How do you feel about reels? I know they can be scary or overwhelming, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create them. Just start and I promise you it will become easier and dare I even say fun! Here are 6 tips for creating reels that will grow your business and new easy reels trends you don’t want to miss. Seriously, this is a good one.
I know tons of reels out there include dancing, but you do not have to dance to make a good reel! The key to making an awesome, engaging reel is to be true to who you are and who your brand is. If you’re not a dancer, then don’t dance! Do what feels good and natural for you and run with it. Your people will show up and love what you have to offer.
If you’re new to creating reels or if you’ve yet to make one, it can seem like a lot to actually go through the process to make one, but I promise it’s a lot simpler than you think. And this post is definitely going to help you out because it includes everything you need to know–hacks, examples, and the best tips for creating meaningful reels to grow your following and business. Let’s jump right in!
6 Tips for Creating Reels That Will Explode Your Biz
OK, we have to talk about these tips for creating engaging reels before we talk about the 3 new easy reels trends you don’t want to miss. I know, I’m really building up the suspense. But these 6 tips are key to creating an effective reels strategy for growing a long-lasting business! So, make sure to soak every bit of this post in and come back to it when needed!
Instagram Reels Tip #1: Start Creating Reels Right Now
I’ve talked about this before, but reels is unique to the rest of the algorithms on Instagram. Reels is the one way you can get your content in front of people who do not follow you. That is the main reason why reels are so effective–that, and people love short video clips. If you’re serious about wanting to grow your online presence then you need to get out of that comfort zone and make some reels!
Instagram Reels Tip #2: Stay on Brand/Create Niche Content
Make sure every single reel you make is on brand with the services you provide/products you sell. If you’re a photographer and you create a reel about how to do a certain dance move, that doesn’t make sense. Even if that reel goes viral, you won’t get the right audience following you because that reel isn’t the type of content you’re usually posting. Plus, all those new people who follow you aren’t necessarily interested in photography, they are interested in dancing, so those followers would be less likely to purchase your products.
I have people message me all the time who say, “Michelle, I just went viral, now what?” And it’s because they may have posted a reel with trending audio and now they suddenly have tons of followers–but they went viral on a video that they don’t normally post content about. While it’s exciting to go viral and gain a lot of followers quickly, you want to make sure you are strategic about how it happens because that’s what will give you a long-lasting business.
That’s why it’s important to ensure every single reel you create is connected to what you offer in your business. This will ensure you reach your target audience and connect with those who want to listen to you and purchase your products. Create reels that will help you gain followers who will actually propel your business forward–not just followers to increase your numbers.
Biz Pro Tip: The more you niche down, the better. Here’s a blog post that explains it HERE.
Instagram Reels Tip #3: Follow Instagram Guidelines
Make sure you’re talking about appropriate things in your post. The reality is you don’t own your followers or your platform on Instagram. You are under their rules, so you have to follow them, even if it’s frustrating sometimes. (That’s why I always say you need an email list!) You can read more HERE about certain restrictions Instagram has on posted content.
Instagram Reels Tip #4: Create Original Content
Instagram favors original content. They are searching for creators who are the trendsetters–not just the ones who are copying already viral content. While you should take advantage of trending audio and things like that, make sure you also have original content creation as part of your strategy. Instagram will prioritize original content and push that out more.
Instagram Reels Tip #5: Create Engaging Reels
According to Instagram, an engaging reel includes three things:
- Short
- A Hook
- No watermark
If you are creating content on TikTok or Pinterest and bringing that content over to Instagram, you need to make sure you’re taking the watermark off before posting it.
The easiest way to remove a watermark from your video:
- Go to snaptik.app if you’re bringing the video from TikTok or snapinsta.app if you’re bringing it from Instagram.
- Paste in your video link.
- Download the video and save it without the watermark.
- Use the newly downloaded video on your other social media platforms.
Instagram Reels Tip #6: Create Search-Optimized Content
Instagram is becoming more of a search engine. I have a blog post HERE to explain all the ways you can make your content more SEO-friendly on Instagram. Using these SEO tools will help boost your content and make it more searchable and easier for your target audience to find you. This will make a huge difference!
3 New Easy Reels Trends You Don’t Want to Miss
Trending Reel #1
A video of you doing some type of chore or task with a caption of a quote or instruction, using trending audio. It lasts only 6-7 seconds. Here’s an example.
This one is where you’ll get the most bang for your buck because you hardly have to do anything to create this one. You can even use stock video if you want to. Canva is a great resource for stock video but I personally use Haute Stock and love it! Use code MICHELLE to get 15% off.
Trending Reel #2
A compilation video A.K.A. “a day in the life.” Here’s an example.
This is where you take short clips of what you do throughout your day and compile it into a quick video. It can also be a compilation of several short clips over an extended amount of time. You can either post a quote over it, similar to the idea in the first trending reel I mentioned, or you can teach something. Think of a simple 3-step lesson you can teach your audience that’s connected to your brand.
People just like seeing what other people are doing throughout their day, so people will naturally be interested in this type of video people and stick to the end. It also shows glimpses of how you are a real person which helps your audience connect with you.
Trending Reel #3
A talking head video. Here’s an example.
This one is pretty straightforward. It’s where you are sitting and looking head-on at your camera as if you are talking to an audience and teaching them something. You’re going to find industry leaders doing these types of videos more and more because Instagram favors this type of original content.
These types of reels should be to the point, hook you in, and teach something in a minute or less, and they are jam-packed with information.
Bonus Hacks for Creating Reels
- Attach trending audio to your reel, but turn the volume all the way down and instead use the original content you’ve created for the reel. This is just one more way for your video to get exposure because it’ll now pop up if someone is searching for content with that trending audio in it.
- Edit out every single second of breaths or pauses. If you take an initial breath at the start of your video, edit that second out. You want to use every single second engaging your audience, so if you’re taking a second to pause or breathe in the video then that’s another second that you may lose your viewer. Don’t worry so much about this when you’re actually filming–just make sure to edit it out afterward so it’s as short and engaging as possible.
- Always start with a hook in the first 3 seconds. Tell people why they want to stay for the entire video.
How to Get People to Stay Engaged for the Entire Reel
- Change the angle every 3 seconds.
- Use the app Caption. This app is what allows you to put captions up on your videos, and you can choose what you want them to look like. My favorite caption is the one that highlights every fifth word. This is just another way to catch your audience’s attention and keep them engaged.
- Use the app InShot to edit your reels and videos before you upload them to Instagram. This app makes it super quick and easy to edit out those seconds of pauses I mentioned earlier!
This process may seem like it takes forever to do, but it’s actually so quick. Once I record my video, I upload it to Caption to get the captions on there and then I upload it to InShot to edit out all the pauses. And then I upload it to Instagram. This editing process should only take you a few minutes. And if it’s taking you a bit longer than that, remember you’ll get a lot faster as you keep doing it!
3 New Easy Reels Trends You Don’t Want to Miss
I can’t wait for you to get started on these 3 new easy reels trends you don’t want to miss. As you’re creating reels and your reels strategy think about what kind of video content you’d want to see and what your audience would save and share. Shift your mindset from “What type of content should I create?” to “What type of content does my audience need?”
Can you notice the energy shift there? One comes from a place of uncertainty and loss of control and the other comes from a place of confidence and strategy. Being in that positive creator mindset will help you create better content for your audience and you’ll see the results you want rather than guessing through all of it wondering when your hard work will finally pay off.
I want you to become a reels rockstar, and you totally can. Just start, and then keep going. And I am here for you every step of the way! Make sure you are following me on Instagram @iammichellegifford and sign up for my email newsletter so we can stay connected and you can get the best info for your business sent right to you!
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