Instagram Reels: Competition for TikTok?

• Date: 18 September 2020
• reading time: 5 Minutes
• Blogger: Francisca Zimmermann
• E-mail: [email protected]

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It’s official! Instagram Reels is live! On the 5th of August, Instagram announced the brand new feature with a press release on its website. With Reels, Instagram users can now not only share short videos but also edit them. Just like on TikTok!

In this blog, we will dive into the possibilities of Instagram Reels. Keep reading if you would like to learn how to share Reels and if you are wondering how Reels can benefit your business account.

What are Instagram Reels?

Reels are short videos with fun effects that you can share with your Instagram connections. The videos are between 3 and 15 seconds long and can include several clips. Compared to the Instagram Stories we all know, Reels allow for more creativity and some simple editing.

You can choose to share your Reels on your Feed, as a Story, directly to a friend, or on the Explore page. When you allow your Reel to be displayed on the Explore page, it will be visible on your own Reels tab too.

Source: https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/introducing-instagram-reels-announcement

How does it work?

While Stories are relatively self-explanatory, the creation of a Reel may require a bit more practice. The number of available effects is huge; you can choose your own music, you can combine different shots; you can turn your videos into real art-pieces.

For those wanting to experiment with Reels, we advise you to just open the app and play around. This gives you the best idea of all the possibilities you have with the new feature.

However, for those in need of some guidance, these are the steps you need to take in order to create your first Reel:

1. Go to your Instagram account and click on your profile picture. This takes you to a screen with a camera view.

2. At the bottom of the camera view, select Reels.

3. On the left side of your screen, you will see several options for music, speed, effects, and a timer. This is where you get creative.

4. To customize your video, you have the following editing options:

• Audio: Select your music from the Instagram library, or record your own audio.
• Effects: The possibilities for effects are endless. Browse through the effect library to pick an effect that suits you. You can even choose to select several clips with multiple effects within one Reel.
• Timer: The timer allows you to record hands-free. This is a great way to make your clips look more professional!
• Speed: It can look great to slow down or speed up parts of your video. To do so, click on the speed button on the left side of your screen.
• Align: When you record multiple clips, you want to make sure your transitions are smooth. By clicking align, you can make sure the end-view of your shot aligns perfectly with the starting-view of your next shot.

5. Hold the record button as long as you want Instagram to record your shot. Once you stop pressing the button, your first shot will be saved, and you will be ready to record the rest of your Reel.

6. You can choose to record all your clips within Reels, or to pre-record them first and select them from your library. For those with a more professional editing tool or a good camera, this can be a great option.

7. Are you done recording? Click next to add a caption and select your sharing options.

8. Make sure you are strategic about your caption. If you want your Reel to be featured on the Explore page, make sure to add the right hashtags to your caption. Your Reel may be selected based on hashtags, effects or songs to be displayed on a specific page.

9. To finish your Reel creation, choose your sharing option. This can be on your Feed, in a regular Story (for 24 hours only), on the Explore page (great for businesses to grow their reach) or in a private message to one (or several) of your friends.

Competition for TikTok?

Many experts have been talking about the huge competition Reels is posing to TikTok, the world's fastest-growing social media app at the moment.

In many ways, Reels are similar to TikTok videos. They are short, fun, and allow for great creativity.

Will Reels take over TikTok in the near future? We are not sure.

What we do know is that Instagram Reels has huge potential. While TikTok is a stand-alone app that needs to be downloaded to create TikTok videos, Reels is an in-app feature. Without having to download anything extra, Instagram users can easily give Reels a quick try. This makes the step for existing Instagram users to start playing with Reels very small.

We are excited to see what is going to happen in the coming years and will stay on top of the new trends on both Instagram and TikTok.

Instagram Reels for brands

You may think that Reels, as it’s so similar to TikTok, is mainly meant for music and dance videos. However, this is not the case.

Both Reels and TikTok are great platforms for brands to show the world what they do.

With their creative possibilities, you can also use Reel or TikTok videos to:

• share tutorials

• record tips or ‘how-to’ videos

• feature customers, fans or influencers

• share fun ‘behind-the-scenes’ shots

Especially for businesses with a younger audience, Reels and TikTok videos are a wonderful opportunity to connect with your audience and get noticed by a large public.

Are you using Reels for your business? Make sure that you use the right hashtags and allow your Reels to be displayed on the Explore page. This makes your video openly accessible for everyone in your target audience.

Are you creative, original, and strategic? Who knows? Maybe your video will be the new viral Reel sensation!

Need help?

Would you like to use Instagram Reels to grow your brand? Or do you need some guidance with your social media strategy, funnel building or website? We would love to help you out.

Feel free to contact us for a FREE strategy call so we can get to know your business and discuss what we can do for you.

Are you looking for a place to expand your knowledge on social media, digital marketing, and online sales funnels? Then you might be interested in our Social Media Gids Community. Here you can connect with like-minded entrepreneurs, get answers to all your questions, and join one of our useful online courses.

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• Blogger: Francisca Zimmermann
• E-mail: [email protected]
• Social media manager & content creator at Social Media Gids
• Francisca Zimmermann is a social media expert with a background in research and a love for learning new things. She travels the world looking for beautiful places and interesting cultures, while she dives into the world of her clients to be able to write about them and their interests as a real 'insider'.
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