Whether you’re just getting started or are a creator superstar, here are seven tips to help you get the most out of your Reels.
1. Capture A Great Hook
Create value in the first 3-5 seconds.
Think about what your audience is interested in, and what can you say to get them interested.
Making a recipe? Kick off the video by telling or showing your fans what you’ll be making. Talking about your favourite restaurants in the city? Dive right in with “here are the five best restaurants in Toronto,” so your audience knows exactly what to expect.
2. Get N SYNC’d
Can you imagine if the audio in movies were always delayed by a half second? No thanks, that’s not a world we want to be a part of.
Sure, this is Instagram we’re talking about, not Hollywood. But the difference between a good creator and a great one can be how in sync their content is. So go ahead and spend that extra few minutes to sync your video, the timing of your on-screen text, and your transitions, with your audio.
3. Keep It Short
Attention spans are short (so bravo for still reading).
The sweet spot in your video length can depend on the content you’re creating and is usually between 7 to 20 seconds. When in doubt, keep it under 30! Just because you can publish Reels over 60 seconds, doesn’t mean you should. Test videos at different lengths and report on where the sweet spot of your content is so you know just how long (or short) of a video to create.
4. Keep It Interesting
Great content should be at the core of your social strategy and provide some sort of value to your audience. Your content should fall under at least one of the following four categories:
- Entertain: Red Bull are the experts at this. Do they post about their product? Rarely. Instead, they show entertaining content that’s of interest to their audience like adrenaline-boosting extreme sports. Emotional content (content that makes you laugh, cry, swoon, gasp, or all of the above) is likely to create a deeper relationship with your audience and have higher engagement.
- Educate: This is usually less emotional than entertaining content and aims at helping your audience solve challenges they might be struggling with or teaching them something new.
- Inspire: Content that is intended to motivate your audience. Think, fitness influencer or lifestyle guru.
- Convince: Looking to sell a product, support a local business, or get followers to tune in to your next live? This type of content is when you want to convince users of something specific.
5. Get Savvy with Instagram’s Tools
Bust out that Instagram toolkit and get working! Instagram’s features are there for a reason, and it’s time to familiarize yourself with them. Check out the below video to learn more about toolbar features, in-app editing, audio tips, and remixing reels.
6. On Screen Captions
Instagram loves accessibility, so take the extra minute and add captions to your posts. You may be missing out on a huge potential audience by excluding captions. In fact, a study in the US found that:
- 69% of users view video with sound off in public places and 25% watch with sound off in private places.
- 80% of consumers are more likely to watch an entire video when captions are available.
- 50% of consumers say captions are important because they watch video with sound off.
7. Use the RIGHT Audio
Does trending audio make a big impact on your content?
Have you ever watched a Reel – the whole Reel, not just the first few seconds – then notice videos with the same audio start popping up all over your feed? Instagram considers content you engage with in its algorithm to know what to show you next. So, if you’re using a trending song, users who engage with content that features that song may have a better chance of seeing your content too if your content is performing well.
Instagram’s algorithm works by first pushing your content out to your most engaged audience, followed by audiences similar to those viewers, and then uses your hashtags, keywords, and audio to push it out even further (if it has passed the performance test from the first two audiences).
The main takeaway? Trending audio can be helpful but will only support your content if it’s already performing well. So, focus on making your content great and don’t expect the audio to do all the heavy lifting.
Bonus Quick Tips
You know that feeling you get when you order a dozen donuts, and they toss in a few extra? Yeah, we love that too. So here are a few extra tips to add to your Reel checklist:
- Just the right size. Make sure all your Reels are formatted in a 9:16 ratio (1808 x 1920 px).
- Create organic content. Instagram prioritizes videos that aren’t visibly recycled from third-party apps. So remove that TikTok watermark before posting.
- Share Reels to your feed. This one may seem obvious, but when posting, make sure you opt to share your Reels to your Instagram feed.
- Hashtags: Include relevant hashtags in your Reels. If it’s not relevant, don’t include it! Click here to make sure your hashtag strategy is up to date.
- Be creative with your captions: Instagram will read the caption of your post to understand the content and decide who to share it to. So be as descriptive as possible while being fun and engaging with your audience.
Now that you’re a Reels expert, we want to see what you’ve got! Tag us in your next Reel @SamuraiMediaOfficial so we can show your post some love.
What Platforms To Best Market Yourself On and Your Brand: (Part 2)
Discover how to reach new audiences with your niche on Pinterest, YouTube, and LinkedIn!
What Platforms to Best Market Yourself on And Your Brand: (Part 1)
Let’s explore how you can make the most of your digital presence and reach your goals.
Decoding The Social Media Puzzle: Where To Post Content
You work hard on creating your content, and to get the best results from it, we want to make sure you are posting it to the social media platform that will have the most success. Find out more to receive all the knowledge!
