https://nasacademy.com/blog/article/how-to-make-reels-on-instagram
Short-form content is rapidly becoming the most popular way to create and share content on social media – and Instagram is one of the platforms that is taking the lead. The platform released its own short-form format in 2020: Instagram Reels. While learning how to make Reels on Instagram is a simple process, there are ways to streamline it, and create ones that will catch people’s attention.
Read on for our list of handy tips to create your own Reels, and get on your way to going viral on Instagram.
Short-form videos became popular first with the now defunct Vine, and now with TikTok. Other social media platforms have adapted to accommodate short videos – like with YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels.
Short-form videos give users entertaining content in quick bites, which perfectly accommodates people’s busy schedules, and gives users the ability to watch a variety of content. To make it easier to post, platforms like TikTok and Instagram have their own in-app shooting and editing software – which means becoming a content creator is easier than ever before.
Research shows that 71% of Gen Z spends more than 3 hours every day watching videos online. Instagram reports that Reels have 22% higher engagement than regular video content, while 67% of Gen Z report that they plan to spend more time on Instagram than TikTok.
There’s no better time to break into short-form content creation, and Instagram Reels are one of the best ways to do it.
Instagram introduced Reels in 2020 as their own version of short-form video content. As a social media platform that specializes in visual content, video content was a natural addition. Reels allow users to create short videos of up to 60 seconds each, and offer a variety of iconic filters, animations, and audio effects.
If you’re familiar with Instagram, this probably sounds similar to Instagram’s Story feature where you can post video clips, still images, or share posts in the form of a video that is automatically deleted after 24 hours.
A few key differences between Reels and Stories is that Stories are only updated to the user’s profile, rather than being shared across Instagram. If your profile is set to private, only your followers will see your story. Users can also choose to make their story only visible to certain individuals through the “Close Friends” feature.
Reels are designed to be seen by many people far beyond an individual profile, and are posted and shared much like TikTok videos through Instagram’s “Explore tab”. Like TikTok, Reels are short video clips, but they’re content designed to be entertaining. Reels also borrow TikTok’s feature of allowing you to pair popular music with your videos. Overall, Reels is designed to make video creation as easy as possible – so that anyone can become a creator.
When you share Reels, they are automatically shared to your followers’ feed, and show up on the “Explore page” where other Instagram users can find them too. Because Reels are short-form content, the videos are quick, punchy, and easy to categorize – making it easier to discover content, and get discovered as a creator.
Despite the length, short-form content can be more difficult to make because of how quickly you need to grab your audience and get your message across. There’s little room for error, and no space for superfluous content. With that said, the process of making Reels is easy and intuitive, and certainly less labor-intensive than crafting a 20 minute video for YouTube.
Now that you know what a Reel is and why short-videos are worth creating, let’s go through how to make an Instagram Reel from start to finish.
Instagram offers two options when making and uploading reels: you can record and edit your own video outside of Instagram using your own software, or you can use Instagram’s in-app camera and editing software.
While using professional equipment may be tempting, creating your Reels using Instagram’s software actually has a higher success rate than trying to be too fancy or professional. It simply doesn’t match the product, or what people are looking for on Reels. For this article, we will walk through creating a Reel with Instagram’s internal editor, so that you can make your Reels wherever you go.
Step 1: open the Instagram Stories camera and tapping the Reels button.
Step 2: Choose your audio. You can choose to record your own audio, which will become available to other Instagrammers, but you will be credited as the original creator. Instagram has a wide selection of music you can put into your Reels. You can also cut the music so you can choose which part you want to feature in your Reel.
Step 3: Record your video. You can record clips that are 15 seconds or shorter, up to a maximum of 60s total. There are two ways to do this. You can either set a timer to record your clip hands-free (which is useful if you want to star in your Reel) or you can hold down the record button. Holding the record button will give you a bar at the top of your screen that shows how much time you have left for your video.
Step 4: Edit & add effects. However you record your Reel, you’ll have the chance to edit it once you have your video. Instagram is known for its amazing variety of filters and effects – and Reels are no different. Adding effects to your Reel only takes selecting the options on the side of your screen while you’re in the editing mode of the app. You can also add different effects to multiple clips.
Add gifs, images, and text to your Reel to make it more engaging. You have full control over where they appear or disappear on the Reel by adjusting the slider at the bottom of the screen. Similar to editing text, you can also edit audio at this point by speeding it up or slowing it down.
Step 5: Share it. Once you’re happy with your Reel, it’s time to share! Hit the share button, and you’ll be taken to a screen that gives you posting options where you’ll want to add a caption, hashtags and a video thumbnail for your Reel. You can also choose where you’d like it to be shared, such as on the “Explore page”. You can only do this if your account is public.
Sharing to Explore means other people can see your Reel, as well as what music and effects you used to make the Reel. Hashtags play a role here, as any music or effects you use will be noted by Instagram, and your Reel will appear in the hashtags of those features.
Now that you have your video ready, it’s time to get it seen by the people on Instagram. There are a number of strategies you can use to do this.
First, set your profile to “public”, and to share your Reel to the “Explore page”. This means that other people will be able to see it when they’re browsing.
Next, find what’s trending and use that in your Reel – whether it be content, or the music and effects you use. Using these in your Reel will get it onto trending pages, which includes topics that Instagram users are currently interested in. This will expose your Reel to a far wider audience than you would get by just sharing it to your followers, and the “Discovery page”.
Keep track of your Instagram Reel insights. These insights allow you to see how your Reels are performing – how many views they’ve gotten, and even metrics like the number of Plays, Accounts Reached, Likes, Comments, Saves, and Shares.
Assessing each Reels performance is key if you want to learn how to make Reels on Instagram that will gain traction. This way, you can find out what works, what doesn’t, and how to streamline your content so future Reels will find success more consistently.
Instagram’s algorithm also prioritizes certain kinds of Reels. This includes Reels that:
Follow these guidelines so you can use Instagram’s algorithms to your advantage. This way, you’ll be doing all that you can to get your Reels seen by audiences far and wide across Instagram.
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Become a Mobile Content Creator
By Admin Nas Academy
By Admin Nas Academy
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