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!
Create Creative Original Content
Include Closed Captions
Remove the TikTok Watermark
Keep Your Captions Short and Sweet
Hop on Trends Fast
Share Your Reels to Your Feed
Optimize On-screen Text Placement
Find Your Niche and Post Consistently
Provide Value and Share Educational Content
Include Hashtags
Use Music From the Instagram Library or Create Your Own Audio
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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