In an effort to continually grow their platform offerings, Instagram recently launched the addition of “Reels” to their global markets, including the United States. The new content feature allows social media users to record and edit 15-second, multi-clip videos with audio, transitions, and much more. Here, we’ll discuss a brief overview of Instagram Reels and why you should include Reels in your Instagram marketing strategy.
What It Is
Instagram Reels is a new way to create fun and engaging video content through Instagram Stories. At first look, Reels is stylized similar to Instagram’s direct competitor, TikTok. In fact, the new feature’s interface — which displays the username, caption, and audio track used at the bottom left of the video — appears almost identical to its predecessor. The viewing process will also feel familiar to TikTok users, as Reels follows the same continuous vertical scroll to transition to the next video.
How It Works
To create a “Reel,” a user would follow the same process (tapping the camera icon in the top left of their screen or swiping right from anywhere in their feed) implemented for Instagram Stories. However, Reels offers the unique opportunity for users to create more dynamic, short-form content than any previous iteration of Stories, including the ability to speed up or slow down clips or even add augmented reality (AR) effects. With that said, its direct integration into the Instagram app (as opposed to a separate one) is what really makes Reels stand out! This Instagram marketing feature provides users with the ability to leverage and reach their already established audience instead of having to transition them to another platform.
Key Features
Currently, there are no ad formats available on Reels, which serves as a key difference to their competition. What does this mean for your Instagram strategy? In short, advertisers and influencers cannot pay to “boost” their Reels videos or to have them displayed in the “Featured” section, making it a level playing field for brands and content creators of all sizes. Additionally, there aren’t any branded content tags available for use at launch, unlike within the main Instagram feed, where influencers can signal they have been paid by an advertiser to promote a product. These crucial attributes make the feature a game changer and potentially one of the most powerful new tools to integrate into your social media marketing strategy.
Other key features in Instagram Reels include Align, which is the ability to line up objects from your previous clip to allow for seamless transitions, as well as the option to speed up or slow down part of the video or audio. You can also set a timer to record your video hands-free with a 3-second countdown, and use hashtags for greater reach. Perhaps best of all, you can share Reels with your followers on your profile and in Explore, according to Instagram, where it has the chance to be discovered by a wider audience. Sharing and watching Reels in the Explore page has other benefits as well, such as the large format size and notifications when your Reel is “Featured” in Explore.
Why You Should Include Reels In Your Marketing Strategy
Short-form videos are immensely popular on social media and have rapidly become attractive to marketers looking to expand their toolkit. Instagram has taken advantage of this, giving early access to influencers who are also popular on TikTok, thus leading to massive visibility in the first few weeks. However, unlike TikTok and Reels personal accounts, business accounts won’t have access to music in Reels due to licensing restrictions — for now. Like no ad formats, that may change. Still, lip-syncing and heavily choreographed dance routines aren’t a typical way to market a business, after all. Thankfully, there are many other dynamic uses of Reels, including creating digestible educational content, delivering more vibrant product reviews, sharing “behind the scenes” glimpses, and creating a better visual representation of your brand’s mission.
At its core, the most promising aspect of Reels is that there is no precedent for what this content should look like, which creates an amazing opportunity for innovation from a social media marketing perspective. Creatively (and within the span of 15-seconds) the possibilities of this feature are endless.
You’ve probably realized by now that Social Media is no longer an option. In fact, it is a vital and highly successful tool for building a business. Aliya Hammond Consulting is an online Digital Marketing, Training, and Consulting Company headquartered in the greater Philadelphia area. We specialize in Social Media Management and Marketing, Social Media Training, Blog Writing, and Graphic Design Services for small and large businesses, entrepreneurs, and non-profit organizations. If you are looking to improve or increase your online presence, you can rest assured you are in good hands with us. Contact Aliya Hammond Consulting today to find out how we can help your business grow!
