Making an Instagram Reel — Our Top Tips
Back at the beginning of 2022, we talked about trends for that year, and one of them was video content in the shape of Instagram Reels (and TikToks). Well, we certainly weren’t wrong! Short video content is as important as ever on social media. But, while many of use accept we should be doing it, actually getting there is a different thing altogether. However, it doesn’t have to be difficult.
Most of us will have had a go with at least an Instagram Reel by now. So you’ll know that they are short videos, two minutes or less, usually filmed portrait, or in other words, with your phone upright. But are you posting them regularly? It’s a good idea to share a reel for every three or four static Instagram posts if possible.
Some ideas for what you could post about include: scenery from a weekend walk, your pet, local wildlife, your latest creation, what you’re currently working on, a tour of your premises, before and afters, boxing and/or unboxing and current weather conditions.
Part of the beauty of these suggestions is that, if you’re nervous about appearing on screen, you don’t have to yet. You might want to commentate in the background, but you can simply add a written explanation. As you grow more confident, you can start to appear in the videos yourself, even if it’s only briefly. Then you can also share top tips, stories about your working life, quick interviews with staff or customers, favourite things about what you do, responses to comments and general news and updates.
Once you’re confident with those things, move on to making sure you incorporate more strategic ways of delivering your content. So your video concept is the same, but you know what you can do to get it seen by more people. For example, you could deliver the same top tip as you did in an earlier video, but this time:
Get into the content more quickly using a good ‘hook’
Use several different camera angles
Speak more enthusiastically and genuinely
Choose a good ‘cover’ for the video
Add music in the background
Make text appear at specific moments and add special effects
If you’re currently panicking thinking ‘I don’t know how to do any of this’, it’s okay! They’ll come later as you get more familiar with creating and uploading your videos.
You’ll probably also learn some things that don’t work as well, for example we find videos created on an outside platform get less reach than those spliced together within the apps. You’ll also learn what your target audience wants to see from you, and what they don’t care so much about.
Once you’ve mastered making Instagram Reels on a regular basis, you may also want to consider creating a TikTok account for an additional platform to share your videos. If you’d like some help with creating Instagram reels or TikToks, or setting up an account, you know where to find us!