved what you have achieved so far.
- Present your products / services: how you make them, why they are different, how they benefit your customer
- Show a “before and after”: how you turned an old piece of furniture into a new one, how you reconstructed a site, how you changed a space, …
- Show backstage (behind the scenes): what the chef does in the kitchen, how your graphic designers create, how you prepare a fitness program, how you inform the staff to welcome guests, …
- Give them an idea of something you are preparing (teaser is called in Greek)
- Take advantage of something hotly debated (nowadays mobile firewalls have a bright field of glory)
- Show your staff (this content is always a hit)
- Make “how to…” videos (yes, I get that this can be a bit time consuming)
- Answer FAQs (that’s easy)
- Upload evergreen (= always current) material
Did I convince you that you should use the reels? So get started.
Didn’t I convince you? Leave us your comments
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