Enjoy this week’s guest post by Sky Kennedy, Video Storyteller and Video Content Creator!
Why Use Video to Promote Your Business? It is way too expensive!
Business people ask me all the time, why use video for my advertising, promotion, branding, potential client connection and sales, when it is easier and cheaper to just use a photograph and a few words to do the same thing?
Videos promote brand awareness, improve online presence, humanize a brand, boost engagement, build trust, and can be inexpensive and easy to produce. But the ultimate benefit of video marketing for small businesses is creating sales.
Today, there are many solutions to creating video advertising and promotion for your business. Though, I would love to have you as a client, there are ways to create engaging video, and post them to a social media platform for free. Instagram Reels.
What is Instagram Reels?
Instagram Reels is a content format that allows you to create and share 15 or 30 second videos with others in a new dedicated Feed on the Explore page. It’s Facebook’s attempt to compete with TikTok, which is also aimed at short-form video creation. Instagram users can record and edit video clips set to music and share them to their Stories, Explore Feed, and the new Reels tab on a user’s profile.
With the latest app update, you can now find Instagram Reels at the forefront of Instagram — taking center stage of the new main navigation bar. This is a change on the app, and a significant push to have users browse and share Reels more often.
What is the Cost of Instagram Reels?
Instagram Reels FREE.
Instagram Reels is part of the Instagram App you download from the Apple App Store for the iPhone or the Google Play Store for the Android Phone. If you are a Smartphone App User, it is easy to download the Instagram App.
Instagram Has a fairly simple “How To Use Instagram Reels” on their Blog site. Again, this is all FREE
The In-App Video Tools are pretty extensive, so you do not have to be a professional video storyteller, video content creator, or video editor to use this amazing tool to promote your business.
The Instagram Reels Tool Kit Includes:
Editing Tools: These include augmented reality effects, transitions, and the ability to speed up or slow down videos.
Audio Attribution: If a user uploads native audio, other users can overlay the sound in their videos while the app credits the original user’s account for it.
Stitchable Takes: This enables users to share a video with just one long take or a combination of quicker takes.
Shareability on the Instagram Feed, Explore, Stories, and Your Profile: Depending on the privacy settings of your profile, you can share Reels with just friends on your Stories or profile, or publicly in the Reels area of Explore.
Mobile-only: Unlike Instagram profiles and Stories, you can’t view or upload Reels on a desktop.
Instagram Reels are designed to be fast, fun, and are packed full of special effects that make creating captivating and authentic content very easy. This offers a great opportunity for businesses to show a more human, less picture-perfect side — which can be great for building genuine relationships and potentially convert your efforts into sales.
Create Authentic Content that Resonates with Your Audience
Posting educational content is a great place to start. Discuss your company, what you do, your product, how your service is so unique, and, why your value proposition has the perfect solution for your clients.
Instagram Reels is a great opportunity for brands and businesses looking to drive awareness and sales from the platform. This means businesses can showcase products and tag them directly.
Showcase products as creatively as you want and within 3-clicks, users can actually purchase your products straight from the video! If a user is interested, they can tap “View Products” to learn more about the product, save for later, or go ahead and purchase. Since Reels are pushed out on both the Explore page and the new Reels tab on the main navigation bar, users who don’t follow you will see your content.
Instagram’s latest video feature is now available in the United States and 50 other countries.
What will Instagram Reels mean for brands and businesses on Instagram?
When Instagram launched Instagram Stories in 2016, there were 150 million users. Now, a mere four years later, over 500 million users use stories every day.
It’s a good idea to jump on Instagram Reels early while competition is still low, especially since Instagram is giving extra prominence with the latest Reels tab on the Instagram homepage.
Social media influencers and brands are already starting to use Reels as a way to promote products. Similar to TikTok, it is likely brands will jump on the opportunity to partner with influencers to create branded Instagram Reels, especially since Instagram has introduced branded content tags on Reels.
Sky Kennedy is a Video StoryTeller and Video Content Creator living in the greater Long Beach, CA. She works with clients in both Orange County and Los Angeles Metro areas of California.
Take a look at her short video on how and where you can use “Video StoryTelling and Video Content Creation” to help enhance your business, solve your potential clients’ problems, and lead to increased sales.