5 Ways Reels Can Elevate Your Social Media Strategy

Roxanne Chinoy, Strategic Partner Manager for Instagram Reels India, helps us explore everything about Instagram reels and how it can be a game-changer for your social media strategy. Read on if you are a creator, a brand, or someone exploring how to build a brand on Instagram.

Reels launched on July 27th, 2020, and since then, it has created an insane buzz. Since reels are short forms of video content, they have seen an increase in the number of consumers. The reason for this is pure entertainment.

As Roxanne says, “Reels are all about what is entertaining at a particular moment.” However, reels are not just about entertainment; they also accelerate the growth of your influence on social media. Let’s know more about why reels can elevate your social media strategy.

5 Reasons Reels Can Elevate Your Social Media Strategy

● Allows you to express yourself

The first and foremost thing you must remember about reels is that it allows you to have a response to a conversation that’s currently happening. It lets you add your bit of creativity to an already existing trend. It allows you to experiment with your ideas and expressions.

Roxanne highlights how popular Instagrammer The Mermaid Scales used Reels to grow her Instagram following by a whopping 4.1 million with her signature style.

● Allows you to be part of the new army of content creators

Reels have given birth to a whole new army of content creators. Even those who weren’t creators before reels launched are now well known on the social media platform for their relatable reels.

For example, Shivani Shivdasani, who wasn’t even a creator when reels launched, has a massive following of 338k currently only because of relatable and simple reels.

● Transforms the way content is consumed

Since reels launched, it has created a new set of content consumers. Most Instagram users love to consume content in the form of short videos. Thus, reels help creators express themselves clearly and give consumers more insight into the creator or brand.

Writers who only used to post written forms of content find that reels help them express themselves. Brands or businesses that only posted pictures earlier now create reels to gain the customers’ trust.

● Features like Collab and Remix give exposure.

Instagram reels have some cool features like collab and remix, increasing a creator’s exposure. Collabs are a hallmark on Instagram and help people come together and collaborate with each other and make one common reel.

Remix is a great way to collaborate with anyone on the internet: it can be a celebrity, a chef, or a dancer. Cool features like these give creators exposure and bring them into the limelight in social media, thereby elevating their social media strategy for growth.

● It is fun and entertaining.

Last but not least, reels are for entertainment. As Roxanne says, “Reels are true to provide entertainment.” Growth on social media stands on three pillars: creativity, connection, and growth. And the most important among the three is how you connect with your audience. The more relatable your reels are, the more you connect with people, and the more you grow on the social media platform.

Tips to Make Successful Reels

Here are some points that Roxanne focuses on to make your reels successful and reach the maximum number of content consumers globally.

To succeed, reels must be,

● Unique

Reels can only change your social media strategy for growth if you recreate a reel with your own touch of uniqueness.

● Relatable

The reels must allow people to relate to a similar situation as in the reel.

● Easy to recreate

The reels must include something that must be easy to recreate. It must include an element that will make people get up and make a similar reel.

● Simple

The reel must express your ideas simply without any ambiguity. The simpler a reel is, the more people will understand it and recreate it.

All of the points show what is necessary to make reels successful. Now let’s understand the don’ts while making a reel.

What Not To Do While Publishing Reels

Here is a list of things that Roxanne asks you to stay away from while publishing reels.

● Don’t post overly promotional, commercial material or content that focuses on issues that are not entertaining.

● Don’t post clips that are visibly recycled from other apps and have humongous logos that cover the important parts of the reel.

● Don’t add music that is not on the Instagram music library unless you have obtained the appropriate license.

● Don’t use “dated” references or something that lacks a storyline.

● Don’t post something blurry due to low resolution, has a large border around it, or has an image with the maximum part covered with text.

● Don’t create sexually suggestive content, feature alcohol, drugs, weapons, profanity, etc. Make sure you follow Instagram’s guidelines.

Final Word

Instagram Reels have taken over the internet. If you want to be part of this revolution, the tips given above are immensely helpful.

For further details, check the note below.

Note: This blog is an excerpt from a session on Using Reels to Elevate Your Social Media Strategy: A Masterclass by Roxanne Chinoy, Strategic Partner Manager for Instagram Reels India. The session was part of Elevate–a global virtual content summit organized by Pepper Content, bringing together industry leaders in content marketing.