10 Ideas for Instagram Reels
How can I use Instagram reels to help my business?
Instagram reels have been dominating the Instagram algorithm for months and if you are starting your account they may seem intimidating. Here are some ideas to help you create amazing Instagram reels for your business or personal brand.
1. Show off your products or services in action
Use Instagram reels to create short, attention-grabbing videos that are 10-15 seconds long that showcase your products or services in action, and highlight their features and benefits. The attention span of your viewers isn’t long as they are scrolling through, so make sure you provide snappy “to-the-point” content and have a link in your bio or expanded posts where they can see more if they want a deep dive after watching the reel.
2. Share behind-the-scenes content
Instagram reels provide a unique opportunity give your followers a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes at your business. You could share videos of your team at work, or give your followers a sneak peek at a new product or service you're launching, share the product photoshoot or testing. Research shows that people want to see the imperfections and you trust the content that is “unpolished” more than brands who strive to appear flawless.
3. Teach your audience something new
Use Instagram reels to share tips, tricks, or tutorials that can help your audience learn something new or improve their skills. Some examples include reels that have “what I wish I had known when…”, “5 things you didn’t know about…” and similar hooks.
4. Show off your creative side
Instagram reels is a great platform for sharing creative content, such as short films, animations, or music videos. Use it to showcase your talent and creativity, and engage with your audience in a fun and interactive way. Get inspiration from other creators and see what works for other bigger accounts, then put your spin on it. Follow the trends and join in to showcase your products, services, and most importantly how you do things differently and what sets you apart from others.
5. Share user-generated content
Instagram reels can help you showcase user-generated content, such as photos or videos that your customers or followers have shared with you. This can help you build trust and credibility with your audience, and show off their experiences with your products or services. Screenshot stories and testimonies from your customers using your product and create a video collage highlighting your unique selling points (USPs) in a unique way. This will also help you learn about the languauge your customers use to talk about your products and services. Use that knowledge to include these words and phrases in your further advertising.
6. Create a challenge or a giveaway
Instagram reels is a great platform for creating challenges or tags, where you invite your followers to participate and share their own content. Create a challenge or tag and encourage users to participate by offering exposure if you’re a bigger account or a giveaway regardless of your accounts size. People love free stuff! If you are providing services, you can offer a free consultation, training session, or a service adjacent product such as a shampoo if you’re running a hair salon or a mascara if you are a make up artist. You can even reach out to other brands and see if they would collaborate on a giveaway. This can help you generate engagement and buzz around your brand, and introduce your content to a wider audience. Don’t forget, that any challenges or giveaways must have simple, specific rules and aid in promoting the brand by tagging your account in their posts or tagging some friends who may not be aware of your brand and services.
7. Promote your other social media channels
Use Instagram reels to promote your other social media channels, and encourage your followers to follow you on other platforms such as Facebook (Meta), LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube etc. This can help you expand your reach and build a more loyal and engaged following across all of your social media channels. Let people know what exclusive content they can find on your other channels and provide a little teaser to get them hooked.
8. Collaborate with other users or influencers
Instagram reel are great for collaboration, and you can use it to team up with other users or influencers to create content that showcases both of your brands and introduces you to each other's audiences. You can have a collaboration tag that maximises exposure and shows that you are working with other creators in your industry which builds authority and trust. Be aware though, that collaborating with brands that have a poor reputation may drag you down, so pick your partners carefully and only engage with reputable creators who have a track record of operating in a way that aligns with your brand’s values and image.
9. Don’t be afraid to make fun of yourself
Showing that your business has a sense of humour is very important. As audiences want to see content that is more real and reels that are not produced to professional film quality, creating a blooper reel of your failed attempts or showing ridiculous alternative uses or modifications of your products and creating Instagram reels that show that we are all human and have our off days can be endearing and reassuring.
10. Recycle your content
If you have a piece of content that did very well in the past, it may be worth re-sharing it in a new way as it’s likely that not all of your followers would have seen it. It’s important not to become too repetitive, but playing out your greatest hits once in a while is what all great artist do!
Whatever you decide to do with Instagram reels, remember that there is no one sure way to go viral, but being consistent and trying out new things is going to get you on the right track to expand your business presence online. And if you need and help with creating reels on Instagram, let us know and we can meet you for a free consultation and help you fill your feed with Instagram reels that will generate new followers, leads and sales.