It’s no secret that if you’re a small business trying to get the word out about your brand, you probably already have had everyone and their mom tell you that you need to be making Instagram Reels. It really is the fastest way to grow your audience, and have a long shelf life so even if something doesn’t go viral the minute you post it, in a few months it can pick up traction.
Even if you’ve been using Instagram to market your business for the entirety of your business, Reels can feel super overwhelming and like a foreign concept.
For most people, it feels silly to be pointing and dancing. You’ve probably thought at some point, “are people actually going to take me seriously after I do this?” The answer is yes, but the good news is that you don’t have to point or dance to have a successful Reels strategy.
This feature has come out a little over two years ago, and it has been evolving ever since Instagram introduced it to its platform. You now are able to browse more effects, record up to 90-second videos, and even schedule some of your Reels in advance.
Sit back, relax, and try not to panic while we chat about the 5 practical ways you can start utilizing IG Reels for your business.
1. Set up your account for success: switch your account from a “Business” account to an “Entrepreneur” account.
Making sure your account is on the correct settings is actually an extremely important first step to making fire IG Reels. For business accounts, they do not have access to a full music library, so you need to make sure you are under Entrepreneur.
Do this in 2 Easy Steps
- Go to edit profile and tap on the category section
- Search for Entrepreneur and click done
2. Create a plan you can stick to!
Consistency is really key for algorithm, so if you are going to post 10 Reels one week, and then no Reels for two more weeks, I’d say it’s time to adjust your plan.
A practical tip I always tell my clients is to pick two days out of the week you are going to post Reels, and only create one for each of those days. That gives you eight Reels for the month, and your audience will know what to expect from you.
3. 80/20 ratio
80% of your Reels should be business related, and 20% of them can be personal. Still, I would err on the side of caution with the personal Reels because since this tool has the capacity to reach a LOT of people, you do not want to pull in an audience that isn’t actually interested in your business.
It’s better to keep it on-brand that way you can create an audience that is engaged, and willing to give you money!
4. Make sure to make some of your Reels in outside apps!
This might be controversial, but the Instagram app is super glitchy and I know SO many people who have lost all their work right before they were finished and had no way of retrieving it.
For simple lip-sync trends, Instagram is fine to use, but if you are making anything that includes more than putting text over the screen, I recommend using CapCut or Inshot for that.
5. Share every Reel to your story (and re-share)
This might sound obvious to some people, but even as a pro myself sometimes I skip this step and realize all the people I possibly could have missed reaching without remembering the simple act of sharing the reel I worked so hard on to my stories!
Also, re-sharing a Reel a few days, weeks, or even months later is HUGE way to give an old Reel some traction and get it in front of some people who might have missed it.
Reels can be super fun, but it takes some planning, time, and commitment to really nail it down and see the results from it. Hopefully, these 5 tips inspired you to start creating!
