Struggling to create engaging Instagram Reels?
Don’t worry; you’re not alone. It’s a tough nut to crack.
Not only is Instagram overflowing with content from all over the world, but to succeed, you must be uploading consistently while improving your content’s quality the entire time and coming up with new and innovative ideas that will draw attention to your brand.
Nevertheless, growth is not impossible, and we’re here to help.
With these seven tips and tricks, you can unlock your Instagram Reels and create stunning content that connects with your audience.
#1 – Use Trendings Audio and Apps
First things first, use trending audio and apps to make your content more visible.
The term ‘trending’ refers to nothing more than a type of content that’s attracting a lot of eyeballs, and for a good reason.
It may be a type of content, like a challenge or style of video, or it may be a song, vocal clip, or dance that everyone’s jumping on board with.
Uploading trending content is one of the best ways to go viral, and the more eyes you have on your profile, the higher the chance you have of gaining followers and boosting your engagement.
Try TrendTok or ReelTrends to find popular audio tracks and add them to your videos as an easy way to get more views and engagement.
#2 – Use the New Instagram Template Feature
If you’re unsure how to edit your Reel videos, try the new template feature.
Remember back in the day when you had to time the beat of a song, so you knew when you changed to a new video clip to create a compilation Reel?
Nowadays, Instagram has saved us hours with their new Template mode.
It’s basically just a library of pre-edited templates where you choose your favourite and just add your best clips.
It’s a time-saver, and you’ll be amazed at the results.
#3 – Keep Your Reels Short and Sweet.
Short-form content platforms have upped their maximum video length limits over the years, with Instagram’s sitting at 90 seconds (15 minutes if you’ve uploaded via an Instagram Live), but you don’t need to use this entire time frame.
Video production is expensive and time-consuming, and if you get better results with a 5-second clip than you can a 90-second one, then you should absolutely be doing this.
Take a moment to think about how you interact with content when scrolling. We doubt you really even watch most videos past the five-second mark, so play on this and put all your value into that shorter time frame.
Short Instagram Reels still get great traction.
A study by Wistia found that videos that are 30 seconds or shorter have an average retention rate of 85%, while videos that are longer than 2 minutes have an average retention rate of 50%.
So, keep it snappy and make sure your viewers watch on a loop, spiking the algorithm and getting you seen by more people.
#4 – Research – Find Places of Solid Inspiration
Coming up with new video ideas is one of the hardest aspects of making content.
You never know whether an idea will work, whether it’s worth investing in, or whether you’ll get the results you’re aiming for.
Fortunately, you can streamline your process by researching.
Take time to look for inspiration from other creators, as it’s a great way to get new ideas and see what kind of content is working and what’s not. Be sure to save or bookmark the videos (or audio) so you can find it easily later!
Find accounts that are similar to yours and see what kind of content they’re posting. You can then aim to improve on what they’re doing.
But we’re not saying you should steal their work.
Be original and put your own twist on it.
#5 – Make Sure Your Reels are Vertical
We can’t begin to tell you how many Instagram Reels we see daily that are still stuck in the horizontal format.
It’s the worst, and if you’re uploading content like this, changing to the vertical format should absolutely be your number one priority.
When your video content’s vertical, your content takes up the whole screen and creates a full-immersion experience for your viewers.
Nobody wants to rotate their phone to watch your content, so save them the hassle.
#6 – Don’t Forget About TikTok!
Never just limit yourself to posting on Instagram Reels.
If you’re producing creative content and you’re optimising it for Reels, then it’s absolutely ready to post on TikTok, too, while requiring minimal effort.
Whatever kind of content you’re working with, sign up for TikTok, use the same strategies, and grow your following and online presence.
More eyeballs on your online presence means more engagement and higher levels of growth.
#7 – Use a Professional Video Service to Save Time and Improve Quality
If you’re not a video expert, then producing, editing, and uploading content can be rough.
It takes so much time, energy, equipment, and resources to invest in creating good quality content, and even if you’re just uploading casual chats or dances from your smartphone, there’s still a lot of work behind the scenes.
Sometimes, it’s better to stick with what you do best and instead outsource the hard work to the experts who know what they’re doing.
Here at Eldraw, we are such experts.
We handle every part of the video production process, including sourcing ideas, designing and recording the video, editing it, and delivering the final files.
For Instagram and TikTok, we also provide fully flexible social media content plans with a library of individual video clips ready to use. These clips are recorded and designed for your business, ready to go as and when needed.
That makes running your Instagram so much easier and can even deliver better results than ever!
So, there you have it, seven tips and tricks for creating Instagram Reel content that stands out from the crowd.
Be creative, try new things and see what works best for your brand. Remember to monitor your analytics to see what’s resonating with your audience and adjust your strategy accordingly.
And for the best experience, contact us today and let’s go out there and create some amazing content!