Instagram reels were introduced in 2020 to compete for a space in the video creation market. 4 years later, it is still Instagram’s algorithm’s most favoured feature.

Although it has existed for almost 4 years, not all businesses have been able to hack making good reels that convert into followers or buyers.

Reels help expose your business to a new customer base, especially via the reels explore tab. Most businesses have been to trace virality and growth to Instagram reels.

If you want to learn to make better reels for your business, here are a few tips that will come in handy:

• Do your research. Reels thrive on trending audio and sounds. Although, original audios do go viral or become a hit from time to time, targeting trending sounds will position your business for more views and interactions. 

While planning out your reel content for the week, invest between 30 minutes to 1 hour every week seeking out sounds and trending videos you can replicate for your business. This will contribute to your reel converting watchers to followers and ultimately sales.

• Be confident in front of the camera

For videos where you have to appear to show off a more human connection for your brand, people can tell when you’re not confident in videos. 

If you make business videos especially if you’re a service-based/consulting business talking about processes or behind the scenes, people want to trust your opinions and knowledge. Being confident on camera is one way to signal that you know what you’re talking about.

You can look confident on camera by: 

• Looking directly in front of your camera & calmly going through each step/concept of your reel.
• Preparing a script beforehand to guide the information you’re sharing in the video
• Dress well and film as many practice videos as you need

–  Shoot in portrait mode/keep your phone vertical

Reels are better shot in portrait mode as opposed to landscape. The interface and design for reels favour a vertical format i.e. keeping your phone straight up, instead of bending it or shooting in landscape form.

Be sure to film your video in 1080p when filming on your phone. You can find this in the video settings of your camera.

Doing this will ensure that your reels come out of the highest quality. If you’re editing your reel in an app like inshot or capcut, before uploading, ensure you also export the edited video in 1080p.

Shooting vertically and at the highest quality will make your reels come out crisp.

• Go for trending reel sounds.

If you check the reels tab on Instagram and Explore, most reels on those tabs are reels with trending audio. You can save these audios and brainstorm ideas on how to create content that syncs with the sound and still showcases something about your business.

Sometimes, original audio i.e. audio made by you can go viral, but that’s one in 10,000. Using trending audio will allow your business to be part of ongoing conversations, so when people click to watch videos made with that audio, your business will be a part of it.

You can also follow or watch other businesses and social media managers who make use of reels to keep up with trending videos and sounds.

You can block out 10-15 minutes daily just to research sounds or plan reels for the week ahead.

• Educate & entertain with content choices.

No one is really looking for a lecture via reels so even with educative content, mix it up with some entertainment and have fun. Reels are short-form videos and should ideally be kept within 15-30 seconds with an exception for videos on behind-the-scenes content. These types of videos are usually longer.

You can script your reel content before filming so that you have ample time to come up with punchlines/taglines and text that your audience can quickly read.

• Spotlight products

Thanks to a variety of trending sounds, you can have sounds that compare different products or show off different products by 1 business. For example, sounds in reels like THIS can help show multiple products that you make and are ready to sell.

• Use a good reel cover

The final point in this post is to use a good reel cover, a good picture or add titles to your reel. Once you’re uploading a reel, Instagram gives you the opportunity to choose a cover.

You can make a special cover for your reel via apps like Canva, or you can use a still from the video you’re uploading, or an entirely new picture from your gallery. The idea is to use something catchy that will help your audience spare one second to take a look at your video. Attention span is generally low, so anything that improves your chances of people looking at/engaging with your business content is highly encouraged. 

• Include a CTA

A CTA a.k.a a call to action is a necessity especially when posting for your business. Simply adding a text at the end of your reel that says ‘Shop your favourite via DM’ or ‘click the link in bio to purchase’ can make an enormous difference. 

Remember to include CTAs in your video and captions to make the most of the watch time the reel will get. 

These are some tips to help you make good Instagram reels that will convert for your business.