It’s thrilling when a new social media platform with a well-known social brand behind it is released globally. This is the case with Instagram Reels, a new tool available in 50 countries globally for posting short videos.
There’s no use in sugarcoating it; Instagram Reels is a serious competitor to TikTok. You’ll fit in well on Instagram Reels if your brand or business does well in video on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and the Stories applications of all three, or TikTok.
In order to grow their communities, Instagram recommends that companies take use of this new tool by posting engaging organic content. Keep an eye out for changes; it’s likely that advertising opportunities will be introduced in the future.
What exactly are Instagram Reels?
Instagram Reels are a new video format that can be shot and shared using the Instagram camera or Instagram Stories and seen by your followers or the public at large in the Explore tab. Reels are 15-second movies that generally consist of several segments combined together to convey a story and use music, augmented reality effects, artwork, text, and stickers.
You’re probably not alone if you find Instagram Reels to be strikingly reminiscent of another app: TikTok.
The evolution of app-based video sharing
Vine, a video-sharing platform popular from 2013 to 2016, may ring a bell if you were present at that time. Before Musical.ly, shortly to be renamed as TikTok, took the globe by storm, the Stories platforms of several apps looked to fill the void for short video content left by Vine’s demise. In the first quarter of 2020, it had the highest amount of downloads on Instagram app.
Social media giants like Facebook and Instagram have taken notice of TikTok’s meteoric rise. Facebook and Instagram have both released their own video applications in beta to gauge user interest in and demand for the capabilities… However, in July Facebook ended its beta (goodbye, Lasso).
However, since its release in beta in November of last year (when it was known as Cenas), Reels has had considerable success in Brazil. To the point where Reels has been ‘poaching’ creators from TikTok by providing them incentives to switch platforms.
How does one make an Instagram highlight reel?
Make sure you have the most recent version of the Instagram app before you attempt to create Instagram Reels. Next:
- To take a photo or add to your story, use the camera button.
- The ‘REELS’ option may be accessed by swiping the bottom bar to the right.
- Pick the appropriate choices for your work.
- You may search for songs or import your own, and then you can adjust the capture speed to make it three times as fast or three times as sluggish as the original.
- During Playback, Modify with Filters and Effects – set the length of each video (up to 15 seconds) individually.
To start recording, simply press the centre button
Multiple clips may be combined together to form a single Reel. If you keep pressing the main centre button, Reels will keep making clips until you tell it to stop, or until the timer reaches zero.
If you have a bunch of clips, Reels will let you delete some, trim others, or rearrange them.
Keep in mind that if you record original audio and then publish your Reel online, anybody may listen to and use that audio in their own Reels. That includes you addressing the camera directly. However, if your account is set to private, the recordings you make cannot be shared.
A quick tap of the screen will toggle between the front and rear cameras.
What follows the creation of an Instagram highlight reel?
Once you’ve finished creating your Reel, you can distribute it to your followers using Instagram’s Feed, Story, or Explore features.
You may upload Reels to your private account’s Feed, where they will appear in the grid and in the Feeds of your followers, or to your Story, where they will appear for 24 hours and then disappear (or be saved to your archive or highlights, if that’s your thing).
Alternately, if your Instagram profile is public, you may add Reels to Explore for other people to find. After that, they will be stored in a new section of your profile called Reels. You may search for publicly posted Reels using hashtags, and you can find Reels that use the same effects or audio/music by looking for Reels that utilise the same effects or music.
Can you tell me where I can locate Instagram Reels to view?
Check out the Instagram app’s Explore section (the magnifying glass) to locate some Reels to view. There will be a clapboard icon next to reels, denoting their prominence as the featured media format. The rest of the Reels may be viewed by clicking the first one and scrolling down. The ‘featured’ label on some Reels indicates that Instagram’s content curators have selected the given Reel as one that they find especially interesting or thought-provoking.
To stop the reel, tap it once; to like it twice. Below the Reel, you’ll find additional controls that let you to like, comment on, and share the content.
Successful Instagram Reels from Major Brands
Some companies and brands have really nailed it with their first appearance on Reels. In addition to content aggregators like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Sephora, there are also content creators like Seventeen, Vive Active, and the National Rugby League (NRL).
Sharing is easy with any of these Reels, whether you’re repurposing existing footage or making something completely new. They’re the sort of thing you might point at and say “hey, look at this” to your companions or the strangers around you. If you keep it in mind while you create your own Reels material, you just could see your videos go viral.