Instagram is celebrating the first anniversary of the launch of Reels. One year on, this feature has dramatically changed the marketing landscape on the platform, so we thought we’d give you the lowdown on how to use this feature to grow your following! 

Now used by 60% of businesses in 2021 as a marketing tool*, Reels quickly became a popular way to hone digital marketing efforts.

What Are Instagram Reels?

Reels allow you to create and upload short and engaging video clips with filters, text and music. Originally 15-30 seconds long, Instagram has now doubled the length to 60 seconds! 

Instagram users are able to post these on to their feed, Reels tab and story highlights. You can also access other user’s Reels by simply clicking on the Reels icon on the navigation bar.

Key Benefits of Instagram Reels

1. Spreads Brand Awareness

One of the great things about Instagram is that it can display information in bite sizes. As the average attention span of a human is roughly only 8 seconds long, Reel content is the perfect way to keep the attention of target audiences!

2. Better Explore Page Presence and Exposure

If you have an open Instagram account (as opposed to private), you get a promising opportunity to get featured on the Explore page. If you gain enough interaction – comments, likes, shares – Instagram will push you to the Explore tab where followers and other users have the potential to see your content. This enables brand awareness, as what you chose to feature in the video is gaining more exposure. If done correctly, this could easily convert into leads, from more users visiting your Page to make a purchase, sign up or undertake any other desired call to action for your business.

3. Boosts Engagement

As Reels are new, Instagram will do all that it can to promote it’s new feature among its users. By uploading a Reel to your account, it will most likely be pushed to the explore page, which will increase your engagement as it reaches more audiences than a stagnant image post on the feed would.

4. Easy to Create and Saves Time

Reels entails fewer steps to posting on the feed than a graphic. Unless you’re posting a selfie or photograph, you have to design a graphic, then transfer the file to relevant folders or to Instagram directly to upload it. When utilising Reels, the video is made on the platform, making them easy to create and saving time.

However, it is still important to make time to plan out your Reel content as you would with other social media posts!

5. Showcases Brand Personality

When creating Reels, your face and/or body is probably going to be in it. This enables you to showcase brand personality and connect with users in a more humanised way. Nowadays, consumers want a more personable experience, so businesses must work on creating relationships with consumers digitally in order to meet this demand… and Reels are a great way to do this.

6. Allows for Multi-Purpose Content

The good thing about Reels is that they are the same as any other content you create for Instagram, meaning you can repurpose it. Not only can you re-share it to your story at any time, or share it via direct message, you can save the video and post it on your TikTok account or stories across other platforms like Facebook. You can even add reels to your website or include them in a portfolio!

How AIS Marketing Can Help

Here at AIS Marketing, we can support you in learning, creating and posting Instagram Reel Content to your chosen social media platforms. If you would like to enquire about our services, please contact us here: https://ais-marketing.co.uk/connect/

*https://biteable.com/blog/video-marketing-statistics/

By Hannah Golding

Creating Reels

You might think you need access to lots of fancy paid-for apps to create a reel that will earn you a lot of engagement, but you’ll actually get the most engagement by creating your Reel directly through the Instagram app!

To create an Instagram Reel, start by selecting the ‘+’ icon at the top right of your Instagram Profile. 

Then select ‘Reel’. Here you will see lots of creative editing tools on the left-hand side of your screen to help make your Reel, such as:

Audio: You can search for a song from the Instagram music library. Alternatively, you can use your own audio by simply recording  Reel with it. If you share a Reel with your own audio, this audio will be attributed to you, and if your account is public, other users can create Reels with your audio by selecting ‘Use Audio’ from your Reel.

AR Effects: Here you can record multiple clips with different Instagram effects.

Timer and Countdown: You can record clips hands-free by setting the timer. Once you press record you will see a 3-second countdown before the recording begins for the amount of time you have selected.

Align: Line up objects from your previous clip before recording your next to help create seamless transitions between clips.

Speed: You can choose to speed up or slow down part of the video or audio you selected. This can help your video stay on beat or make slow-motion videos.

To record a Reel, hold down the capture button at the bottom of your screen. You will see a progress indicator at the top of your screen as you record, counting down the seconds you have left to record your Reel.

Keep in mind that Reels can be recorded all at once, in a series of clips, or even using video uploads that are already saved onto your mobile phone’s gallery.

When you are done recording, press the ‘Preview’ button. Here, you can add other effects to your videos like GIFs, stickers, text, music, and drawings using the icons in the top right-hand corner of your screen.

You can also select at which points in your video you want text to appear. Using the slider at the bottom of the screen can help you pinpoint your timings. For example, if you just want text to appear at the beginning of your Reel, set the slider so that it only covers the first few seconds of the video.

Sharing Reels

Once you are happy with your Reel, press the ‘Next’ button on the bottom right-hand side of your screen. Here, you can save a draft of your Reel, add a caption and hashtags, edit the video thumbnail, tag people, and select where you want your Reel to be shared. If your account is public, you can share your Reel to a dedicated space on the Explore page, where it has a chance to be seen by the wider Instagram community.

If your account is private, you can share your Reel with your followers, but users will not be able to use your original audio from Reels, and people will not be able to share your Reel with users who do not follow you.

You can also share your reel with your followers by posting it to your Instagram feed, which will appear under a new reels section on your Instagram profile.