The old Instagram is officially dead💀
You read that right. There’s no doubt that the Instagram of autumn 2022 is very different from the Instagram of autumn 2015. Solo stills are pretty much a thing of the past, Insta shopping is now a thing, photo dumps are all the rage and people care a lot more about engagement rate than follower counts.
The biggest change to the platform, though?
You guessed it.
REELS.
The influence of TikTok has spread far and wide across the internet, meaning that the humble photo app is no longer quite as casual and lowkey as it once was. If you want to get ANYWHERE with the algorithm these days, you need to be taking full advantage of reels. Nowadays, it’s all about those fun transitions, jumping on trends and getting the angles just right.
That being said, it can be pretty confusing knowing how to optimise video content across multiple platforms.
So, without further ado, here are Team Truffle’s top tips for engaging your audience and boosting your reach through Instagram reels:
🚰 Remove the TikTok watermark.
It’s all good if you’re going to repost your TikToks onto your Insta feed. After all, we’re all about repurposing content across platforms. However (and it’s a BIG however):
MAKE SURE YOU GET RID OF THE TIKTOK WATERMARK!
Instagram has confirmed that they specifically don’t promote reels with the watermark as they want to encourage users to make the most of their in-app editing features.
Plus, your video will generally look a lot prettier and more professional if there’s not an ugly logo dancing round the screen.
There are plenty of free online tools that will easily remove the watermark for you, so you’ve got no excuse.
💬 Include on-screen text and close captions.
The key to a successful reel is making it as accessible as possible. For those hard of hearing, subtitles are a necessity. For everyone else, they’re becoming more and more expected, especially as a lot of people will be scrolling through Insta in public, meaning they likely won’t be watching with audio.
Aside from accessibility factors, on-screen text undoubtedly makes reels significantly more visually engaging and attention-grabbing. Remember to stay on brand with your font and colour choices for aesthetic consistency across your feed.
⏰ Post consistently.
Shock horror - but the best way to get regular, good traction on your reels is to post on a consistent basis. It doesn’t matter whether that’s every day or once a week - what matters is that you stick to a schedule so your followers know what to expect from your account.
🎵 Use trending sounds
If you’ve spent any time on Instagram or TikTok over the past couple of years, you’ve probably noticed that the songs don’t tend to vary that much from one post to the next. There’s a reason for that! One of the BEST ways to get your reel boosted on your followers’ feeds and explore pages is to use trending audio.
Sneaky hack for finding trending audio on Instagram - the upwards arrow next to the sound means it’s trending. Alternatively, have a scroll through your feed and see what other creators are using. If you see the same sound more than once, the likelihood is that it’s trending.
It goes without saying that there are a million and one other ways you can optimise your Insta vids for good reach and engagement. What are your top tips for killing your reel game? Let us know by tagging us @trufflesocial on our social channels!