Instagram Reels Hacks You Need to Know

Creating Instagram Reels for your brand or business can be one of the best ways to get more followers and engagement on Instagram — in fact, they’re a real growth hack right now!

1. Create Creative Original Content

2. Include Closed Captions

3. Remove the TikTok Watermark

4. Keep Your Captions Short and Sweet

5. Hop on Trends Fast

6. Share Your Reels to Your Feed

7. Optimize On-screen Text Placement

8. Find Your Niche and Post Consistently

9. Provide Value and Share Educational Content

10. Include Hashtags

11. Use Music From the Instagram Library or Create Your Own Audio

12. Share to Your Instagram Story

Our top 3!

Create Creative Original Content

If you want to show up on the Instagram Reels tab, creating original content is key.

With thousands maybe millions of creators sharing to Instagram Reels daily, thinking of original ideas is one tall order. The main thing is to create content that is educational or entertaining with your own unique twist.

Instagram has confirmed it prioritizes videos that aren’t visibly recycled from third-party apps, so creating original content in the Reels editor could also help boost your visibility.

Include Closed Captions

There’s no secret that creating video content, whether for Instagram Stories or Instagram Reels, is one of the best ways to make your content more accessible.

We know 85% of video on Facebook is watched without sound, so adding subtitles to your videos is a no-brainer when it comes to reaching more users.

Not only are subtitles great for people who watch without sound, but they’re invaluable for those with hearing difficulties.

Keep Your Captions Short and Sweet

There’s a time and place for long captions on Instagram (feed posts!), but because of Reels’ dimensions, short and sweet captions are the way to go.

When you share an Instagram Reel, the first line can be up to 55 characters. When you go over that amount, your caption is followed by “… more” for viewers to tap and read the rest.

And when they click on the “…more” button, the Reel won’t pause. Instead it opens up the caption, darkens the video, and makes it more difficult for your audience to read the text or see what’s happening in your Reel.

According to Instagram, brands and creators should post Reels that:

• Are entertaining and fun (i.e. delights people, grabs their attention, makes them laugh, or has a fun surprise or twist)

• Are inspiring (i.e. starts a trend that others can easily participate in)

• Use creative tools like text, filter, or camera effects

• Uses vertical video

• Use music from the Instagram music library and/or original audio you create or find on Reels

• Are experimental! Try something new, be yourself, and see what works for you

On the flip-side, Instagram advises that brands and creators should not post Reels that:

• Are blurry due to low-resolution

• Are visibly recycled from other apps (i.e, contains logos or watermarks)

• Are uploaded with a border around them

• Have the majority of the image covered by text

• Do not meet Instagram’s Community Guidelines

By following these Instagram Reels tips directly from Instagram, you’ll stand a better chance of hacking the algorithm, reaching new audiences, and increasing your follower count.

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