Instagram Reels is a new feature for the platform introduced in 2020. It allows you to create videos that are 3-15 seconds long with audio and effects and share them on the platform. You can create them within Instagram or upload a video you already have.
To create a Reel go to your profile, click the plus icon and select Reel. You can upload or record your video from here then add features to it. The Instagram music library has lots of songs you can add to your video, add different effects and change the speed of your video. You can add captions or hashtags onto your video to explain anything. People can interact with your Reel just as they would a post by liking, commenting and sharing.
Video content has become increasingly popular especially on social media. It’s a great way to tell your brand story, add personality to your brand and showcase what you have to offer.
Reels are everywhere on the Instagram platform and there’s a good chance you have already seen them and not realised. They can be found within the explorer menu and the video icon if people have shared them publicly or they can be on stories or your feed.
They are not just there to capture your pet or show off your dance moves you can use them in business as well. Things like a new product launch or tutorial guides can work well with Reels. People generally don’t read the caption under videos so if you have a call to action use it in your audio and text on your video but keep it short.
If you have a business account Reels are a great way to increase engagement with your followers and there are reports of people seeing higher engagement and increased followers through using these videos. Your videos go in the explorer page so people interested in your area and aren’t aware of your business could find you through your Reels.
You may see on some of the videos a TikTok logo that people have shared across platforms. Reels is seen as direct competition to the TikTok app and is Facebooks attempt to keep people within their app. The two do have similarities as they provide users with a creative space to produce and share videos with multiple effects and audio.
The main difference between TikTok and Instagram Reels is the length of the video – Reels being up to 15 seconds and TikTok being up to a minute. Also, TikTok is just about these videos whereas Reels is one feature within the Instagram app.
Another comparison is Instagram Reels Vs Stories. They do sound a lot like each other, but they are separate features, here are some differences. Reels offers more editing tools such as effects, speed control and aligning multiple clips. Reels can be uploaded to explorer and stories and a Reel stays visible whereas a story only lasts 24 hours.
So now you have a basic understanding of the new feature why not give it a try and see what you can create.
Want to learn more about Instagram?
Click here to read our Instagram stories guide.
Click here to learn how to create your Instagram brand identity.
Click here to understand how to increase your Instagram followers.
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