With over one billion active users on Instagram, brands and businesses all over the world are doing all that they can to attract and captivate the platform’s audiences in fresh new ways.

Launched in 2020, the Instagram reel is one of the newer kids on the block- disrupting the status quo and challenging brands to think outside the traditional video format box.

This ground-breaking new feature invites users to create and edit fun, bite-size videos, spanning from 15 to 60 seconds, before sharing their masterpieces with friends and other fellow Instagram users. From gender reveals to quirky dance routines, and product promotions to sale announcements, businesses and everyday users alike have long been letting their creativity run wild with this feature.

And with these masterpieces whipping up far more engagement than traditional Instagram videos, you’re missing a trick if you haven’t hopped on the Instagram Reels train.

To shoot your Reel footage via the Instagram app, select the Reels icon in the centre of your navigation bar and press the camera icon located on the top right of the screen. Alternatively, tap the “+” on the top right of the Instagram home screen before selecting the Reels icon.

To start recording, hold down the recording circle in the middle of the screen. Or, if you’re going for a hands-free set-up- make the most of Instagram’s handy timer and countdown feature by selecting the timer icon. After shooting your reel clip(s), Reels offer users a plethora of effects and editing tools that help users add a sprinkling artistic flare to their creation and bring their Reels to life to keep users hooked.

As a word of advice, try adding some extra flare to your creation with the draw tool or by adding music to your footage from the Instagram music library. Or perhaps you’d like to swipe left to access filters to add to your Reels or Search from Instagram’s endless gallery of AR effects, created by Instagram and creators around the world.

Reels also allows you to trim, reorder or add additional clips without a second thought by tapping “Edit clips”. Switch up the video playback speed for a sprinkling of comedic effect by selecting the x1 icon located on the left sidebar. And for a snazzy backing-track or voiceover- tap the audio icon to browse Instagram’s vast catalogue of hits or go bold and start recording your own audio on a separate Reel.

Note: When you share a Reel with your own audio creation, your audio will be attributed to your account. Remember that, if you have a public account, other users will be able create their own Reels with your original audio by selecting ‘Use Audio’ from your Reel.

If you’re looking to master your transitions and edit content to a specific beat- you may find it easier to save your Reel footage to your camera roll before editing using a third-party editing app such as Splice or InShot. To add external clips from your camera roll to your Instagram Reels, select the “+” icon in the bottom left corner. However, if you’re opting to go down this route- watch out for the pesky Instagram algorithm.

Instagram’s algorithm is known to deprioritize content that appears visibly recycled from other apps, such as TikTok. That means they’re less likely to appear in the Instagram Explore Page and the Reels tab. You can cosy up to the Instagram algorithm by adding any on-screen text or audio in the main Instagram app after uploading your edit.

Although, if you’re really chomping at the bit to reuse a masterpiece that has kicked up a storm on your TikTok account, enlist the help of a third-party watermark removal app to get rid of that pesky TikTok watermark. However, bear in mind that such apps can compromise somewhat on the video quality.

So, with the basics covered- what exactly are the tools required to whip up some pro-level Oscar-worthy Instagram Reels?

This guide will take you through everything you need to know about producing Reels content that stands out from the other nominees and gets you noticed by both new and existing followers.

As the old saying goes, behind every great Instagram reel is a great plan.

To really engage your audience and freeze those scrolling thumbs, you’ll want your reel to appear cohesive, flow nicely and tell a story.

Some questions to consider when devising your Reel plan:

o What is your reel going to be about? Which topics would make the most sense for your business? Makeup hacks? DIY?

o What are you trying to achieve? Increased website traffic? Follower engagement?

o What will your followers get out of watching it? Entertainment? Education, perhaps?

o How are you going to ensure your Reels appear coherent with your existing social media content?

o Can you define your target audience?

o What sort of content is most likely to resonate with your audience? A behind-the-scenes sneak-peak? A fun tutorial?

Whilst it can be tempting to skip right ahead to the shooting phase, ironing out these details can help to better inform those all-important decisions during the creative process and can ultimately make the difference between a shining success and a fruitless dud.

With 85% of Facebook video watched without sound, adding on-screen text and subtitles or closed captions to your videos is a no-brainer when it comes to reaching more users.

On-screen text is not only great for people opting to watch without sound, but they’re also an invaluable tool that makes videos more accessible to a wider audience – notably those with hearing difficulties.

To add video subtitles, use Instagram’s closed caption sticker by tapping on the sticker icon and selecting ‘Captions’.

However, if you’re going to use text, you’ll need to make sure that incoming visitors can actually read it properly- particularly from your feed view.

If your audience can’t clearly see the text- they’re much more likely to skip right past your video, which can be a major engagement blocker.

Ergo, you’ll want to avoid displaying text – as well as other important visual elements in your Reel- within the bottom fifth of the Reel covered by the video caption.

That also means that you’ll always want to make sure it’s within 4:5 dimensions to enhance visibility, especially if you’re sharing it to your feed.

Much like the all-too-familiar fan-fave, Instagram Stories- Instagram Reels are intended to be viewed on a mobile screen, vertically and full screen.

That means you’ll want to use your full screen to record and shoot your reel in portrait mode to get the most out of the Instagram algorithm.

And not to mention- shooting in this fashion will also help you to gauge a better understanding of the viewers’ perspective and should better inform creative decision making when shooting and editing.

Note: Yes, that also means no frames or square formatting.

Furthermore, it’s most effective to create Reels content with an aspect ratio of 9:16, and with a size of 1080 pixels x 1920 pixels.

Hint: Simply shooting and editing directly on a mobile phone is a simple and easy way to stick to these dimensions.

Whilst this all might seem like a load of pointless hassle, keep in mind that you always want your Reels to appear native to the platform i.e., content created specifically for use on Reels, to really play up to the Instagram algorithm and give your Reels the best fighting chance.

The best way to drive traffic from Reels is to include a clear call-to-action (CTA) encouraging viewers to head to your link in bio.

You might do this using on-screen text placement, a verbal call-out, or perhaps a few words in your caption.

But without a proper link in your bio too to guide your followers and help them to seamlessly navigate through your different projects, users would soon give up on their search and retire back to Instagram’s home page- which means that going through the effort of including a CTA would probably be somewhat pointless.

Obtain more value from the link in bio and the enhance the effectiveness of the call-to-action on your Reel with the help of a link in bio tool, such as Mona or Campsite, to create a mini landing page with multiple link buttons and clickable images.

And don’t worry- this is a one-off job and shouldn’t take too long to set up.

Targeted adverts are an extremely powerful tool that allows you to show ads to the target audience, collect a database of potential buyers and adjust your advertising to best suit your needs, and best allocate your resources. This article will discuss targeted ads on Instagram as well as Facebook in comparison with it.

Targeting allows you to perform an abundance of essential tasks, the key to which are:

• promotion of posts and account
• advertising and targeting
• increasing user awareness and engagement
• advertising of new products, as well as event announcements
• collecting a subscription base

Audience – More than a billion accounts are registered on Instagram, which number-wise is almost 1/7th of the entire population. This shows the potential for expansion through brand awareness and advertising due to the mass amounts of people that can be reached.

Instagram users tend to engage with advertising. The fact that the Instagram ads can subtly slip into one’s ‘feed’ means that the line between entertainment and advertising is more blurred, and as a result, people are more willing to interact with it.

Cheap traffic – If you have worked toward a target, but have not achieved good results, do not despair. Most likely, you are missing something and made a mistake when drawing up a strategy or setting a task. With the correct setup, everything will turn out differently, and in the case of Instagram, it will be cheaper to gain the level of exposure you have set as your goal.

A wide variety of settings – Any user can set up ads directly from their Instagram in two clicks. To do this, it is enough to switch to the Business Profile and click “Promotions” from your page.

Categories and goals are needed to achieve the maximum fulfillment of the tasks set. For example, some are aimed at increasing engagement, and some are aimed at getting leads. So, let us figure out the truth.

There are a variety of goals that can be set and then analysed through both Instagram and Facebook.

Despite Instagram previously being much more limited with its settings, Facebook’s acquisition of it has meant that it now offers 11 settings in 3 distinct categories.

Brand awareness and reach – These goals are set purely based on expanding the knowledge of the brand; it contributes to the company having more of a presence and increasing the customers gained from other advertising as the brand is now more known.

Application installations – Through setting targets within this area, both Instagram and Facebook allow you to increase the number of installations of the advertised application. Helping you monitor how the advertising impacts your app downloads and what is successful in increasing downloads.

Traffic – This allows you to attract users who are more likely to go to the site or the application. It is best suited for advertising with external links. Payment can be either for clicks or landing page views and coverage.

Lead generation – use lead forms to collect user contact information, such as name, email address, and phone number. You can immediately collect contacts, add custom questions to understand the needs of potential customers. This will allow for more meaningful communication between the company and the consumer, drawing them into buying the product.

Messages – In the ad, users will see a button to write a direct message. The goal is sharpened to collect users who are more likely to start a conversation and attract people who are genuinely interested in the company.

Engagement – With this goal, you can find users who will actively leave comments and likes, make reposts and spread awareness giving the company more of a platform

Video views – It works to find users who are more likely to watch your promo video to the end, converting potential clients into active consumers.

Conversions Goals – help you get requests and users who have completed certain actions. With the help of this, you can collect everyone who added an item to the cart, viewed catalogs, visited certain places. Ideal for the second stage of the sales funnel. To achieve optimal results, you should receive at least 50 conversions in 7 days. Otherwise, the algorithms will have nothing to analyze to find more attractive customers for you.

Sales of products from the catalog – Ideal for stores with products – the chosen goal optimizes your advertising so that you find users who will show or have already shown interest on the site or in the application.

Store traffic – This goal helps utilise data from how many people are active on your website or application due to the ad, allowing you to adjust effectively to draw in the consumers.

Regardless of the chosen goal, advertising on Instagram allows you to attract users’ attention to your products or services.

Formats, placements, and their features are extremely important in terms of your ad campaign. To diversify the content and present advertising in the right light, the social network offers several advertising formats. You can advertise in the form of:

• Images
• Videos
• Reels

These methods can also be used in creating a slideshow where more than one format is being used.

In terms of placement, Instagram used to be limited to the story option or the feed; however, the development of reels on Instagram has created a new avenue for brands to advertise through.

The times when you had to contact the designer about your ad and not being able to hit your goals in terms of posting are over. If your budget is limited and you need to do something exciting but straightforward, we recommend canva.com. Like Photoshop, however slightly fewer features but is easier to use with instant registration and a lot of templates for different formats.

Setting up targeting through 4 simple steps.

Step 1. Open the publication that you would like to target and click the “Promote” button. Instagram will offer to link the page to Facebook, agree.

Step 2. Select your destination

When you select the “Your profile” option, the “Open Profile” button will appear under the post. By clicking on it, the audience will get to your page. “Your site” will lead people to the site, and another feature will allow you to advertise new products and receive requests or calls.

Step 3. Select an audience

You can choose the location of the audience, interests, age, and gender.

Note that by selecting an “automatic” audience, the ad will be shown to those who are as similar as possible to your subscribers. If you are not sure about your subscribers or there are many bots among them, it is better to create a new audience.

Step 4. Budget

Select a budget. Depending on the amount, you will be shown an approximate coverage of the publication. After that, check all the information, and now your company is running a set of targeted ads!

Beginners can try to launch promotions in the Instagram mobile app. It is fast and convenient. But for more serious work, for sales growth, for deep analytics – you cannot do without the Facebook advertising cabinet, where there are much more opportunities to optimize your advertising.

Despite our recommendation to launch targeted ads in your native ADS Manager account, you can try working on Instagram itself. Even in the mobile application, you can also track the results:

To track the targeting results, click “View Statistics” under the promoted publication or “Promotions” in the profile.

The statistics menu opens, which will show the coverage, impressions, and the number of likes, comments, saves, transitions to the profile, all information that is deeply important to growing as a company.

• If this is a set of subscribers, estimate how much one subscriber costs. Again, the formula is simple: advertising costs/number of new subscribers.
• If you wanted to increase the number of interactions, track indicators such as the number of likes and comments.
• If there are sales, track the costs of the advertising campaign and the income from it. If the campaign did not pay off, do not rush to disable advertising. It is possible that users left their mailboxes during the transition, which means they can buy in the future.
• In order not to lose data, create a table in which you will track the leading indicators of advertising campaigns and analyse them to understand the workings of your campaigns in the long term.

• What advantages do targeted ads on Instagram present
• How to configure ads within Facebook and Instagram (use the same system)
• The range of goals that can be set and which of them should be selected to benefit your company most
• How to set up ads from Instagram itself and evaluate the results