In light of the popularity of TikTok’s particular style of content, Instagram launched its own rendition of video-sharing features in 2020: Instagram Reels. Since its launch, over 60% of creators between the ages of 18 and 34 have tried out the feature, and 88.2% of influencers believe that Reels will play a vital role in their future content strategy.

While it’s clear to see that embracing Reels is integral for improving your reach on the platform, it can be challenging to know how to capitalise on this feature fully. To help increase your Reel views on the platform, we’ve put together a selection of top tips:

1) Create content valuable to your followers: As with all content you put out there, the videos that post to your reels should be helpful to your target audience. For instance, if you’re a fashion influencer who operates in the “minimalist” niche, you could consider creating a “Summer 2023 Capsule Wardrobe” reel with your top 5 staples. This type of content will resonate with your target audience and may encourage your followers to save the post for future reference, enhancing your audience engagement.

2) Favour shorter reels: If you’ve ever watched someone else flick through TikTok, you’ll notice that they often skip past the longer videos or the ones that aren’t instantly engaging. This is because the average attention span is 8.25 seconds. To ensure your reel doesn’t end up in the discard heap, keep the video short and aim to make the introductory seconds as compelling as possible. This means that even if your video is longer than 8/10 seconds, you have more chance of engaging the viewer for the duration.

3) Include popular audio tracks: When you discover reels on your explore page, it’s because they already have high engagement levels, so Instagram is choosing to feature them. At the bottom right-hand corner of the video, you’ll see a thumbnail that links to the audio used in the video. You can then use this video for your own reel. By using the most popular audio, your post has more chance of going viral, as it features content that many are already engaging with.

4) Utilise relevant hashtags:  Finally, don’t forget about including hashtags in your post, as it’ll increase the potential reach of your video. That being said, try not to use too many (10 is a good limit), as this could lead to your video being penalised by Instagram’s algorithm.