Easy ideas for Instagram Reels
Reels have become a strategic part of every social media marketing strategy and feel as if they are everywhere. They are increasingly becoming recommended content on our Instagram feeds and have become a strategic marketing tool for brands to reach their potential customers.
In this endless sea of short video clips, how can you engage your audience and stay at the forefront of their minds?
Here we will guide you through 5 easy ideas for Instagram Reels to help you create original content to help you stand out from the crowd. From easy transitions, stop frame clips, sneak peeks, and many more, hopefully, these ideas inspire and give you some tips on how to increase your engagement and reach potential customers.
Create playful sneak peeks Reels
Sneak peeks are a valuable way to bring your audience closer to your brand and build momentum. It is a type of content that is no longer reserved for Instagram Stories but has its rightful place on your Instagram feed! Sneak peeks can help you build excitement before the release of a new product or an event opening that your brand is leading or participating in. In general, people love to be part of an exciting product or event reveal. They want to be the first ones to know.
Consider these behind-the-scenes moments as film trailers where you can hint at an exciting feature of your product and intrigue your audiences. So how do you create a good sneak peek Reel on Instagram?
Start by ensuring that there are plenty of video clips or images of the product or event in question (all in portrait format) that you can select from. In the case of Reel creation, it is definitely better to have too many videos and images to choose from than too few.
Then, get your creative juices flowing to craft an intriguing storyline without giving away too much information.
Alternatively, behind-the-scenes content at events collected by your team members can also be used in your sneak peeks Reels, so make sure you deploy all your forces to help you capture every moment.
Nothing works better than a transition Reel
Rather than showing the final product or result only, why not show the difference your product or service made in a transition Reel? A transition Reel is a very popular type of Reel where you move from one scene to the next.
Interior designers, stylists, architects, and product designers can leverage the transition idea and fully showcase the impact of their work. Here are some ways to get started with this format:
Capturing the scene before you started the project and comparing it to the final result, the 'after,' is one of the most effective ways to demonstrate the value of your product or service. And again, this type of Instagram is an easy way to grab the attention of your target audience and increase engagement.
Product designers can show the raw material (the 'before' scene) and compare it to the final product (the 'after' scene).
Interior designers and stylists can show the contrast between the original and the completed interior.
Now, the only thing you need to do is pick the audio track and transition moment that will best fit your brand. Take a look at the example below from Crucial Trading that we created.
Animate products and collections in a stop-frame Reel
Give your products a touch of personality by animating them in a fun Reel. From the perspective of your potential customers, discovering your products or collections in a moving Reel is much more engaging than seeing them in a static post. You have only a few seconds to spark the interest of your potential customers, especially when it comes to social media, where many brands are competing for their attention.
The content creation process of a stop frame Reel is easy. All you need to do is to display your products in a flat-lay arrangement and place your camera (or phone) right above them. It is helpful to have additional equipment, such as a phone or camera holder, to keep the frame steady. Photograph the products every time they change their position. Once you have the visual content, you can easily craft a Reel in the app. A stop frame is one of those easy ideas for Instagram Reel that allow you to showcase the different colourways your products and collections have to offer.
Here’s a stop-frame animation example from ThreadBear to inspire you.
Captivating product slideshows with music
Creating high-quality video content for Reels requires considerable resources in terms of time and budget, which can be challenging for small businesses. But worry not! There are many creative ways to create engaging Instagram Reels without spending too much.
Another favourite idea is a product slideshow. Many brands share slideshows as Reels, but not many of them know how to make good ones that will have a real impact on their audiences. Start the process by gathering high-quality imagery of the product first. Without a doubt, Instagram is a visual platform, which makes it very important to take time to only select the best images.
Afterwards, spend some time researching trending audio tracks on social media on a regular basis, so your Reels always contain the latest, most popular songs. This will help increase engagement as they will be seen by lots of people and are fundamental to success for this format.
Once you start building the Reel, it is vital to match the changing imagery with the rhythm of the audio. Make sure the brand's logo is visible and if needed, you can overlay text on the images.
Take your team along for the ride with engaging Reels
Behind every brand is a passionate business owner and a dedicated team who makes the magic happen. The expertise of your team and simply what you do, makes your brand stand out from the crowd, so why not give them space to share their experience? After all, people connect with people, so there is nothing better than inviting business owners or team members to speak in front of the camera and show your audience how their work contributes to the final product or service. There are ways you can create a Reel that features your team members, but our favourite one is undoubtedly the ‘day in the life’ format, where you can share the expertise of your team and ultimately highlight your brand’s USP. Behind the scenes with your team is another opportunity to talk about your brand and make it more approachable to your potential customers. This is one of the easy ideas for Instagram Reels that brings your team together in a creative way.
Here’s an example of such an execution from a Nordic interior designer, Svenja.
Check the results
As the Reels format is relatively new to Instagram, it will take some time to find the best way to make them work for your brand. It is important to test different ideas and frequently measure the reception of the Reel.
An easy way to measure the success of your Reels is to check the number of plays in the Reels tab section that can be found between the Instagram bio and Instagram feed. You can see the number of plays for your Reels and see which ones are working and which aren’t and adapt content plans accordingly.
Creating content in an ever-changing social media landscape can be quite challenging. If you’re a design brand and need help with bringing your Instagram marketing strategy to the next level, then please get in touch and we’d love to help. And if you need specific help with Reels, why not request a Power Hour or support from our community management team to get going?
