Scroll Stopping reasons why Instagram Reels need to be part of your social media strategy

Instagram has come a long way from the days of being a basic social media platform for users to share their photos with friends and family.

In fact, this year Instagram announced it’s a video platform, which means the app is putting all its video features first.

With videos (both short and long-form), Lives, Stories, and now Reels, it’s no secret many of us have feature fatigue because no sooner have you learnt the latest feature, there’s a new one.

However, Instagram’s latest feature, Instagram Reels, have gained huge momentum, thanks to influencers and celebrities jumping onboard the short-form, portrait, video trend.

Dubbed the ‘TikTok copycat’, Reels allow users to create 3-60 second videos created within the app, using a mix of text, music, stickers, and other special effects – like your own postproduction house without any of techy know-how.

But are they reely worth the hype? Read on to discover why Reels needs to be part of your business’ social media strategy.

1. Reels allow you to get discovered thanks to more exposure

If you didn’t already know, the Instagram algorithm favours early adopters of its new features, like Reels.

Currently, Instagram favours Reels by prioritising them in the newsfeed, giving them more exposure than regular posts, so your Reel will benefit from more engagement with likes, follows, comments, shares and saves than other post formats.

Choosing Reels over other post formats will also improve the discoverability of your page by giving it a higher chance of being shown in the dedicated Reels tab or Explore tab by users who don’t already follow you.

Test the theory yourself: Create and post a reel and compare the numbers you get a day after posting it against your other ‘in-feed’ videos.

2. Reels showcase your business’ values, authenticity and personality

When it comes to Reels, you want to forget about hard-sell marketing and think more about connecting with your audience authentically.

The point of using Reels is to present a “more human” side to your business or brand, with less polished but more engaging videos.

Reels are a great way to bring your voice and personality to the platform with short-form videos using a mix of text, music, stickers, and other special effects.

The result? Reels are a simple way to build genuine relationships and if you’ve read this blog already, you’ll know where you have the customer’s trust you can drive transactions.

Think like a content marketer: Be real with your audience by showing what goes on behind the scenes to showcase your product or service with a reel. And no, you don’t have to dance or look like a fruit loop to do so.

3. Reels allow for easy collaboration with other brands and influencers

If you’re getting bored of the same old ways of collaborating with other brands and influencers, you’re going to appreciate the creativity and fun you can have while making Reels.

Reels were invented out of an influencer-led trend itself, as Instagram continues to introduce new features to meet the rise of influencer marketing.

This has meant leading businesses are ditching the heavily branded content for lo-fi and relatable videos made by influencers, while simultaneously leveraging their audiences.

If you’re keen to do an influencer Reel collaboration, check out our top 10 tips for working with digital influencers here.

Find inspiration: Get a feel for what works by scrolling through the Reels feed on the Explore tab and looking at the Reels of other accounts or brands you like.

4. Reels promote your products and services differently

Not much in this life is free, but making a Reel is.

Finding originality and your niche on the platform is what engagement all boils down to and Reels are a great way to showcase your point of difference.

People who don’t follow you will see your Reels in the dedicated Reels tab and via the Explore tab, so make sure your video is eye-catching and celebrates your unique selling point.

Questions to ask yourself: What aren’t my competitors doing on Reels that I can? How can I show the difference in my product/service? What will my followers get while watching this Reel?

5. Reels are an easy way to position yourself as a thought leader

Creating educational content is one of the best ways to position yourself as a subject matter expert.

Anyone that stumbles across your Reels, whether on purpose or by default, and is educated by them is more likely to engage or want to see more of your business’ content.

Reels are a great way to share recommendations, FAQs, tips, how-to tutorials, previews to products and services coming up, announcements and news.

This is the kind of content your target audience will value and make them want to save, share, and engage with it.

Struggling with educational content ideas? See our cures for Instagram caption-block here.

Start content creating: Get an employee to answer one or more questions you’re usually faced with at work day-to-day. You’ll be pleasantly surprised with how much content you’ll come up with.

Until the next IG-feature release, happy creating!