Instagram reels is here. One of the most successful storytelling (video marketing) strategies has reached 120 million Indians since Tiktok is banned in India. India is ranking second with 120 Million users Instagram users.
The question here is, What do you create?
In today’s post, I am going to take you through the Instagram reels for business and why as a freelancer/business owner you should care about Instagram reels?
What is Instagram Reels?
As a business owner, you know that video content marketing is really a powerful source of organic traffic.
That too short video like TikTok’s resonated well with Indian audience. No pointing in beating around the bush- Instagram reels is a new addon that plays off TikTok, and it makes video creation much easier.
Instagram says, “We’re excited to introduce Instagram Reels: a new way for anyone–people, creators and businesses–to create and discover short, entertaining videos on Instagram.”
Reels – Short video with 15 to 30 second duration is the middle child between the IGTV and Instagram stories.
[elementor-template id=”238542″]
The Story Behind Instagram Reels:
If your Business plays well in Video on the existing platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, you will find a natural way home in Reels.
I can catch you, you might ask me as a Business owner, I already have so many tasks to do with Instagram. Instagram feed posts, Instagram carousels, stories, videos, IGTV, why should I create Reels now?
Vishal Shah, head product of Instagram in India, says
How to use Instagram Reels?
Like how the top performing posts go into explore page, the same way the top performing reels go in the explore page.
You can find reels in the separate reels tab, as shown in the image below. The reels are funny, creative and with more engagement gets in the top row. This is how you access this new feature.
Where are Reels located?
Reels have a separate tab in the latest version of Instagram. If you cannot find the reels tab as shown below, you need to update the app.
How do I interact with Reels?
You can watch and leave comments on the reels like you do for the other Instagram posts.
How can I add Reels to my stories?
The same paper plane (I mean the share button on Instagram) will do the job of sharing it in your stories.
How do I create a new Reel?
Like how you create a story, the same way you can create an Instagram reel. On the Instagram home page click your profile like you add a story and on the next right you can find reels.
There are editing tools to make your Reels creative. On the left of the screen, you will see Four action buttons: audio, speed, effects and timer tools. When you tap on the audio button, you can find Instagram’s music.
You can choose a part of a song or a full song and edit with the effects that are inbuilt with Instagram.
How businesses are leveraging Instagram reels for Business?
Before I share with you the exact reels strategy for your business, I wanted to let you know how top businesses are leveraging Instagram reels for business growth. As the Instagram algorithm boosts reels, to get more visibility and high number of followers, I recommend creating atleast 3-4 reels a week.
Brands leveraging challenges:
Starting challenges are fun and really engaging way with your audience.. star sports Tamil has started a challenge #mookumelaraja, and it went viral with more than 523k views..
Tutorials videos:
It’s true even a 15 or 30 second video that provides value or helps someone up lift their day is worth watching. For example, If you are an agency (a social media or a digital marketing agency) you can educate your clients about the benefits of your services. You can educate and let your clients know about your expertise.
Let’s say you are Freelance graphic designer, your reels content can be about
- How to design ads for FB- Successful FB ad designs
- Tips to create time saving FB ads
- Canva tips for designing – Since most of the non-techy designers are using canva like tools.
- AD designing strategies
- How to increase the click through rate of the ad.
Above is the examples of what you can do. Creations have no limits, so you can create anything interactive, brilliant and creative to showcase your expertise.
Teasers:
Short form videos are a great video content for trailers and teasers.
Top OTT platforms like Amazon and Netflix is using reels for releasing trailers, short videos, etc.
To endure your audience and pique their curiosity, trailers and teasers works well in reels.
Product showcase:
[elementor-template id=”238542″]
Fashion was a tremendous hit on Tiktok, with Fashion influencers, showcasing the products so well with transitions. It’s obvious that Fashion remains a hit in Instagram reels too.
Westside stores are using reels to showcase their products along with few influencer collaborations
It’s very clear that Westside stores know its audience and they work hard to give their audience what they want. Irrespective of the platform you use, you need to create the content that resonates well with the audience.
Instagram stories and reels are similar. But reels have more editing features compared to stories. So you have the option to share more energetic and vibrant videos through reels. The best part is that reels is not restricted to your followers alone and people can share it through the explore page
.
Collaborating with Influencers:
Most of the fashion and the beauty brands are already collaborating with the influencers. The word influencers means the people who can influence/entertain their audience.
Product Reviews/Client testimonials:
While educational content will showcase your expertise, product reviews and testimonials from the users will bring in the trust factor for your business.
For example, if you are someone selling digital or physical products online, adding or showing the reviews of your product will act as a trust factor for the new buyers. On reels you can create interactive content just by adding effects, music to create native looking content that entertains your audience.
You can even upload native user generated reviews.
You can turn your blog posts/ case studies into reels just by using the headlines/ sub headings. Which means you really don’t need any new content for your reels, you can always repurpose/ recreate your old posts/videos, etc.
Give your audience the peek behind the scenes:
Audiences always love to know what happens behind the scene in someone’s life- particularly the people whom they admire. It may be an influencer or an actor or an actress, etc.
If you are an agency – particularly an ad agency
you can show how you create ads.
How you write copy for your ads
How you film
How you edit your ads
These are evergreen, and people love to watch.
Suggested post:
Check out How you can create a seamless Instagram carousel with Canva.
Takeaway:
Time will tell how important Reels become to Instagram. If it’s as successful as Instagram stories, they may incorporate more Story features, and more robust analytics.Right now, there are only statistics that show the Number of views, comments, and likes. Did you enroll in my free Instagram course?