Top Tips for making the Ultimate Instagram Reel
Date Posted: 12/07/2023
Whether you want to create travel content to inspire others, share your expert knowledge or just want a way to capture your holiday highlights, these top tips will help you elevate your Instagram game and take your reels to a whole new level!
Make it Attention Grabbing!
Your audience will likely decide in the first few seconds whether they want to watch your video or scroll onto the next so it’s important to grab their attention as quick as possible! Make sure it’s clear what the video about from the offset by keeping things concise and interesting. Try adding short text or just something visually appealing to draw in your target audience.
Keep it Short & Snappy
People tend to favour short videos so make sure you get straight to the point! Although reels can be up to 90 seconds long, a good time guide is roughly between 6-15 seconds. If you post a longer video and the viewer clicks out after a few seconds, this will tell the algorithm that your audience isn’t interested in your content and therefore will reduce the number of people it shows it to. However, if your video is shorter this may encourage people to watch it multiple times which is much more appealing to the algorithm and therefore will help boost your views even further!
Consider the Quality of your Content
You want your content to be well shot and high quality. As a rough guide, the aspect ratio should be between 1.9:1 and 9:16 with a minimum resolution of 720 pixels. You should also make sure your videos are filmed in portrait rather than landscape which will fit the screen better and avoid any wasted space making your videos appear more professional. If there is a main subject in the video, make sure they are centred and in focus too. Top Tip: you can use the grid feature on your phone camera to help you perfect this!
Use Trending Audios
If you wish to add music or sound to your video then make sure to check out the trending audio section! This will appear when you select the music icon while editing your video (or can be identified by a small arrow next to sound name). So how will this help you out? Well, trending audios indicate what is popular at the minute, meaning more people will be drawn to your reel which in turn helps boost views and engagement.
Don’t be afraid to do voice overs!
If you are wanting to add more of a personal touch to your videos, a voice over can be a great way to achieve this! Adding a voice over allows you to communicate exactly what you want to with your following and also gives a unique and authentic edge to your videos. It really allows your personality to shine through which is a great way to set you apart from the masses and is also proven popular with audiences.
Add Text
Adding text to your reels can give it a more polished finish. People will often add captions to either match the sound or give extra context to the video. This is a great way to make your videos more accessible to a wider audience as not everyone may want to or be able to listen to the audio. However, it’s important to be mindful of where you place the text. You don’t want it to be obstructed by anything else on the page, so its best not to put it too close to the bottom, top or the righthand side where captions or icons will appear. It’s best to try and keep the text relatively short and make sure you give the viewer plenty of time to read it. You’ll also have to consider text size, font and colour to ensure it is easy to read. Top Tip: once you have finished editing, select the ‘preview’ button on the final screen which will make a mock up of what your reel will look like once it’s posted to check all text is legible.
Upload a cover image
Once you’ve finished editing your reel you’ll get the option to add a cover image. This is great way to make your work look more appealing to ensure a lasting first impression while also setting the tone of what to expect from your content. As well as this, cover images allow you to create consistency and keep your feed in a particular style.
