Reel in Your Audience with Instagram Reels
Reel in Your Audience with Instagram Reels
How to and the 7 Best Practices for Creating an Engaging Instagram Reel
Instagram Reels have taken over the platform since their launch in 2019. They are engaging, authentic, and drive viewership to a brand’s or individual’s page. Don’t let your Instagram game fall behind by learning how to create an Instagram Reel and how to do so successfully!
How to Create an Instagram Reel
Once in Instagram, click on the Instagram story camera menu and scroll until you see “Reels”
Choose your music/audio. On that screen, you’ll find the music icon which will allow you to choose a background track for your reel. Music keeps the reel engaging and audiences wanting more. Be sure to select the best track to accompany your content.
Start recording your video! Press and hold the record button to record your content. You can press and hold multiple times to create multiple clips based on your content. Just remember: Instagram Reels has a max time of 60 seconds.
Edit your clip. To watch, trim and delete your recorded videos, tap the back arrow to the right of the record button. You can then press each clip and trim using the scissors feature.
Add text and features. Once you’ve recorded and edited your video, you can draw, add text, or use stickers to continue incorporating your content.
Best Practices for Instagram Reels
Authenticity
Being authentic is key in today’s society. People want to watch things they can relate to and don’t just want to be “sold to.” Create your reels by thinking about your audience and how you can relate to them. This will help you create authentic content that will engage your target audience.
Individuality
While it’s fun to be part of the newest trend, it’s also important to be individualistic. Incorporate your brand and what your mission is to make your reel stand out from others. Put your own spin on that new trend or stand out by doing something different. Who knows, maybe you’ll start the next new trend with your unique content idea!
Embrace Humanity
Just like being authentic, audiences want to engage with brands that are humanized. Feature employees in videos or have a face behind your brand. Create reels and content that is relatable and human so that you’re not “just a brand.” Have a voice and represent the people behind the brand.
Creativity
Why can’t it be your company that comes up with the next trend? Be creative and think outside the box. Come up with unique ideas that maybe haven’t been done before. People are always looking for something new, so give them what they want!
Comprehension
One of the best ways to make your reel more understandable is to use text and closed captions. By doing this, your audience will be able to engage with your video even if they don’t have audio turned on. You can do this by adding text or by using the closed caption sticker!
Consistency
Instagram loves consistent posters because it gives them more content for their users. By posting consistently, you’ll have more of a chance of being featured on the explore page, which brings you more viewers!
Share Your Content: Share your reel on your Instagram feed and on your story. This gives your audience more of a chance to see your content, which ultimately creates more engagement!
Analyze
Don’t forget to analyze your results! After each reel you create, you have the ability to see how many impressions it got and how many people engaged with your reel. Taking a look at those analytics will help you figure out what’s working and, more importantly, what’s not. This allows you to experiment with your content and cater it to what your audience enjoys engaging with.
No matter what your niche is, Instagram Reels is a great way to continue driving engagement on your social media. Just be authentic, be creative, and keep posting!
Written by Alyson Huth