In what seems like forever ago, Instagram was once a tool to share your daily life with friends and family — through photos. But now, it’s arguably one of the most essential ways for any entrepreneur to grow their business /following. Today, I’d like to focus on their most important feature… the Instagram Reel. And more specifically, how to get more views!
Now, why is that so important?
Because Instagram created Reels to compete with TikTok and they’re stopping at nothing to ensure they win the short-form video race.
Whether they will or won’t remains to be seen. Regardless, there’s no place else you need to be — on Instagram — than Reels for potential exposure and brand-building success!
Tips for More Reel Views
Tip 1: Start with a hook.
Instagram recently released their recommendations on how to get your Reel shown to more people. And high up on that list was…
Hook your audience in the first two sentences.
Look, you don’t need to overthink this and make it super fancy.
Some suggestions:
- Stop doing this!
- Pay attention!
- Listen up!
Additionally, with my hooks, I like to start by announcing, if you will, what I plan on telling them.
In other words, if you’re about to share three tips on how to become a better nail artist, then start your Reel by saying,
“Here’s three tips on how to become a better nail artist.”
Tip 2: Brighter is better.
Brighter videos have been shown to get up to 60% more engagement.
So, simply stand near a window, get a ring light or even stand near a nice refrigerator light to increase the light of your video.
Tip 3: Use color psychology.
Long story short, different colors elicit different emotional responses in the subconscious of our viewers.
Hence, if you use text that’s yellow or red, it’s more likely to grab your audience’s attention than something, like, brown or black.
When I’m adding my call to action (CTA) at the end of a Reel, I make it a point to use green because that’s been shown to promote faster action.
Tip 4: Add closed captioning.
Over 80% of people watch Instagram on mute. Meaning, if your Reel does not have closed captions, four out of five potential viewers are now going to either scroll away or just skip your video all together.
Tip 5: Limit the amount of text.
We’ve all seen those videos where there’s 19 pieces of text that flash on the screen super fast. It’s frustrating!
There’s a time and place for quickly putting text on the screen, but generally speaking it should be used sparingly. Otherwise, you risk annoying the viewer — resulting in unfollows or quick scroll-aways.
For much more detail on all the above, plus 5 MORE can’t-miss tips to get more views on Reels… you need to listen to this episode of Build Your Tribe:
And don’t forget to subscribe to BYT for weekly shows dedicated to your social media growth!
