On 5 August 2020, IG announced a new feature for its platform – Instagram Reels. Reels allows users to record and edit 3 to 30-second video clips with effects, audio, and other creative tools. You can share the reels with your followers and with the global Instagram community through a new location in Explore.
What are Instagram Reels?
Instagram Reels gives users a new suite of tools to cut and edit 3 to 30-second videos with text, music, stickers, and other special effects.
The reels update also includes a dedicated path for sharing and searching for short clips. Like Tiktok’s ‘For You’ page, users can access the never-ending reels feed on the Explore page by tapping the reel at the top of the screen.
Reels joined Instagram’s arsenal of video types, with 15-second temporary videos in Stories, one-minute videos posted to the grid, and longer videos accessed via IGTV.
Outside of being a competitor with TikTok, Reels’ primary purpose is to entertain its userbase. Instagram understands that this is a popular feature on another platform, so they wanted to integrate it.
How to Create Reels on Instagram
Select Reels at the bottom of the IG camera. A variety of creative editing tools at the left side of your screen will be displayed to help you create your reel video:
- Countdown and Timer: Set a timer to make any of your clips hands-free. Once you press record, you will see a countdown of 3–2–1 before recording the time you have selected begins.
- Audio: You can search for a song from the Instagram music library. You can only use your original audio by recording reels with it. When you share a reel with the original audio, your audio will be responsible for you. People can create a reel with their audio by selecting “Use audio” from your reel video if you have a public account.
- AR Effects: You can also select one of the many effects in our effects gallery, created by Instagram and creators worldwide, to record multiple clips with various effects.
- Speed: Choose whether to speed up or slow down the part of the video or audio you choose. It can help you stay on a beat or make slow-motion videos.
- Align: Before recording your next clip, align the objects from your next clip to help create a smooth change to change the outfit or add new friends to your reel.
How to Share Reels on Facebook
If your account privacy is public, you can share your reel in a dedicated space in explore, where it can be viewed and searched by the broader Instagram community. You can also share your reel video with your followers by posting it in your feed. When you share reels with specific audio, hashtags, or effects, your reel can still appear on dedicated pages whenever someone clicks on that audio, hashtag, or effect.
When you share your reel, it stays on a separate reels tab on your profile, where people can find reels you have shared. If you share your feed, your reel will appear on your primary profile grid. Whether you have a public or private Instagram account, you can share your story with your reel. If you choose to do so, your reel will behave like a regular story – these reels will not be shared in Explore, will not appear on your profile, and will disappear after 24 hours.
Why Reels Matter for Your Business
The reels have excellent visibility. The top video on many “explore” feeds is currently almost always reels content, displayed much larger than the rest of the posts on the page.
Also, Instagram reels are a fun, great addition to Instagram. However, remember that it is a part of the platform itself. Stories can be more effective in connecting with your audience.
If you want to reach more users with Tiktok style content, by all means, make reels, but go ahead to Tiktok as well. In many cases, users are reposting TikTok videos on Instagram, including Reels. So, if the reels are not for you, take a deep breath and don’t worry. Facebook is here with its brand new cool feature!
Instagram’s parent company Facebook has allowed Indian creators to share their content of the reels on Facebook accounts, resulting in higher visibility and reach. The move aims to promote the reels in a big way. The Instagram reels, launched in July 2020, have made significant strides, especially in fashion and lifestyle, beauty, personal care, food and beverages, and travel categories.
Brands are jumping on the reels due to its ability to engage and be discovered. The best brands now feature trending content and are also tapping into prevalent challenges uniquely and authentically for their brands.
With the expansion of reels on Facebook, advertiser interest and investment will increase as more people can see branded content. Recently, data shared by the Government of India has shown that Facebook has approximately (410 million) users in India, compared to Instagram (210 million).
“One of the investment areas for Facebook as a company is in security and integrity. We have invested billions of dollars over the years to make these systems state-of-the-art. The advantage is that Reels will use all these existing systems from day one. This is an ever-evolving space, with technical content in video improving with machine learning and artificial intelligence,” said Vishal Shah, vice president of product, Facebook.
Facebook has additionally provided these keynotes to leverage Instagram videos on their platform:
- Think about each of your steps to create a storyboard or visual plan for what you will capture
- Add a bold movement to help get your video out.
- Use the eyedropper tool to match your brand’s colors to your copy.
- Save your reels to your phone as you cannot promote reels directly to Instagram. When setting up your advertising campaign, upload videos through the promote feature.
Including reels in your Facebook marketing approach can also have a significant impact on your overall IG performance. With Facebook promoting reels, many business accounts have reported overall growth in their stats. Hence, many of them are including reels in their strategy.
Research your niche, incorporate these tips, then create your own Facebook-Reels marketing strategy from there. If you want to leverage Instagram to get more leads for your business, write to us. Our Instagram Marketing Experts will give you a free consultation regarding the same.