Knowing how to capitalize on trends and new updates on social media is a huge advantage for businesses looking to grow their online presence. But why? According to HubSpot, Short-form video has the highest ROI of any social media marketing strategy as 30% of social media marketers plan to invest in it more than any other trend in 2022.
From Shorts, to Reels, to TikTok, short-form video is taking over social media in a big way! If you’re looking to invest in short-form videos, Reels are a great place to get started!
So how can you capitalize on this for your business? Whether you are just getting started or have an active account, we’ve broken down the best ways to capitalize on Reels for your business account! Let’s dive in!
First and foremost, it is vital to post at times that your audience is most active and online. This will ensure that your Reel is being seen by the largest number of followers when posting.
To find the best times to post, you can use tools such as the Meta Business Suite. When creating a new post in the Meta Business Suite, you can see the “Optimal Times” button next to the “Publish” button. When clicking this, you will be able to see Instagram’s best times to schedule or post a Reel based on your audience.
Once you’ve determined the best time to post, schedule accordingly and be sure to be active on your account right after you post as this is a great way to bring engagement to your account. For example, say you posted a Reel at 12PM, you will want to start commenting on other posts, Reels, and even stories right after the Reel is posted so you can drive traffic back to your page. The Instagram algorithm will pick up if a Reel is being viewed or engaged with, and it will continue to be push it out to other users.
Although it seems that some accounts are an overnight success, this is not necessarily true for most accounts. Focusing on Reels is a great way to increase your engagement and drive traffic to your page, but it’s an addition to an overall social media strategy.
So don’t forget to be active outside of Reels and post graphics or even carousel posts. Once you drive that traffic to your page, you’ll want to show potential followers why they should follow you by curating a great profile.
A great rule of thumb is to have an Instagram Story posted daily, whether you are posting your own original story or just resharing a post from another account. The main idea here is that most people will click on your story when viewing your account, so you’ll want to show that you are active and worth the follow!
When creating a Reel, you’ll want to do some research on trends. There are a few ways to do research on what type of Reel you should create. One of the easiest ways is to scroll through your Reel feed! Since you may already be spending time scrolling through, take some inventory on what types of Reels are being posted by other business accounts or accounts in your industry that you may be able to take your own spin on.
It's also important to pay attention to which sounds are trending on Instagram as well. If you look in the right-hand corner of a Reel, you’ll see a triangle pointing up which indicates that the sound is trending.
Using a trending sound will only increase your reach and ability to engage with new followers. You’ll want to be sure to find trending audio with less than 5K-10K videos so that your Reel isn’t lost in a sea of others. Once you’ve found your sound, be sure to save it for easy use when you go to create that Reel.
Additionally, another way to find trending sounds, is by following the Instagram Creators account on Instagram. This account is run by Instagram and shares weekly trends and audios for content creators to use for their next Reel. Instagram Creators also shares valuable information on how to grow your account so it’s a great follow!
You can also use your own original audio for Reels, just be sure to include a hook within the first few seconds to ensure that viewers will watch your content.
So, now that you know some basics on Reels, how do you know what content to post? As we mentioned with finding Trending Sounds, one of the easiest ways to find what content to post is to take a dive into what competitors or other accounts in your industry are creating.
You may also want to research hashtags related to your business and find the top or most engaged posts to see what users are interested in. There are also several online resources to help you find content including Answerthepublic.com, SemRush Keyword Magic Tool, and of course Google Analytics to see what your audience is searching for in relation to your business.
As always, you’ll want to revert to your social media strategy and content pillars to ensure that your content ideas are optimal. We’ve also broken down some ideas for your business on one of our latest podcasts, check it out here!
Some overall tips on content for Reels includes having an eye catching visual within the first 2-3 seconds or having a hook to get your viewers to watch once or more. Be sure to use the most attention-grabbing clip of your Reel as the thumbnail on your profile. Reels can now be up to 90 seconds, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that longer Reels will perform the better. If you have a shorter Reel, let’s say 7 to 15 seconds, it will loop and continue to garner multiple views.
Hashtags are a powerful tool to help your Reels be seen by potential customers, on the explore page, and by anyone looking for what your business offers. Instagram uses hashtags to categorize your content based on its focus. For example, if you are continually utilizing #DigitalMarketing, your account will start to be categorized as digital marketing content and suggest it to users who are searching for this information. By using hashtags, you will improve the chance of users finding you in your industry and increase your reach to others who may not have seen your post without the hashtag.
Instagram currently allows 30 hashtags to be used on one Reels post. Since Instagram has recently stated that utilizing less than 30 hashtags is best, a good rule of thumb is to use about 3-5 hashtags on your posts.
One great resource to find hashtags is all-hashtag.com where you can find top, random, or live hashtags based on the keyword you utilize. Overall, don’t stress to much about hashtags as they will not make your Reel an overnight sensation, but they are a great addition to increase your reach and visibility.
So, what can we take away from the never-ending emphasis on short-form video? It’s not going away anytime soon so it may be the time to take inventory on your current social media strategy and what you can do to get started with short-form videos. Whether starting with Reels, YouTube Shorts, or TikToks, you can’t go wrong getting your brand in this space.
For getting started on the basics of short-form video, check out a few of our others blogs including;
Alyssa Maldonado, Social Media Specialist
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