Instagram has a proven history of adopting a competitor’s product and outperforming it in the end. Remember Snapchat? Instagram Stories went toe-to-toe with Snapchat Stories – both share similar features – and saw its engagement rise sharply while the latter’s unique views fell by an estimated 40 percent in just a year.
Now Instagram, or IG in digital parlance, has created another feature called Reels, this time to counter TikTok’s growing popularity.
So, what is Instagram Reels? This IG feature lets you create short, entertaining videos to share with your followers or the wider Instagram community. Like TikTok, Reels on Instagram allows users to add audio, apply augmented reality (AR) effects and edit the speed of their clips. (We’ll provide an Instagram Reels vs TikTok comparison table in another section for those interested in the technical differences.)
But obviously, Instagram wants what TikTok has: the power to help brands and businesses grow. In other words, it’s positioning itself once more as the platform that can make your videos go viral and bolster your visibility. Does IG Reels have what it takes to be part of your social media video marketing strategy? And if so, how do you make your videos go viral with Reels?
This blog aims to answer these and more below.
Instagram Reels vs TikTok
Before we delve into the effects of Reels on Instagram on your strategic growth, let’s look into the similarities and differences between Instagram Reels and TikTok videos (TikToks):
Record a reaction video to an existing reel and put them side-by-side | Record a reaction video to an existing one and put them side-by-side |
Pick a song from the Instagram music library or use your original audio to add to a reel | Search from the TikTok Sounds library, which contains songs/sounds created by celebrities and other usersl |
Apply filters, add video elements like stickers and GIFs and edit clips during or after recording | Apply filters, add video elements like stickers and GIFs and edit clips during or after recording |
Record a video at various speeds | Record a video at various speeds |
Record at 15-second, 30-second and 60-second intervals | Record at 15-second, 60-second and 3-minute intervals |
Use select TikTok cuts and respond/react to them in real time |
The Benefits of Instagram Reels for Business
Come to think of it: There’s nothing new about Instagram Reels. You can create the exact same social media videos for business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) outreach elsewhere. So, why is making IG reels worth your marketing investment?
The answer is in the app’s reach.
Despite risking being called a copycat, Instagram takes a page off its competitor’s playbook and makes the formula work for its established ecosystem, which has been proven brand-friendly. Whereas TikTok provides a platform for authentic personalities and lighthearted content, Instagram leans into its captive audience and curated posts.
Introducing Reels on Instagram just shows willingness to meet users where they are. And as of October 2021, the app had nearly 1.4 billion active users compared to TikTok’s 1 billion. Chances are high that you can target those outside TikTok with Instagram Reels for business.
With that in mind, here’s how leveraging Reels can specifically impact your social media video marketing strategy:
Elevate Your Brand
Reels enable you to optimize video for Instagram. Instead of appearing only in your profile, your reel can influence the right people when it shows up as the top video on Explore feeds. The Explore section is where users discover new brands and brands gain a new audience. And the top video displays much larger than other posts on the page, further improving your brand’s visibility.
Engage Your Followers
Watch out for trends when you open your IG Reels tab and make a reel offering your own take. You should also be quick to pick up on the next popular thing by monitoring Instagram Reels hashtags, audio or effects. People search for these specific elements on the platform, helping you garner the attention of your existing followers and even new ones.
Enhance Your Sales
Instagram is known for allowing shoppable content, and this capability now extends to Reels. Simply record a reel and then tag relevant products found in your shopping catalog. This is another way to optimize video for Instagram and generate sales and conversions for your brand.
The Marketers’ Challenge: Making IG Reels Go Viral
With the Instagram Reels vs TikTok competition not going away soon (Reels is still too recent to dethrone TikTok), make sure to nail your brand content creation on Reels. Posting fillers or uninspired Reels is unacceptable. You have to craft high-quality social media videos for business to meet the demands of your digitally inclined audience.
In short, make them go viral. Here are some tips to make that happen:
Introduce Your Brand
Whether you are new to or have an existing Instagram marketing strategy, consider making IG Reels for your brand. With Reels, you don’t need a certain number of followers to be able to optimize video for Instagram. This feature allows you to create organic content and share it with a wide audience for free.
At the same time, it turns out brand content performs better on Instagram Reels (while influencer posts are more effective on TikTok). A report found that the average impression for brand content on Reels is 12 percent compared to TikTok’s 5 percent. So make sure to maximize the opportunity – and do not forget to generate your brand’s Instagram Reels hashtags to position your content in front of the right people.
Share Behind-the-Scene Clips
Who says social media videos for business always have to be boardroom-serious and formal? Pique your prospects’ curiosity by giving them a peek into what goes on behind the scenes. Show them how you came up with your business idea. Or how you produced those product shots – just like how luxury purse brand Anima Iris did.
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Lighthearted content should not be monopolized by TikTok anyway. Plus, it’s a good way to keep the video interesting and stay within the Instagram Reels length requirements.
Offer a Quick Tip or Tutorial
How long can IG Reels be? Under one minute, right? Then create a video that delivers value to your target audience as quickly as possible. One way to do this is to provide solutions to some of your customers’ pain points. These can come in the form of simple tips or a few actionable steps.
As a social media marketing company, we suggest producing reels that demonstrate how your products can help customers. Do it as if you’re sharing a recipe a la Buzzfeed’s Tasty. If you need to add more details, just put them in your caption.
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Make Trends Your Own
What is Instagram Reels without its fair share of trending content? When you happen to find something that fits your brand, go ahead and give your own take on the trend. The goal is to ride the momentum, so don’t worry if you have to slightly steer away from your scheduled content.
Trending Instagram Reels hashtags, sounds and videos can be targeted to a captive audience. So trends are an opportunity to increase your visibility on the app.
Leverage Shoppable Reels
Instagram Reels for business can be a productive tool for introducing your products to potential customers. It’s more subtle than a straightforward product feature post or an ad. As mentioned earlier, you can tag your products in your reels to drive product discovery.
You must have set up Instagram Shopping to be able to use this tool. People viewing your reels with product tags can buy, save or learn more about your offerings by tapping “View Products.”
Promote Reels Via Ads
We know the feature has an organic focus, but can you promote Reels on Instagram? The team behind the app says yes. You can create ads and ads campaigns with this feature. Reels ads work like Stories ads. They will also appear in between individual reels found on the Reels tab, Reels in Explore and Reels on users’ feeds.
When it comes to ads, how long can IG Reels be? According to Instagram, ads can be up to 30 seconds.
While it’s possible to add Instagram Reels to your social media video marketing strategy, you must integrate it with other tactics to ensure you achieve elevated results. You might also want to enlist a social media marketing expert to supervise your efforts. Aside from knowing the pulse of Reels viewers and the best time to post Reels on Instagram, a professional team can brainstorm, craft and implement ad campaigns for your brand.
Integrating Instagram Reels Into Your Social Strategy
This blog has answered a few burning questions about Instagram’s latest feature, from What is Instagram Reels? to Can you promote Reels on Instagram? It’s also shown top tips for making reels viral and details to pay attention to, such as Instagram Reels length.
Yet, however effective, enticing and entertaining IG reels can be as a standalone feature, we believe they will work best within an integrated Instagram marketing or social media marketing strategy. And this job requires greater commitment and resources.
The good news is that you can enlist a reputable social media marketing company if you have no capacity to do it in-house. And with Thrive, you gain access to a capable team that helps you with basics, such as nailing the best time to post Reels on Instagram, and goes the extra mile to generate conversion, engagement and revenue through social media.
We are the go-to social media marketing expert for companies like Ambler Industries, a landscape construction firm specializing in professional, full-service landscape services. Within 5 months, our Instagram management campaigns yielded a fantastic 10.8 percent increase in channel engagement and a whopping 27 percent increase in monthly growth rates for this client.
Let us leverage Reels, Stories and the like in making your brand stand out. Shoot us a message if you want to know how.
