Instagram Reels: Trends and Creative Strategies for Marketers

Instagram Reels: Trends and Creative Strategies for Marketers

If you’re on Instagram, chances are you’ve come across “Instagram Reels.” Whether they appear on your timeline, your “explore” page, or the Instagram Reel Tab – these short videos have blown up over the past couple of years, and for good reason.

In this article, we’re going to explore how and why these reels are essential from a digital marketing perspective and how these short-form videos can help your business boost brand awareness, improve your SEO, and increase your website traffic.

Why are Reels Important for Marketing?

The first question you may ask is, “Why are reels important, and how do they relate to marketing?”

Well, if you’re a smaller to medium-sized business trying to reach a larger audience, then utilizing Instagram Reels can help you increase your engagement, stand out from your competitors, and grow your channels faster.

Aside from that, they are the perfect way to showcase your creativity and brand voice, as they allow you to educate your audience on your products or services in an entertaining and trendy way.


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Instagram Reels Statistics

A good digital marketing strategy always has statistics to back it up. Nowadays, social media is often used as a channel for consumers to research products and services. In fact, 1 in every 2 Instagram users has used the platform to discover brands, products, and services.

Instagram reels have only been around since 2019, but ever since their debut, they’ve made quite the impact on the platform.

These short-form vertical videos generate 67% more engagement than the standard video format. By taking advantage of trendy filters, audio, and meta tags for social media, marketers can boost their brand’s visibility, increase their website traffic, and grow their follower count.

Instagram’s shopping feature has also made it easier for marketers and brands to gain exposure. Instagram shopping Reels were introduced in December of 2020, allowing businesses to tag products directly in the reels, which was a great idea, seeing as 44% of consumers use Instagram to shop every week.

They’ve also recently been testing out a “topics” feature that will allow you to tag your video and group it by interest, similar to a hashtag. It’s also crucial for marketers to pay attention to meta tags for social media, as this affords you a bit more control over the algorithm.

Based on these stats, it’s easy to see why Instagram Reels are a powerful tool for your Social Media strategy.

Instagram Reels Tips and Tricks

Like anything in life, there is a learning curve to Instagram reels. If you’re looking for the inside scoop on Instagram Reels, we’ve got you covered!

1. Be 100% genuine with your audience.

Authentic content helps foster a connection between your brand and your audience. It also lets them know they can trust you and your product or service.

2. Use popular audio and turn on captions.

Using popular audio helps boost your reel and reach a larger audience. The Instagram algorithm is more likely to showcase videos on feeds or explorer pages that use trendy songs or sounds.

Another essential aspect to consider is captioned. Captions help users understand what the content of your video is about, even if audio is unavailable. They are also necessary for accessibility reasons.

3. Hop on to challenges and trends.

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Another easy way to get your content in front of a larger audience is to hop on a challenge or trend.

This doesn’t mean you have to jump on every new trend that comes your way (at this rate, there’s a new one every week), but if you see one that makes sense for your brand’s message or the product or service you sell, then take advantage of it!

This is your chance to show off your creative and playful side.

4. Share your reels to your feed.

Sharing your reels to your feed provides an alternative way for users to see your videos. This should be done in addition to sharing it to the main reels tab.

5. Showcase your brand identity.

A reel is a great way to show off your brand identity and voice. This ties into being authentic and connecting with your audience.

Now more than ever, consumers want to know about the brands they support. As a marketer, figuring out your brand’s identity is crucial to building a solid relationship with your customers.

6. Add titles to your reel cover photos.

Putting a title on your reel cover photo will help you keep your content organized and make it easy for your current and new customers to locate the information they may be looking for.

7. Share customer testimonials.

Sharing customer testimonials via. Reels shows that your brand values feedback. Sharing testimonials is another way to connect with your audience and teach them about your products or services.

If you can get the actual customer to film a short clip and post it with their consent, even better!

8. Create behind-the-scenes reels.

Behind-the-scenes reels are another great way to show authenticity AND vulnerability as a brand.

Whether it be a “day-in-the-life,” “how it’s made,” or “pack an order with me” video, your customers will appreciate your showing the faces behind the brand and the time you’re taking to create content that isn’t just promotional.

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9. Take note of the best times to post.

The best time to post an Instagram Reel can vary depending on your own brand/business and your audience; however, with many marketers asking this question, it’s been researched quite a bit.

Based on general Instagram user activity, the best time to post reels is from Monday to Thursday between 9 am and 12 pm. It’s worth experimenting a bit with your posting times, though you may find a different time works better for you!

10. Create evergreen content.

Evergreen content is essentially search-optimized content that will remain relevant to your brand for a long time.

This content works well for brand SEO purposes, so make sure you conduct keyword research before creating the content. In terms of Instagram reels, this can be content such as “How-tos,” “FAQs,” “Brand Storytelling,” etc.

11. Repost old content.

Reposting or repurposing old content can be a way to give new life to things such as website pages, blog posts, videos, and more.

It can be especially useful if you’re in a pinch for time or feeling a bit stuck in the creative department.

Instagram Marketing Trends to Watch

It can be a bit overwhelming with all the trends and constant platform updates that happen weekly.

If you’re not sure what’s relevant and what’s old news, we’re here to help with a list of Instagram marketing trends to keep an eye on.

1. Instagram Shopping

This feature has been around since 2019, and since then (especially with the boom in e-commerce due to the pandemic), it’s fair to say that it’s here to stay.

It allows consumers to click on tagged products in images or videos and provides them with basic info and price.

2. Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is another way marketers can entice new customers to try out their products or services. These days, one of the most popular methods of doing so is using “micro-influencers.”

These individuals don’t necessarily have a “celebrity status” but still have a decent following and influence – perfect for smaller to medium size businesses looking to collaborate.

3. Instagram video stories

Using videos on your Instagram stories helps with retention rates.

According to a 2021 study, brands that took advantage of Instagram stories achieved a retention rate of 70%. Video stories also have a lower skip rate than static images.

4. Reels usage and Insights

Of course, as we’ve already covered above – using Instagram Reels has plenty of benefits.

Brands can use Reels to boost their reach, showcase creativity, and build relationships with their audience.

5. Instagram Carousels

Carousels are another fun way to post on Instagram, allowing you to post static images or videos with a swipe-through feature that encourages users to swipe to learn more.

In fact, this feature is so effective that it garners more engagement than images and videos.

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6. Instagram Live

Instagram Lives are often used to conduct Q&As or Livestream events. It allows Instagram users to get more of a behind-the-scenes look at what’s going on with your brand and is also a cool way to build brand authenticity and connect with your customers.

7. Community Engagement

Instagram has a ton of fun little community engagement features that you can take advantage of.

From interactive stories to sticker reactions and polls – you can incorporate these little extra aspects into your stories to attract more engagement.


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8. Brand personalities

Showing off your brand personality has become a huge part of Instagram. Creating more stories and reels is a great way to do this.

People want to be entertained and feel connected to the brands they choose to purchase from.

9. Link sticker feature

Instagram recently removed the swipe-up feature on their stories and has replaced it with link stickers.

At first, it was only available for accounts that had 10k followers and up – however, in 2021, they updated it so that this feature can be used by any account. Again, good news for smaller businesses!

10. Analytic tools for performance

An analytic tool is a great way to track your performance and determine what content is working for you and what’s not.

It also helps you gauge where you are in relation to the competition. Marketing techniques are constantly evolving along with trends, so taking note of what works for your brand is important!

Wrapping Up

So there you have it! We’ve covered everything you need to know about Instagram Reels, from why they’re useful for digital marketing to looking at the statistics, tips and tricks, and trends to keep an eye on!

At TechWyse, we understand that managing social media for your business can be a full-time job. Let us take care of it for you! Our experts are here to help build a strategy that will. Help you grow.

From creating a content calendar to posting consistently and reviewing your analytics –  we’re here to help! Get in touch with a social media expert at TechWyse today and start seeing a major boost in your Instagram engagement.

FAQs

How effective are Instagram reels in marketing?

Instagram reels can be very effective. Research indicates that Instagram reels achieve an engagement rate of 67%, while a regular Instagram post typically only sees an engagement rate of 2-3%.

Stay consistent to see results!

Do Reels increase followers?

Instagram Reels have been proven to increase engagement, and where there’s increased engagement, an increase in followers usually isn’t far behind.

If you’re creating quality content, using trendy audio and captions, and interacting with your audience, there’s a good chance your followers will increase.

How many Instagram reel views are good?

This number will depend on your audience size and engagement rate. You may get a ton of views but not a lot of interaction which isn’t ideal.

The average reel achieves an engagement rate of around 1.95%, so you’d ideally be aiming for that or higher.

You can calculate your engagement rate by dividing the number of interactions on a reel by your follower count and multiplying that number by 100.

How often to post on Instagram?

Again, this depends a bit on your follower count, but as a standard (especially when you’re trying to grow your followers), it’s recommended that you post once a day.

It's a competitive market. Contact us to learn how you can stand out from the crowd.

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