Alexa Wilkinson, Instagram Reels specialist gives us her take on why incorporating reels into your social strategy is vital!
Here’s her top tips to help you get the most out reels.
Watch time is SO important!
Once you post a video to reels, Instagram pushes it out to your audience to get initial engagement. Instagram then reviews your video and looks at the average watch-time from your viewers, the likes, comments, saves and shares your video has received. Depending on how well your video has done, Instagram will either push your video out to more people or allow your video to pass (aka – die).
Watch time is the most important factor of the review process so because of that, you need to make sure the audience watching your video stays until the end.
To help keep viewers until the end save the best until last. Give tips, show off a new collection of products, keep the video upbeat, entertaining and fun!
Have a purpose
It’s important all your videos have a purpose. The aim of the game for each video doesn’t need to be to sell! Hop on trends, show your face every now and then, show us what you get up to daily, or what you eat in a day!
The more videos you put out there that get a great watch-time result – the better your videos will do.
Get creative and FILM!
Too often I see business owners post reels which are just slideshows of feed pictures, then they question why they’re not getting the reach and results they want. It’s important to film content for reels and get creative, instead of just putting together loads of images and putting music behind it – it’s not enough!
You can find so much content inspiration on the reels page itself, or even TikTok! Look out for trending sounds, current trends within your industry, what your competitors are doing and find some inspiration.
Try to stay away from adding images into video content too, the results tend to be pretty poor. Also, don’t worry about not having a fancy camera, or access to a studio – all you need is your phone and natural lighting!
Use trending sounds – ALWAYS!
Another way to get your views up is to use the sounds which are trending. Unfortunately, the music trending may not be your cup of tea but using the music that is trending will help get those video views up and on the reels page!
Not sure how you can find trending music? Have a look on the reels page and see what music you’re hearing often. Check out TikTok or see what your competitors are using. If you still can’t find any, have a search on google.
If you’re posting a video with sound, add trending music with low volume. Adding music to your videos not only increases your chances of reaching new audiences and gaining more views, it also makes the video more enjoyable for your followers resulting in a longer watch-time… win win!
Reels don’t have to be hard
I get it, everyone’s doing them now and it can be overwhelming to start. Once you start producing good quality reels, you’ll start to see the results, and won’t want to stop. You’ll be so glad you started!
Thanks so much to Alexa Wilkinson for this great practical blog and tips. If you need an extra hand with Instagram, drop her an Instagram DM @socialbyalexa or email alexa@socialbyalexa.com
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