When managing a business, one wants to stay away and take advantage of new, emerging, and/or popular trends. If not, one risks being left behind as competitors consume an untapped market and gain an irreparable lead. Instagram is adhering to this wisdom by creating Instagram Reels. Now, as Instagram is taking advantage of a trend, you would want to take advantage of Instagram’s development. However, what is “Instagram Reels,” and how do you utilize it? We at MyCity Social are here to answer your questions. Based in Orlando, we help businesses utilize tactics, trends, and technologies to boost marketing and branding efforts. Read on to find out how Instagram Reels can fit into your personal branding plans.

 

What Instagram Reels Is And How It Can Be Used for Personal Branding

To explain what we meant when we said Instagram was taking advantage of a trend, Instagram Reels was Instagrams answer to TikTok’s growing popularity. As such, Instagram Reels comes with a few key features:

• They create short video content in a 9:6 portrait mode
• These short videos are about 3-15 seconds in length
• You can choose to either record a video using the Instagram Reels platform or upload a video from your mobile device’s camera roll
• The Instagram Reels feature can only be accessed through a mobile device

After reading a few of these highlights, you would likely ask how this could possibly help your brand presence. You would want to know: is fifteen seconds long enough to craft a compelling message? Or can a feature that is only available on mobile phones really be versatile? The answer to both questions is “yes.” Here are a few ideas for using this form of social media marketing Florida businesses:

• Online tutorials – Not all tutorials take fifteen or thirty minutes to watch. If you want to help clients quickly understand an easy feature or a certain practice, you can show them in these short reels.
• Introducing the team – Not just a group photo; you can show your team waving, introducing themselves, and being very interactive and personable. This will help the audience feel as if they know your team personally.
• Showing off the products – Show them, explain them, display decorations or combinations, do whatever you want in a short video. This works great if you want to show off fashion or baking products. While some may not stick around to read a posting about a product, most people will watch a short video. You can also show multiple products or display and assortment.
• Stop motion – Great for showing assembly step-by-step. With this method, you could show one step and have the video jump to the next.

A note regarding calls-to-action. Most people will not read the captions that go with the reels. After all, people watch the videos for quick visuals. Therefore, if you want your call-to-action to be seen, you will need to either overlay the text on the video or verbally say it in the audio. Or both.

As you can see, there are many uses for Instagram Reels. Also, as millions of people already use Instagram already, this will be a good way to capitalize on the market. Another thing to note, as Trump threatens to ban Tiktock in the US, many people are sweating to find an alternative. Whether he is successful or not, these users would likely flock to Instagram Reels. Most people already use Facebook, so Facebook’s ownership of Instagram – allowing users a way to consolidate their accounts – would be an extra incentive to pursue this medium. Again, it is wise for you to take advantage of trends.

Let’s The Limitations of Instagram Reels

Of course, a savvy business owner, manager, or representative will want to know more than just the benefits. We know running a business and using new tools is not only about trying out the best and newest trends. They are about weighing pros and cons and seeing if some action will provide a suitable benefit. Therefore, to allow you to make the most educated decision, we will also discuss some things Instagram Reels cannot do – at least cannot do well.

• No progress bar – 
  • Instagram Reels does not have a progress bar to show how long you have watched a video. This may be a problem for very, very impatient people. However, as all videos are 15 seconds at the maximum, the lack of a progress bar shouldn’t be a problem.
• No playback adjustments – 
  • You can pause your videos. However, if you want to rewind or fast-forward, you’re out of luck. As such, if you want to see something again, you have to let the entire video play and loop back to the beginning. So, hopefully, your viewers don’t miss an important step in a tutorial or a call-to-action. If they do, they’ll have to wait to see it again.
• No caption editing – 
  • Once you have uploaded your video, any caption you had attached to your video is final. No edits. Therefore, if you have made a typo, you cannot go back and fix it. Instead, you’ll have to delete the video, create a new one, give it the correct caption (double-check to make sure it’s correct this time), and upload the new video.
• Limited space for captions on the previews – 
  • So your prospect sees a potential video of yours to watch. You have put some beautiful text with a nice call to action. However, your prospect misses it. Why? Because the preview only shows one line of text. To see more, your prospect would have had to click, “See more.”
• No data – 
  • Videos on other websites have very useful metrics for marketers and producers. Likes and dislikes show how people felt about the video, comments get the prospects’ thoughts or new ideas for new videos, and analytics show who clicked on links or followed you or any other measurement you could want. Instagram Reels doesn’t give any of those numbers. At least, you’ll know how many people watched it.
• No music for businesses – 
  • When anyone else uploads a video, they get to add music to their videos. However, business accounts are not allowed such an option. Why? Because of copyright issues.
• No warning with caption limit – 
  • Also, when adding a caption, you have a 2200-character limit. You also have a 30-hashtag limit. However, if you exceed this limit, your caption will not show at all. Yet, unlike with posts on other platforms, Instagram Reels does not give you a counter to show how many spaces you’ve used or have left. Instead, you have to hope you’d done it correctly. If not, you’ll have to delete your video and start all over again.
• You cannot directly share them with anyone – 
  • Whereas Instagram Stories lets you share your content with people, Instagram Reels is only posted on your page for people to see at their leisure.
• Only video content – 
  • Reels is made to perform as a video software, so no posting a bunch of pictures and thinking it will become a movie.

Addressing Concerns With Instagram Reels and Best Practices

After reading the above highlights and limitations, you may look at the limitations and think they outnumber the benefits. Therefore, we think it is prudent to give a few more points to help balance the possibilities. Here are a few points and best practices, so you can make the best decision – or make the best use – regarding this feature.

• • Check out other reels – When starting out in social media marketing Florida businesses, it would be wise to see what others are doing. Studying other reels will give you a good view of the scope and possibilities you can employ.
  • Make use of versatility – Instagram Reels has more features than Instagram Stories and runs much like TikTok. Therefore, if you know TikTok, learning Reels will be simple. If you are accustomed to Stories, you’ll enjoy more ways to play.

• Understand that it’s new – Perhaps you don’t like some of the limitations of Instagram Reels. However, things do change. As it is owned by Facebook, there is a chance they may improve.

• Understand the statistics – We know it’s all about the stats. Therefore, here are some stats to consider
  • Prior to Instagram Reels’ launch in Brazil, they averaged a 1% increase a month. After the launch, that number shot up to over 4%.
  • Instagram Reels has also become available in France and Germany.
  • Instagram downloads increased in India by 11.8% after the launch of Reels.
  • Instagram Reels is now available in 50 countries.

Contact Us

Now that you have gained such information about the new platform called Instagram Reels, you are able to make an informed decision about whether to or not to utilize this program for your personal branding plans. However, new features and new technologies appear. Do you want to stay up-to-date on new trends so you can stay in the best position to capitalize on them? We at MyCity Social are experts in social media marketing Florida businesses. Be sure to call us and see how we can help you stay ahead.