When Instagram launched reels in Brazil, I am sure they didn’t expect such a massive blowup. However, reels have managed to outperform and have become one of the most popular bite-sized video-sharing elements of Instagram. Therefore, it is no surprise that brands are also using Instagram reels digital marketing for themselves.
Did you know almost 2/3rd of the NBA franchises use Instagram reels (As per Influencer Marketing Hub)? You know the drill. If NBA is doing it, you should do it as well right?
Therefore, In this guide, you’re going to learn about Instagram reel – what they are and how can they be used to promote your brand.
Instagram Reels as a Part of Your Digital Marketing Plan
As the future of TikTok remains uncertain in many countries especially the US, Instagram takes a big jump to take advantage of this newly created opportunity.
Instagram has recently launched Instagram Reels which allows you to create short videos just like TikTok and add music and other creatives to your video just like TikTok.
Instagram has been trying hard for the past many years to emerge as the most popular social media channel.
With that intention in mind, it had introduced SnapChat’s stories feature a long time ago and is now trying the element of TikTok’s fun and easy video creation to its platform.
There exist many differences between the two social media channels.
On one hand, TikTok allows you to create up to 60seconds of video. On the other hand, Instagram Reels allows only up to 15seconds.
In addition, Instagram feels a little bit more cluttered with so many different features in one and the same platform. TikTok offers a simpler, less fussy, and easy platform for sharing and finding videos.
In spite of the differences, Instagram Reels has many similarities with TikTok.
They both allow you to create enjoyable videos. You can create dance videos, lip-sync videos, dress changes, and any other thing. Here’s a great tool for you to create engaging video effects.
Not just that, you can even add the AR effect and create your videos in slow motion just like you did on TikTok.
These similarities between the two will offer great opportunities to many business owners to increase their reach to their audience.
What is Instagram Reels?
Instagram Reels allows you to create and discover small and entertaining videos on Instagram.
These videos are generally not more than 15seconds long and Instagram provides various effects, types of audio and other effects to make them more fun for the viewers.
Credit: Instagram
How Instagram Reels Get Discovered?
These Reels are shown in the Explore feed. They can be discovered in any of the four ways.
They will show in your feed if you’re following that person who has created that Reel.
Clicking on any hashtag which is also used in the Reel will also help you find it.
Looking for the audio which has been used in the Reel will also show that reel in your search results.
Instagram Explore will show you various trending Reels and you can swipe through those to discover more.
Read: What No One Tells You About Instagram Marketing Hacks But You Must Know
How Popular Brands Are Using Instagram Reels for Marketing
Did you know that Louis Vuitton’s Instagram Reels cross 7 Million views? Not only LV, but almost all amazing popular brands are also using Instagram reels as a part of their digital marketing plan.
How do popular brands use Instagram reels for digital marketing? Let’s check out a few brands and see how they create an amazing experience for their audience.
Instagram Reels For Educating the Audiences Ft Apple
Apple is a well-known brand used by most people. So it took full advantage of Instagram reels and shot short videos to showcase its products and teach people how to use them.
For example, it showed its viewers how to access the slow-motion feature, learn to create attractive videos.
It also provided a quick tutorial of its products to highlight other features. This not only garnered popularity for its products but also set an informative advertising example to follow.
Takeaway:
Brands these days have very unique ideas and strategies to increase their brand awareness. Brands are coming up with strategies to attract their customers to larger masses.
Education is one such strategy that is widely being used by brand owners to garner greater engagement.
When you educate your customers with all relevant information through engaging content they are more likely to purchase from you.
The Instagram reels is an optimal platform for getting your target audience’s attention and getting your message across to your followers.
Educating your customers turns into a very effective marketing strategy. Your customers always get attracted to those things that are understandable and relevant to their needs. So what else can be better to attract them by educating them?
Showcasing Brand Values and Personality Ft Sephora
Sephora has already mastered creating reels and gaining popularity. It comes up with user-generated content that helps it to get greater conversation and engagement.
Moreover, Sephora always lives up to the values and personality it depicts.
You will always find glamor, reliability, and quality in its brand and its reels.
Furthermore, Sephora also comes up with new taglines which attract more and more customers. They always have fun as a brand and with their audiences.
With such ideas, it shows its value and personality that greatly resonates with the needs of the customers.
Takeaway:
Remember, social media is all about communication and forming connections. Popular brands try to form a connection with their customers by delivering their message to their target audiences.
Brands that successfully market through Instagram reels create an authentic voice that resonates with their target audiences.
They not only sell their product but also showcase their brand value to create credibility among their customers.
Highlight the Differentiation Factor Ft Oliver Wong
Oliver Wong also uses Instagram reels for brand development. It comes with new and new ideas to boost engagement by highlighting its differences.
Their famous reels consist of slow-mo and hyper-lapse tutorials and photography tips. Oliver gains their audience’s attention by incorporating scroll-stopping texts in his videos.
This way, Oliver stands out and shows the audience how it is different and elite from others.
End Result? A very effective strategy to show the difference to its audiences.
Takeaway:
Brands are successfully using Instagram reels to make their brand and product look distinct and unique among others and develop themselves.
After all, why should your ideal customers purchase from you? So brands use this medium to highlight the elements that make them unique.
You can also use creative video techniques to showcase your point of differentiation. It may be your product, your designs, your new ideas and actions, and many more.
This will help you in generating extra and fresh excitement among your customers.
Now let us understand how to use Instagram reels for marketing purposes.
How to Use Instagram Reels for Marketing Your Brand
Give Your Audiences a Look at Your Brand
Instagram reels are a short and crisp way of engaging your audiences. It is a great opportunity for you to connect with your target customers on a more personal level.
So one of the best ways to practice marketing with Instagram reels is to provide your audiences with a look behind your brand’s complete pic.
This will help your customers to form a connection with your brand. You can show your company’s work culture, highlight the efforts of your employees. You can also demonstrate how your product is a great fit for the regular needs of your customers.
This will make your customers empathize with your brand and form a more human connection with it. It will also help in making your brand authentic as well as create exciting content about your products.
Sharing user-generated content is the biggest selling point for any brand. It facilitates authenticity. Like behind-the-scenes creation can boost your brand authenticity, leveraging user-generated content also serves as a helping hand.
It will help in increasing your visibility and engagement rates. Moreover, good content will be shared more by your customers which will automatically boost your brand’s reach.
You can also partner with influencers to create videos where they use your products and services. You can also invite people to post short clips of your products and then reward the one with the best content.
Showcase Your Product With Real-Life Experiences
When you showcase your brand and products in action, it helps your customers to develop a connection with your product.
Highlight the features and benefits of your product by demonstrating it in real-life scenarios. Also, try to underscore its USP( Unique Selling Point).
For example, if you are selling clothes, share a short clip of a model wearing those clothes and advertising it. You can also pair it with other outfits to show its versatility.
Add an Element of Fun in Your Reels
Create content that has an element of fun in it. Entertainment always attracts your customers. So try engaging with them in a fun and personal way.
This is the platform for connection and drop-down formal conversation. You have the opportunity to act casual and know what your customers feel about the brand. You can also try to create your trend and ask your followers to join in.
Now let us unlock a few important tips for using Instagram reels for digital marketing.
How to Create Instagram Reels
The way of creating Instagram Reels is pretty easy and straightforward. If you have used TikTok ever in your life, you will find the experience pretty similar. Here’s how you do it:
You click on the Instagram camera and there you will see an option for Instagram Reels.
Now, you can add audio and any other effects you want. If you want to use your own original audio, you can record the video with audio and then upload it.
Finally, post it and share it with your friends.
Credit: Instagram
Why Should You Include Instagram Reels in Your Digital Marketing Strategy?
1. Bigger Audience Reach
As the existence of TikTok in the USA remains doubtful, the TikTok users are desperately looking for an alternative. And it looks like that alternative has come in the form of Instagram Reels.
TikTok has over 2.3 billion downloads and more than 100 million of those are American users.
With the cloud of uncertainty still hovering over TikTok in the US, we will see a migration of TikTok users on Instagram which will increase its audience base.
A bigger audience base will give you a greater opportunity to reach a bigger audience.
2. Access to Generation Z
Generation Z forms the main user base of TikTok which remains a very popular social channel for them, even more than Instagram and Facebook.
With TikTok going out of the pictures, these Generation Z TikTok users will move to Instagram to avail of its Reels feature.
This will lead to an increased user base of Gen Z on Instagram. Any business whose target audience is this section of the generation will find Instagram Reels a very convenient way to reach them. You can read the GenZ marketing guide here.
3. Increased Brand Awareness
TikTok has led to many things going viral like the ‘old town road’ song.
With that statement, I am not saying that you can go viral on Instagram Reel just like many had gone on TikTok as this is not a very realistic goal to aim for.
But what I am trying to say is that at least we can start trying. Even if we don’t go viral, any kind of popularity among the users will spread out the word about you and will increase your brand awareness.
9 Tips for Using Instagram Reels For Digital Marketing
Tip 1) Start Focusing On Engagement
With the news of fake views on Instagram Reels already doing the rounds, it seems like just depending on video views is not going to be a very effective option to measure the performance.
Instagram will be required to take some action against it and to curb the use of bots on Instagram Reels sooner.
As a result, it’s better to start focusing on building an audience based on genuine engagement. Chances are there that no Insta algorithm changes will get rid of that.
Tip 2) Creativity To Rescue
As the foundation of Instagram Reels depends on creating enjoyable and entertaining content, creativity is going to be the only factor that is going to set your business apart there.
This will also increase the chances of your discoverability which will bring more engagement for you.
Bizadmark is known for its creativity. If you find creativity and engagement missing on your Instagram, get in touch with us now.
Tip 3) Tell Your Brand Story
Telling your brand story with Instagram reels can be a great way for digital marketing.
Use this platform to share your brand story and connect with your audiences.
Reels is giving you a very creative opportunity to showcase every bit of your brand and its suitability for your potential customers. So share everything in a fun and genuine way to tell your story.
Tip 4) Create a Storyboard
Reels on Instagram do not have the same feel as the stories. So you can take advantage of this by storyboarding your reels before the beginning of the production.
You can start by setting an objective for your reel and think of ways to achieve it in a step-by-step process.
Remember, you have only 30 seconds to play the marketing game. If you carry it out properly, you will surely succeed.
Tip 5) Conduct Research
Research always helps you in identifying the elements to target when you start with your marketing campaign. The same is with Instagram reels.
Making reels on Instagram is a new feature but most of the brands are already using it to increase their reach. Brands have already published innumerable short clips to advertise and market their products online.
When you know who your target audiences are, spend some time watching the reels on Instagram among the existing demographic. This will help you in gaining an insight into what your competitors are doing with reels.
Tip 6) Repurpose Content
Some contents are very popular. They are popular for some reason, so go for repurposing them. This will help you gain greater reach from other platforms.
Moreover, if you feel that you are stuck on ideas, then you can look for other social media channels that have already garnered greater attention.
You can also brainstorm ways to communicate with the same information and find innovative ways to make reels on Instagram.
Tip 7) Be Trendy
Reels are all about trends. Trends can make your reels viral and shoot your brand’s visibility and success.
So, always keep an eye on trends. A lot of trends happen and change almost every day.
Therefore it is important to practice moment marketing here and advertise your brand in alignment with the viral trends these days.
Don’t shy away from trying even the most eccentric ones, they will help you a lot.
Tip 8) Show off Your Products
Your brands may have many products that might serve your relevant set of audiences.
However, how will your audiences come to know about it? So, showcase your product along with its features and uses.
Reels are a great way to highlight your product details and their uniqueness.
It can help you market your brand in the most creative ways. So, let your customers know about your storehouse.
Tip 9) Practice Easy Selling
Making reels on Instagram for your marketing campaign is not to push your product or service on your viewers. Rather, it is about capturing their attention and placing your brand in the competitive market.
So practice easy selling. Give a discount to your followers and viewers. Tell them to visit your website. Show unique ways to help them choose you over others.
Create genuine content and do not exaggerate anything about your brand and the products.
This will help you in boosting your brand credibility, establishing authority, and will help you in making a genuine connection with your brand.
Key Takeaway: Instagram Reels for Digital Marketing
Nothing is permanent in the world of digital. Nobody can predict which social channel will gain popularity and when. The silver lining here is that it gives all of us an equal chance of getting big on these social channels. Share on X
This starts when you’re ready to lead the change by being an early adopter. If you have not yet started using Instagram Reels for promoting your business, get in touch with Bizadmark’s social media marketing team.
This post contains affiliate links. Clicking on those won’t cost you anything but we might get a cup of coffee with that which can help us not fall asleep while writing our next article.
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Instagram Reels for Digital Marketing FAQs
I tried using Instagram reels but didn’t get engagement. How will you help me?
If your reels aren’t garnering views, chances are you need improvement in the strategy, the video content, and the music as well. We will help you carve out a strategy through which you will be heard, seen, and loved.
How Do I Decide What Kind Of Soundtrack To Put On My Instagram Reels?
Choosing the right music or soundtrack is very important for reels. It is often best to research what’s trending around the globe and choose that soundtrack. That will help big time.
Will Reels Get Me Organic Audience Or I Will Have To Boost It As Well?
Honestly, it depends. This is the beauty of digital marketing that everything is your call and in your control. If played with rightly, reels will bring heavy organic traffic to your brand. However, if you still want to expand visibility you can always promote it.
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Great post. Instagram reels can certainly play a significant role in your digital marketing strategy.