Better by the Gram: Reels

I wrote a book! The book, Better by the Gram: Ten Actionable Steps to Increase Your Visibility, can be pre ordered or (depending on when you see this) purchased by clicking the link HERE. My birthday is April 7, so I decided what better birthday present to myself than to release a book that day so I really have something to celebrate? A new chapter will post daily through April 6th and on the 7th the book will be available for immediate purchase instead of just preorders.

I also released the rough drafts of the book chapter by chapter on my website and you can read what I wrote and get the gist of the chapters. Honestly, you don’t even need to read the book. There is enough information between the blog postings and the resources pages found HERE that the rest of the book might just be fluff.

With that said, the blog is a very first draft, mostly notes, of the final book. It’s out of order and a tad messy. The book itself its a much easier format to read and honestly, I would truly appreciate your purchase.

Why should you post Reels on Instagram?

Reels are vertical, looping video snippets that range in length from 15 to 90 seconds. These videos serve as a blueprint for the brief, compelling content seen on TikTok. The advantages of Instagram Reels for brands are well known and excellent for engagement. Reels are also ideal for businesses that have never used video material before. That is because they are simple to produce! 

I'll explain why brands should post Reels in this chapter as well as how to make them from scratch.

Major Advantages of Posting Reels.

Reels Allow Companies to Use Creativity in Product Promotion.

Looking for a novel method to display your products on Instagram? Post your reels now! By doing this, your products will have more life than just still images. Here are a few typical formats for brand-related videos that we see: 

Placing goods in innovative or distinctive environments.

Displaying a product from many perspectives or uses.

Tutorials and how-to videos.

Commercials for products.

The creative freedom the format offers you is among the main advantages of creating Reels for Instagram. This is crucial for businesses who wish to use social media to boost their sales efforts.

The New Instagram Algorithm Loves Reels A Lot.

Think about how Instagram Stories seldom go popular and how static photo postings do. The closest thing to a "sure thing" brand accounts have for generating engagement are reels. Now that the algorithm is so unpredictable, this is especially true. 

Hell, we frequently saw Reels gain popularity. You only need to look at your Explore page to find proof.

Brands cannot force their own virality, but Reels are currently the Instagram post format that brands are most likely to use when they do go viral. 

Brands Can Streamline Their Social Selling Activities With Reels.

Don't discount the ability of short-form video to sell. In fact, 81% of marketers concur that video marketing directly and favorably affects sales. 

Social selling is greatly aided by posting Reels on Instagram. Reels offer a structure where businesses don't have to be shy about showcasing things, which explains why. Once more, the Reels of numerous brands mainly highlight their products.

This brings up an additional significant benefit of Instagram Reels over TikTok. In other words, Instagram does allow you to tag products in postings. And this is a sweet spot for marketers to do brand deals with bigger companies. 

Reels Don't Need a High Production Value or Big Budget.

The fact that Reels on Instagram require very little resource usage is another underappreciated advantage. Reels can be made even if you are short on time or have little to no money for content. To get started, all you need is a smartphone. This equalizes the playing field for both large and small brands. 

Reels are really more effective when they are informal and spontaneous, as opposed to conventional video posts or advertisements that call for extensive editing. A music library and a variety of creative tools are currently available for the format, which makes videos pop. 

Remember that brands and creators alike enjoy basic how-tos and tutorials. The reason Instagram Reels are so successful is because of their genuine, unpolished nature.

Reels Have Been Shown to Increase Engagement and Reach.

The popularity of short-form video cannot be disputed. Both Reels and TikTok can attest to this and this is a competition.

Instagram Reels are involved in 20% of all Instagram activity. Short-form video content is in high demand, and brands who produce it benefit from increased reach. Look at the Instagram feed for any brand right now. Reels probably dominate it, don't you think?

Making Your Reel.

Physically Creating Reels is a simple task. I could do a step-by-step guide, but with as fast as the internet changes, whatever I write on how-to might not be the case when this book publishes.

In my opinion, the best practice is to have a dummy Instagram account on which you can post to see how things work, but Instagram want’s you to create content for them and use their features so they make exploration rather simple. It shouldn’t be difficult to create a new Reel and get it posted. 

What Else About Posting Reels Should Brands Know?

Post Reels to your main Instagram feed to increase the number of people who see it. When you publish a Reel, you'll get the option to "Also share to feed." There is no justification not to. This enhances the likelihood that both regular viewers and newcomers will see your video posts outside of the Reels tab. 

-Promote your most recent Reels via Instagram Stories. Stories are ideal for ensuring that your followers don't miss your most recent videos, just like any other sort of Instagram feed content. Whatever you can do to increase the number of people who see your posts is a benefit given how obstinate the present algorithm is. A simple method to do it is via Instagram Stories.

-Pay attention to the hashtags, captions, and descriptions you use. The Instagram algorithm "tells" what your post is based on these details. The Explore page may also propose your Reel based on these details.

-Post them without hesitation! You may essentially post Instagram Reels as frequently as you choose, which is one of its major advantages. You may have noticed that Reels are frequently published on Instagram by large firms as opposed to other types of content. Although there is no ideal frequency, these are my suggestions: 

Three to four of your posts on Instagram should be reels if you post to the platform seven days a week. 

Two or three Reels per week are OK if you only publish throughout the week. 

If Reels are outperforming posts on your Instagram grid, change this frequency.

A balance of three (3) Reels and four (4) In-Feed Posts is acceptable if you publish seven days a week. If you observe that Reels are outpacing posts on your grid, you may also change this frequency. If you only post during the week, a decent place to start is with a split of two (2) Reels and three (3) In-Feed Posts. 

But what is the truth? The real deciding factor in “Post or Reel” is your own analytics. Stick with it if you discover that a particular format generates more reach or engagement. You can try converting your Carousel concepts into Reels, and vice versa.

-To improve your Instagram Reels ranking, interact with other users. Reels are ranked by Instagram's algorithm in a somewhat convoluted way. Having said that, your captions, conversations, and platform engagement are all important. Simply put, interact as much as you can with other accounts and Reels. You might have moments when your degree of engagement seems arbitrary. This is quite normal, so trust us.

-Reels can increase engagement by include artists and influencers. Fact: Before making a purchase, 62% of shoppers want to watch videos of real people using the product. Once more, the top Instagram businesses share Reels with actual customers and influencers. This clarifies why companies use influencer whitelisting in their Instagram marketing plans.

Thank you for reading this little piece of Better by the Gram: Ten Actionable Steps to Increase Your Visibility. If you received any value from what you read, I ask you to please consider purchasing this book by clicking HERE. Thank you for everything!