Like many other successful social media features, Instagram took over TikTok's quick video model and christened it Instagram Reels. A new functionality that, just like in TikTok, has many creative possibilities. Today we are going to give you a good series of Tips and tricks for you to learn how to get the most out of reels on Instagram.
What is Instagram Reels and how does it work?
If you have never used and seen TikTok, we are going to see what they consist of. It is a short video, of the style that we can make in a stories, but with two big differences:
- Duration: while the stories They have a total duration of 30 seconds each, in the reels we can extend the time up to 60 seconds in total. Also, it will be possible to stop during the recording and perform it in several parts (now we will see this in more detail).
- possibilities / creativity: It is true that the filters within the stories on Instagram have given us many alternatives and modifications that we can make. But, what reels proposes goes much further. In addition to applying all the filters of the stories, we can also add music, speed settings, etc. A good extra in which it is possible to unleash everything that comes to mind.
These videos will be stored in a new section that is enabled in our profile and, in addition, we can also publish it both in it and in our own stories. Now let's see how we can create one of these videos and all available features.
How to Record a Reel on Instagram
To make a new reel it will be possible to do it from different parts: from our feed we press the “+” icon in the upper right corner and, through the lower bar, we move to “Reels”; Or, from our profile, clicking on the "+" icon and selecting the "Reel" option.
Once in the creation menu of these videos we will see several elements that we can use:
- Gear: In the upper left corner we find the typical “gear” menu in which, if we press, we will see the different options for sharing content. From hiding this video from a specific person, allowing responses, accepting that others can share it in their stories or saving options in our gallery.
- Audio: As we have already told you, in these videos we can add music as we could already do in our Instagram stories. It is only a matter of entering this option, finding the song that you like and choosing the range of 15 seconds that you want to use.
- Speed: Another of the possible actions that we can do is to perform fast motion or slow motion. With values below 1 you will have a slowmotion and, above this value, a fast camera.
- Effects: by clicking on this option we will activate all the filters that we have saved for our Instagram stories. It is exactly the same interface and the use is identical in reels.
- Timer: if for some reason you need a countdown to be able to make your new reel, you just have to adjust the time in this menu and, when you click on record, the countdown will begin.
- Duration: As you already know, the standard duration that these types of posts initially had has changed. Now we can create reels that last from 15 seconds to 60 seconds. Simply by clicking on the weather icon (indicated with the corresponding seconds inside) we can switch between them.
- Alignment: This setting will be activated the moment you record the first part of your new post. This function is useful if you have moved during the recording and want to appear in the next section just after you finished the previous one. What Instagram does is display an overlay image with a lower opacity so that you can see the last frame before the cut.
- clip editor: It is the icon that is on the left side of the record button (central). If you click on it, you will access the clip editor where you can delete any of them, or modify the cut of the last video.
- Gallery: As in the rest of Instagram posts, we can add content from our own gallery to reels. By selecting the video in question you will go to the editor where you will have to choose a part of it.
When you have created the reel with all the desired settings, click on the next arrow to continue with the process. In this section you will see a preview of the complete video and, as in the stories, you can add stickers, download the video to your gallery, add texts or paint over it. Click on the next button if everything is ready to be published.
Once you get to the sharing window, you can add a text that accompanies your video. You can also choose where will your reel be shared or even, save it as draft if you wish. When everything is complete, click on share and that's it, your reel has been published successfully.
And if you fall short of these tools?
If when the time comes you see that everything that Instagram offers you falls short of what you have in mind, you can always do something else, more elaborate, but in keeping with your talent and those ideas that occur to you, that need help. a battery of much more advanced tools. It is time, then, to use programs on the computer that can be:
- Adobe After Effects (post production)
- Adobe Premiere (edition)
- Adobe Photoshop (photo retouching)
- Final Cut Pro (edition)
With them you can create the pieces you need, give it any shape you can imagine and, with the video completely finished, export it to later take it to your mobile phone and, finally, publish it on the social network. It is not a complicated process if you use cloud platforms or you have the habit of connecting the smartphone to a computer.
If you reach this level of quality in your publications, without a doubt you walk very close to the territory Pro so, surely, the followers of your profile begin to grow like foam.
Tips and tricks to make the best reels
Now that you know everything important about this type of video on Instagram, we want to show you a collection of tips to make the best content with these videos:
- Use Hashtags: As we have already explained to you in other articles, the use of hashtags in any Instagram post maximizes its reach. We recommend that you use between 4 and 7 of these pads accompanying each reel you post. Of course, as long as they are tags related to the theme of your video. If you use hashtags that have nothing to do with it, they will worsen your reach.
- reels everywhere: As you can imagine, as it is a new element in this social network, users are not completely used to entering other people's profiles to see their reels. Even though Instagram is promoting these videos on the “search” wall, we recommend that you maximize their reach by using all your tools, i.e. post it in your posts and stories.
- magical alignment: The "alignment" setting in the editor is not useful only for knowing where you were in the previous clip. If you give free rein to your creativity and imagination, you will surely come up with a thousand original ways to use it. For example, something you might do in a video is jump around in a colored t-shirt, then trim the end of that clip so that the end is in mid-air. Then, using the alignment and the timer, jump back in a different color shirt and crop the video again to leave you in the air. So you will have a "magical" change of clothes.
- Research new filters: A very important point, as in stories, are the filters. We recommend that you not only use them, but periodically research new ones to save them in your gallery and stand out using them before others.
- Use other people's music: If you like a song you saw on another user's reel, you can use it without knowing the name of the song. You just have to quickly click on the information of that person's reel and, in this new menu that is displayed, select the "use audio" option. Remember that music can make the difference between an ordinary video and one with the potential to go viral on social media.
- Get inspired by other creators: of course, if you can't think of anything new that you can do with these videos, investigate in the section to explore the reels of other users. So you can get ideas for your next creations. If you want to make good videos, you have to know how to find good clips from other creators so that you can collect some of their ideas and create your own original content. We are not telling you to plagiarize anything, but to be inspired by what the rest of the content creators who post on Instagram do.
- change the speed: Remember that you can vary the speed of any of the clips that you use in your reels and that, furthermore, it does not have to be the same in all of them. Using a slow motion before a "normal" speed or fast motion will draw quite a bit of attention. If you see that what you have told in the video does not have a very adequate rhythm and could even put the viewer to sleep, try increasing the speed by 25%. This trick is also interesting if you see that the clip exceeds the time limit that allows you to upload it to Instagram. You can do the same on the contrary. If you see that you have spoken very quickly and you think that there may be people who do not understand you, try slowing down slightly to improve understanding.
- Trends are your best allies: One consequence of seeing what other users are doing is staying tuned for current trends. If you pay attention, there are times when many people repeat the same challenge, effect or talk about the same topic. Jumping into that trend with a new reel on your account will make it easier for other users to discover you, since it is something that people “search for”. Here the use of hashtags about a challenge or trend is also very important.
- make an infinite loop: especially if you explain something, like a tutorial. This technique consists of perfectly matching the beginning and end of the clip so that it is not very clear to the viewer where the beginning and end are. To do this trick, it is necessary that we do a lot of planning, since we have to record the first fragment of the Reel at the end. This trick is mainly used by accounts that are dedicated to cooking. On most occasions, a very attractive result is obtained and the viewer is hooked in a very creative way.
These are the best tips and tricks you can follow to make your reels stand out on Instagram. If you have any questions about them, or you want to recommend a new one, you can leave us a comment.