Is there any more to Instagram?. Instagram keeps bringing in new features and innovations to give businesses the best tools to grow their business. This innovation with Instagram reels is disrupting the way brands have been promoting themselves on Instagram and to put your brand forward, you have to learn how to use the Instagram reels feature to grow your business.
Your post on Instagram can appear in 4 places;
- Feed
- Stories
- IGTV
- Reel
For this article, we would focus on how to maximize the Instagram reels feature to grow your business
What is an Instagram reel?
Instagram reels are full-screen vertical videos made up of audio clips and visual effects that you can create and post on Instagram to promote your brand.
Instagram reels allow you to share short video clips up to 15 seconds long with all the users of Instagram, not just your audience. One good thing about Instagram reels is that it offers your brand a wider reach. It can be discovered easily which will help your audience grow.
You can find the reels feed on the Instagram explore page and when you share reels featuring certain songs, hashtags, or effects, your reel will also appear on dedicated pages when someone clicks on that song, hashtag, or effect.
See Instagram reels as a combination of both stories and in-feed post feature where you can add effects just as in stories and also post on your feed. It has a similar format to TikTok videos.
How does the Instagram reels algorithm work?
Users see reels not only from the accounts they follow but from all Instagram accounts on the reel tab.
Instagram shows reels to users based on the content they have interacted with before alongside that of the brands they follow.
Instagram reel algorithm will also register certain actions on your reels and either promote these reels or bring them down. These actions include
- If people are zooming your reel
- If they stayed longer on it
- If they shared, saved, archived, etc.
You should make your reels in such a way that the algorithm will favor you for good. You should do this by creating the kind of reel content that people will love, study reels that work, learn one or two things, and apply them to yours. Don’t put yourself in a box, explore the Instagram reels terrace and take advantage of what’s working.
How to make a reel on Instagram
Making a simple Instagram reel is not so technical. Unless you’re creating an advanced reel with multiple features, you can make your first reel with these steps;
- On the plus icon. Tap ‘reels’
- Choose your media or record through the camera
- Add music to the footage by tapping the audio icon and searching for a song from the Instagram music library. You can also use your original audio and you can choose the part of the song you want to use.
Note that when you share a reel with original audio, your audio will be attributed to you, and users can create their reels with your audio.
- Edit our reel by exploring the different editing features and effects that Instagram reel has to offer. You can raise the speed of your video from the default(1x) up to 5x.
- Once you’re satisfied, click add. You will have the option to share to feed or leave on the reels page.
Sharing your feed is ideal because it will give more people, especially your followers to see your reel and interact with it.
Benefits of Instagram reels
The primary benefit of reels is brand awareness. Instagram reels will give your content a chance to be shown on the explore or reels page.
Instagram reels are also a way to add variety and spice to your content formats.
Instagram reel content ideas to grow your business
- Share your behind the scene
Tou can share what is going on in your brand with reels. These can include events your brand organized, an inhouse party, a celebration of a win, brand meetings, client meetings, etc. this is a good way to show the humanity of your brand and connect with your audience.
- Tips and advice
These tips and advice could be based on what your brand is about. You can also caution people on things to avoid. Most of the time, reels that contain educational content get the win.
For example, at socialander, we leverage our Instagram to share tips on digital marketing with our audience.
- Share your story
Reels can be a good way to share your story so people could hear and connect with you. You can also share your recent works as reels, they’re all part of your story.
- Answer a FAQ
You can answer a popular question on your Instagram reels. These questions could be about your services or any other thing related to your industry.
- Showcase your products
You can also showcase your products on Instagram reels. People would love it when you arrange your products beautifully in a reel.
- Announce your sales and offers
Reels can also be used to promote your brand. You can creatively announce sales and share offers with your reels.
- Customer reviews and testimonials
Your customer reviews and stories can also come in the form of reels. With that, it gets more views and attention.
- Repost stories as reels
You can bring all your favorite stories together and repost them as reels.
Tips to make your reels go viral
Although reels are easy to be found, these other actions can put your reels in the best place
- Add attention-grabbing hook
When you start your reels with something interesting, more people would be drawn into it giving it the potential to go viral. Always be intentional about the first few seconds of your reel because it would determine if people watch till the end.
- Include engaging effects
People are more drawn to beautiful and engaging visual effects. There are a ton of effects to choose from in the Instagram reels feature. It is left for you to get creative and choose something that will appeal to your viewers.
- Include a strong call to action
Use your CTAs to make your audience perform certain actions on your reel. It could be to like, comment, answer a question, share, save, etc. once people are reacting to your reels, the Instagram algorithm will pick it up and prioritize that reel to more viewers.
- Add hashtags
Hashtags will allow your Instagram to show your reels to users who are already interested in your content.
Be creative and intentional with your hashtags, learn about the best hashtag strategies and apply them to your reels game.
- Post on the perfect timing
There are best times to post on Instagram for better engagements and you should note these times and take advantage of them. Posting your reels at the time most people are online will boost your engagements and make your content go viral.
- Use trending songs
This is the real deal. Using trending songs that people love will get the most attention.
Keep that in mind while making your reels and be intentional about your sound.
Use songs that youre sure people will love and vibe to and watch your reels go all the way.
FAQs on how to use the Instagram reels feature to grow your business
Should you use reels for your business?
Reels has proven to be most effective on Instagram. If you want to reach more people for your business, you should add reels to your digital marketing strategies.
Do Instagram reels help your business grow?
It is easy for Instagram reels to go viral. This is because reels are more optimized for virality than other content formats.
Are reels good for small businesses?
Yes, Instagram reels are best for small businesses to grow their audience and reach more people.
Do Instagram reels increase engagements?
Instagram reels will increase the engagements you get for your page.
Once the reel has the content that people like and there is a strong call to action telling them to engage, you would experience a high engagement on that reel.
Should you post reels every day to grow your business?
Instagram recommends that you post frequently to establish your brand in the minds of your audience. With this in mind, it is ideal to post at least once every day if you want to grow your brand.
Posting reels every day would help you grow your business.
How do you avoid copyrights laws on your Instagram reels?
You will encounter copyright issues when you use copyrighted music or post someone else reel on your page. You can avoid this by giving credits to song owners or using free music.
Also, check out our post on how to use music in ads to get more insights on this subject.
Reels or IGTV, which is better?
The reel is better for brand awareness while IGTV is better for educational content.
The video format you choose for Instagram will depend on your goals and what you want to achieve with your content.
You can always combine them both.
How do you increase your reels views?
The first thing is to create quality reel content, then add a strong CTA to encourage engagements on your reels.
replying to the comments on your reels and engaging with other people’s reels will also get you discovered.
Can you advertise on Instagram reels?
Yes, you can advertise with Instagram reels. Instagram reel advert is one of Instagram’s ads placement.
Is there any disadvantage to using Instagram reels?
Reels will only be a disadvantage when the wrong reel goes viral and gives a bad PR to your brand.
You should plan and execute your Instagram reels carefully just as you do your other digital marketing strategies.
What next on using Instagram reels to grow your business?
While you have learned how to use the Instagram reels feature to grow your business, it’s time to start posting Instagram reels for your business today. Go on and post a reel!
Also, keep testing other content formats. Don’t ditch your other digital marketing strategies while you’re working on your reels. If you can’t handle all of them together, you can contact socialander for help with our social media and other digital marketing activities.
Book a free strategy session with us, let’s know how we can help you.
