Educational videos: Teach people things they didn’t know with your own unique twist. Tutorials, life hacks, witty Q&As, quick tips, and rare facts all make great short-form videos. Hop on a trend: When you scroll through your own Reels, you’re bound to notice trends like certain dances, filters, memes, music, and filming locations. Take an idea that’s already viral and use it to present your topic with your own unique twist. Behind the scenes: If you have a business, try a peek into your workspace, your daily routine, and a show-and-tell of your tools to show the human side of your brand. If your account is personal, try to film a day in your life in short clips—the things you see, your habits and rituals, and your progress on projects. Before and after: Makeovers, restoring antiques, big cleaning projects, and home remodeling videos will all both shock and satisfy viewers. Relatable stories: Find a way to connect your topic to something anyone can relate to, then narrate your connection to the topic over a thoughtful video. Listicles: Everyone loves a funny, informative, or thought-provoking list. For example, “10 products to try if you love xxx,” “Top 5 best self-esteem boosting songs,” “7 unique nail color ideas for fall,” etc.
Want to create a Reel from a video you’ve already made on your phone or tablet? Tap the gallery icon with the plus symbol at the bottom-left to choose something from your camera roll. [2] X Research source
Want to know which songs are trending on Reels? Just scroll through your own Reels feed—if the song on the current Reel is trending, you’ll see a small white arrow pointing upward at the bottom-left corner (right next to the song’s title). Tap a trending song to see how many Reels have used it, and examples of how it’s been used. You’ll also see the option to save the audio for later or instantly create a new Reel with the same audio. If you’re also on TikTok, check TikTok’s trending songs for a hint at what’s trending (or will soon trend) on Reels.
For example, let’s say you’re creating a Reel of your favorite parks in the city. Record 10 seconds at the first park on your list, then head to the next location to record the second part of your clip. You can save a draft of your Reel at any time during creation and continue editing it later. Just tap Next and select Save Draft. To recover a draft, just return to the new Reels screen, tap the square at the bottom-left, tap the Drafts tab, and select your draft. [3] X Research source
If you want to keep recording clips for this Reel, tap Add clip at the bottom to return to the camera screen. Tap Done when you’re finished making edits.
If you want to keep recording clips for this Reel, tap Add clip at the bottom to return to the camera screen. Tap Done when you’re finished making edits.
You can also tap Voiceover in this section to record yourself speaking over any part of the video, or tap Sound effects to add funny sounds like air horns or crickets chirping.
Adding text to the video also gives you the option to add text-to-speech translation.
Tap ‘Tag people to tag other Instagram accounts you want to mention. For an added boost, tap Add location to geotag the Reel—this makes it so people checking out that location on Instagram will see your Reel on the location’s tag page.
Tap ‘Tag people to tag other Instagram accounts you want to mention. For an added boost, tap Add location to geotag the Reel—this makes it so people checking out that location on Instagram will see your Reel on the location’s tag page.
The more people who like and interact with your Reel, the broader its reach will be. Popular Reels also appear on the Explore page (the magnifying glass), making them even more likely to be discovered by likeminded people.
Recommend the Reel on Facebook: People using the Facebook app will also see your Reel if you allow your Reels to be suggested on Facebook. [4] X Research source To make sure your Reels are recommended to Facebook users, tap the profile icon in the Instagram app, tap the three-line menu, select Settings, and head to Privacy > Reels. Toggle the “Recommend on Facebook” switch to On for an added boost. Share the Reel to your Story: Open the Reel on your profile, tap the paper airplane icon at its bottom-right corner, and then tap Add reel to story.
