Getting Started with Instagram Reels: the Dos and Don'ts

If you haven't started posting Reels yet it may feel like you've missed the boat - but you haven't! The time to start is now.

This guide is for you if you are…

• Over 30

• A small business owner

• Looking to grow your instagram following

• Looking to grow a more ENGAGED audience on Instagram

• Trying to sell to Gen Z

• Want to have fun!

Reels. It’s time. If you were like many of us and you thought- *hoped* -  this Reels trend was going to go away so you didn’t have to learn yet another marketing tactic, unfortunately, you’re wrong. 

As you probably know by now, Reels is here to stay, and, YES, you need to figure out how to use this medium to engage your followers and expand your reach to new audiences.

First a quick breakdown on WHY we’re so insistent you get down with Reels:

Instagram is the 7th most visited website in the world and the second most-downloaded app in the world

• Instagram has more than 1.22 billion active users every month and users spend on average 30 minutes a day scrolling through insta (Wait just 30 minutes? Yeah. Okay.)

• 9 out of 10 users watch Instagram videos weekly

• Reels receive more engagement than regular video content at a rate of about 22% 

• 81% of people use Instagram for research on companies, products, and services

• Shoppable posts are tapped by over 130 million user every month 

So while you may want to convince yourself that Reels just “isn’t for you,” actually, as it turns out Reels is for pretty much everyone. So it’s time. 

Let’s dive right in…

Let’s start with the “Dos” of Instagram Reels. If you’re experimenting with Reels, here’s a good list to help get you inspired on what to post. 

Do

• …Have an objective for your reel. Every reel (really every piece of marketing content you create) should entertain, inspire, or educate. Educational reels have been huge. We’ve seen so many instagram influencers doing educational reels on doing reels. 

•  …Get sucked into a Reel hole. We’ve all been there. This is actually a great way to figure out “how” folks are doing reels, what’s trending, etc. 

• …Save tracks you like. In the bottom right hand corner, when you’re watching a reel you can save the audio track to play around with it later.

• …Experiment with video editing. InShot is a great app that tons of people are using (it has 1.5 million views). It makes it very easy to import videos, see their length play with different affects, edit each individual frame, etc. Some other popular applications are Splice, Videoleap and Beatleap.

• …Use the correct video dimensions. Vertical videos work best. 

• …Analyze your content. Like with any marketing tactic, make sure you’re tracking what’s working best with your audience. 

• …Encourage engagement- likes comments, shares, saving, and watch time. All of these things help your Reel in the Insta’s algorithm. (Hence why creating educational content is really huge- people tend to watch the entire thing, share, save and often comment.)

• …BE YOU! As always, be A U T H E N T I C. This is the Local 44 North golden rule. You do you, girl! People engage with authenticity. Turns out this is especially true for Gen Z. 

…Make your Reel shoppable. If you’re showcasing your products, and you should (if you’re doing so in an entertaining, educational or inspirational way- wink wink) make sure your reels are shoppable. 

Now for the “Don’ts” list when it comes to Instagram reels. In order to please Insta’s algorithm and, most importantly, your audience. Make sure you avoid these tips. 

Don’ts

• …Post blurry, low res videos. For the obvious reasons. 

• …Get discouraged. You MAY post a Reel that doesn’t get thousands of views, or even hundreds of views, that’s okay. That’s why you’re going to analyze your metrics to see what types of content resonate most with your audience and beyond.

• …Try to be a perfectionist. It’s a trial and error type of platform. It take a while. Pro tip: start by creating Reels on your personal account or just by creating content that you think is fun for the sake of making FUN content. This will help inspire you. 

• …Cover the majority of images with text. Again, you want people to be able to easily consume your content, not try to see what’s being covered by a bunch of text. 

• …Go too over the top. I do this. It’s very easy to do! With the stickers, filters, text, etc. Keep it simple, clean. It’s so easy to get distracted with all of the things you can add to any given reel but keep the reel intentional and only experiment with one or two of these things at a time.

• …Try to reinvent the wheel. Yes, you need to be authentic and genuine, but this is why we encourage getting sucked into a “Reel hole.” Take note from what others are doing, especially others who are getting tons of views.