7 Proven Ways to Boost Your Engagement with Instagram Reels

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From Facebook and Twitter to Instagram and TikTok, the way we connect and communicate with each other is completely different today. Amongst these, with over a billion monthly active users, Instagram offers a vast opportunity for everyone, including businesses, influencers, and individuals. In a world of social media, where attention spans are shrinking, and users are constantly scrolling, Instagram Reels have emerged as a game-changer. These short, dynamic, and engaging videos offer an interactive and personal way to connect with your audience, boost your engagement, and drive your visibility.  

In this article, we'll explore seven tips (and many zero budget marketing strategies!) to help you harness the power of Instagram Reels and boost your engagement!

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Understand the Basics of Reels

Before diving into creating Reels, it's essential to understand the basics. Although many look at Instagram Reels as just another feature amongst numerous others, it is one of the most impactful features to boost your engagement. Instagram Reels are short-form videos lasting up to 90 seconds (about 1 and a half minutes). They offer a variety of creative tools, such as music, text, stickers, and special effects. To get started, open the Instagram camera and select the "Reels" option. Here's how you can make the most of Reels:

• Choose Your Aspect Ratio: You can create Reels in both vertical (9:16) and square (1:1) formats. You must choose the format that best suits your content and your audience. For instance, if you are a freelance photographer and want to post architecture photoshoots in the form of a reel, use the portrait/vertical mode. On the other hand, if you want to post a reel about a sit-down interview and the positioning of the original video included a few camera angles, you can try using the original video snippet as a reel to get a more square/horizontal mode of viewing. The right kind of format will bring in the audience you want to target and help you boost your engagement using Instagram Reels.  

• Add Captions: Captions are an excellent way to convey your message, especially when audio might not be accessible to all viewers. These captions are not the ones you write below the video but instead, what will be included in the video itself. These are a more convenient form of subtitles, essentially. You can generate captions while editing the video by adding the Instagram (CC) option in the editing window. Once the captions are automatically generated by Instagram, you can edit spellings and punctuation based on your liking, whilst also changing fonts, colors, sizes, and positions of the captions on the screen. You should use captions to make sure that the text overlays to highlight key points and boost your engagement on Instagram by discussing something unique.  

• Leverage Effects and Filters: Instagram provides a wide range of special effects and filters that can add a unique touch to your Reels and boost your engagement with different audiences. You can select stickers, local filters, and poll features, amongst other things, to make your reels more interactive as well as searchable. For instance, if you use a certain filter, your reel will automatically get added to the list of content that shows up every time someone searches that filter. You can add clipart and GIFs to your reels as well and edit them to transition in many ways, making your content more eye-catching.  

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Plan Your Content

Before diving into creating Reels, it's essential to understand the basics. Instagram Reels are short-form videos lasting up to 60 seconds. They offer a variety of creative tools, such as music, text, stickers, and special effects. To get started, open the Instagram camera and select the "Reels" option. Here's how you can make the most of Reels:

• Define your Goal(s): In the beginning, figure out what goal it is you want to achieve when putting out this reel into the world. Is your reel wanting to entertain, educate, inform, promote, or fill up space? Once you have an answer to this question, you will be able to decide a direction for your content. If you want to entertain, utilize funny music and dramatic expressions, while if you want to educate, have a more serious background score and structured points. If you need to promote a product or service, make sure to include that product and integrate its information in your script so it does not read as obvious ad content. Remember to have specific goals and fulfill them with your Instagram reels to boost your engagement.  

• Storyboard Your Scenes: Once you have a defined goal and direction in mind, you can start to brainstorm how you want the end result, AKA the reel itself, to look. For every reel, you will first need to figure out an angle for the content as well as the camera. Once you know that, you can start briefly deciding how you want each shot of the reel to look. If your reel is divided in an intuitive and creative way, you will be able to boost your engagement on Instagram. For instance, you want to make a reel about “A day in the life of a startup digital marketeer” Before you start shooting, you should come up with a quick storyboard like this:

1. Shot 1 – Walking out of home (Door locking)
2. Shot 2 - Taking a bus/train/cab (Opening the door)
3. Shot 3 – View of the way to work
4. Shot 4 – Entering the office and greeting co-workers
5. Shot 5 – Team meeting/discussion to kickstart the day
6. Shot 6 – Getting lunch
7. Shot 7 – Different work tasks
8. Shot 8 – Getting a snack
9. Shot 9 – Different work tasks
10. Shot 10 – Checking things off the to-do list  

• Script or Outline: Once you have storyboarded your reel, you then need to write a script based on the topic you have chosen. This includes the script of the reel as well as the caption of your post. If you have a great topic but speak incoherently, your reel will not have high viewership because viewers will drop off before completing the whole video. So, make sure to create a script that grabs people’s attention and clearly discusses your topic. If you are conducting a voiceover, make sure to modulate your voice enough to keep viewers interested even if the visuals are not included. To boost your engagement, make sure to also practice your script a few times before recording to prevent disfluencies.

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Keep it Short and Snappy

One of the fundamental principles of Reels is brevity. Instagram users are accustomed to quick, engaging content. If your reel is not attracting attention quickly, it won’t boost your engagement in the short or long run. When you create any reel content, ensure that it is concise, clear, and captivates the viewer quickly. Instagram reels can be a maximum of 90 seconds; however, you should try and stick to the sweet spot of 15-45 seconds to ensure complete attention and high viewership. You should condense your narrative and utilize transitions to quickly move between shots. With diminishing attention spans and studies showing viewership dropping the longer the video gets, you must cater to more Instagram users and create interesting material that will stop people mid-scroll. To boost engagement with reels, you should create videos with either quick bursts of entertainment or information.  

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Embrace Music, Trends, & Challenges

In the ever-changing world of Instagram content, you and your brand need to stay ahead of the curve to boost your engagement and reach a broader audience. In the short run, you should ensure your Instagram reels feature trending challenges, music, and hashtags. If a challenge aligns with your brand or message, don't hesitate to participate. Customize the challenge according to your brand vision and put your own creative spin on it. In the short run, use music snippets and popular tracks available in the extensive Instagram library. This will also increase the chances of your content being discovered through music searches. After you have gained popularity and standing on Instagram, in the long run, you can also create your own audios so others can see your audio being original and then incentivizing others to use your audio. Besides that, you should embrace concept trends and create reels with popular premises to boost your engagement. Since Instagram's algorithm favors content that aligns with current trends, creating reels that align with trends as well as your brand vision, your reels will be more likely to appear on Instagram’s Explore page, Suggested posts, and follower feeds. By aligning your Reels with what's buzzing on the platform, you not only showcase a keen understanding of the Instagram culture but also establish your brand as relevant, dynamic, and in sync with the ever-evolving trends of the social media landscape. Lastly, don’t shy away from challenges. Don’t let trends or popularity discourage you from being unique. Be creative by making already-popular material work in tandem with your ideas.  

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Show Your Personality

In the competitive world of Instagram, where countless Reels vie for attention, it is vital to stand out and boost engagement by being authentic. Instagram’s algorithm will reward content that will resonate with viewers on a personal level, so remember to let your true self shine through. From a witty caption to an authentic behind-the-scenes moment, every element that reflects your personality contributes to the relatability of your content. Consider incorporating elements of humor, storytelling, or even vulnerability—showcasing the real people behind the brand to help viewers connect with the content. Remember that effective storytelling can captivate your audience and keep them engaged. So, use a narrative structure in your Reels. Whether it's a short story, a how-to tutorial, or a behind-the-scenes glimpse, storytelling adds depth to your content. Make sure to do this with your personality being visible. By showcasing your unique personality, you will be able to differentiate yourself in a crowded digital space but also cultivate a loyal audience who will engage with your content because they will resonate with you.  

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Feature Others & Collaborate

Collaboration is a powerful way to expand your reach on Instagram Reels. To boost your engagement on Instagram, you must showcase your connections to the viewers whilst collaborating with other inspiring creators. If you create content that features other creators (Invite collaborators), the algorithm will be in your favor and showcase your content more on the Explore pages and feeds. By teaming up with fellow creators, you will be able to tap into each other's audience, creating a win-win scenario for increased visibility and engagement. Whether it's a joint Reel project, a feature, or a shoutout, collaborations will inject freshness into your content and expose your brand to a wider demographic. This will also lead to an influx of new followers who are drawn to your content because of their followed creators connecting with you. Featuring other creators will not only diversify your content, but also build a sense of camaraderie within your Instagram community. So, identify like-minded creators, brainstorm exciting collaboration ideas, and boost your engagement.

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Engage, Analyze, and Adapt

To boost your engagement on Instagram, you must engage with your audience, adapt to what is going on in real-time, and analyze your metrics continuously to keep track of your progress. Firstly, you must engage with your audience and build a loyal following. To do so, you should respond to comments, answer questions, connect with followers over DMs (direct messages), and acknowledge your viewers' input. Responding to users will not only fortify your relationship with existing followers but also entice new ones to join the conversation. Secondly, you must adapt to whatever is happening around you. From current events to new trends, make sure to keep your eyes and ears open and include new information based on what matches your brand and vision. Lastly, you have to make sure you regularly monitor your performance and dive deeper into the KPIs/metrics of your reels to ensure you boost your engagement in the long run. Analyzing view counts, likes, shares, and comments will unveil the content that garners the most traction. Pay attention to these metrics to understand your audience and their behaviour online. Leverage Instagram Insights to discern the demographics and behaviors of your audience and then tailor future reels to your preferences. Make sure to also pay attention to the completion rate, as a higher percentage indicates that viewers are captivated by your content till the end. Additionally, track trends in follower growth and discoverability, while adjusting your content strategy. This data can help you understand what works and what doesn't. Experiment with different content styles, posting times, and strategies based on these insights.

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Closing Thoughts on Top Instagram Reel Tips Your Guide to Boosting Engagement

Instagram is much more than a social media platform today. Having more than a billion monthly users, it is a platform for not just sharing photos or videos, but also communicating and connecting with people on a global scale. With shrinking attention spans, Instagram reels are now the go-to tool used by brands and businesses. You can boost your engagement on Instagram and create a positive impact on your viewers. To do so, you should understand your basics, plan your content, keep it concise, embrace trends, showcase your personality, collaborate with others, and analyze your data.  

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