Instagram reels are still the biggest way to grow your account and reach non-followers. They are also my favourite type of content to create for both myself and my clients. But I know that not everybody feels the same. If you are struggling with your reels, there are probably a few simple mistakes you are making. Here are just a few and how you can correct them.
1. You need a Hook
What is a hook? A hook is a reason for people to continue watching your video, something to catch people’s attention straight away. You need a hook in your first 3 seconds, otherwise in the fast-paced world of social media and doom-scrolling people have probably already scrolled away.
Some examples of hooks are:
- 3 Mistakes you’re making…
- The one thing you need to know about this
- Do this if you want to achieve X
- Why I love…
- The best advice I have received about x
It’s essentially a reason for people to want to keep watching your content until the end.
2. You’re talking too much at the beginning
In relation to the above, a huge mistake I regularly see people making is talking too much at the beginning of a reel. Reels need to be short, sharp and to the point.
Let me give you some examples of how I hear people doing it wrong (these are all hypothetical and not from specific accounts):
- Hi my name is Sarah and I run an interiors business…
- Hi guys, today I want to talk to you about…
- I am just out for a walk and I thought I would pop on and talk about this…
- I just wanted to share x with you
If you think back to the 3-second rule above, all of the above is too much waffle and will take you more than 3-seconds to get to the point, so why people should continue watching your content?
You want to come in straight with your hook, the point of the reel. People can find out your name and what you do by visiting your profile if they like your content. But if they don’t like or watch your content because you talk too much at the beginning they’re never going to make it there.
3. You don’t have subtitles
Did you know that a staggering 85% of people are watching your videos on silent? While sound and trending audio is importance you need to make content with the assumption that people can’t hear it.
Add subtitles to every piece of content you create, your stories and your reels. I pretty much always watch stories on silent, although I tend to watch reels with the sound on. If you have no subtitles on your stories, I will simply skip past. If you are wondering why people aren’t engaging, there’s a good chance it’s because they can’t hear you. It’s also very important for accessibility.
4. Poor video quality
Your videos aren’t very good quality. But this is usually pretty simple to solve.
Here are some quick tips:
- Make sure the lens on your phone is clear, give it a wipe before you film
- Check you have good lighting, film with the light on your face, not behind you. Stand near a window or use a highlight
- Don’t share video files via WhatsApp as it compresses the quality
5. You’re not utilising storytelling
The most powerful and much loved accounts are popular because they use storytelling. Think of the influencer accounts you love to follow and the content you particularly enjoy seeing, most of them will tell stories.
You have a story to tell. The story of your business, your brand, the product you’re selling, behind the scenes of your company, these are all stories that can help people to connect and engage with you.
6. Your reels aren’t the right length
This one is tricky, a recent article on Social Media Today has suggested that reels 30-60 seconds are performing well. Although never content 90 seconds long. Which is interesting as Instagram are testing rolling out 3-minute reels. I generally find that shorter reels less than 30 seconds do well for clients, and usually recommend about the 7-10 seconds.
Here’s the thing, sometimes to work out what is best for your customer base, you need to test. So experiment, monitor and learn about what content works best for you, but for now don’t go over 1 minute long.
7. Your text isn’t in the readable area
Finally, this is one that drives me bananas! This can be trickier if you create your reels outside of the app, but it is one to be aware of and check, because otherwise it can result in people not being able to read or see your content properly. The reels app in Instagram has gridlines. These lines show you the safe areas to place your text when creating a reel. If you put text over these lines your text won’t be readable in the feed. It also shows you when your text overlaps icons too, as you can see on the images below.
These Reel tips are great! Thanks Laura