How to make Instagram Reels work for your business
After just completing the 30 Day Reel Challenge over on the Content Queen Instagram, all I can say is I’m SO glad it’s over! Now, this is pretty harsh to say, but I promise I have reasoning.
Instagram Reels, overall, is actually an amazing feature that I’ve noticed has only really picked up interest recently. I love the feature to add to your weekly content schedule, however, would I recommend it as an everyday thing? Well, that’s what I’m here to chat about today!
So, if you want to hear about my thoughts on IG Reels, our 30 Day Reel Challenge and all the lessons learnt when creating and posting reels - then let’s get into it!
Instagram Reels Challenge - yay or nay?
The name of this challenge does not do it justice. Or 30 Day IG Reel challenge was definitely a lot more of a challenge than I had anticipated!
Was I unprepared? No, not quite, but did I have a great understanding of how difficult it could be? Definitely not!
I think because I have created many reels before, I underestimated the amount of work that batching reels would call for. However, because it was a part of Content Queen’s pre-launch for our membership, I felt it would be a cool thing to take on.
So overall, do I recommend this challenge for everyone?
The short answer is no, the long answer is… well, it depends.
The 30 day IG reel challenge did show me some interesting results (which I will go through soon), but I wouldn't recommend this challenge for someone who is just trying to bring in more followers or keep their target audience engaged (there are better ways to do that).
However, if you’re someone who wants to teach your target audience how to create, master, hack, and use reels then yes, I think this challenge would be awesome for you to take on!
But if you’re someone like me, who is launching, looking for a set 30-day challenge to show up, or wants to commit to something in your business everyday for a month - then I don’t think the reel challenge is specifically for you.
The results from Instagram Reels
Although this challenge wouldn't be for everyone, I did notice some good results from taking it on! Here is how the Content Queen stats looked after the 30-day challenge!
We were up 175 followers
Our reach increased by 51.2% to 9,680
Interactions increased to 887 (up 6.9%)
Had 725 profile views (which was down from usual)
27 website taps (up 22.7%)
So, you can see that our reel challenge overall showed pretty good results! It helped us reach other accounts, but before you run out to give this challenge a go, we did notice that people were obviously just scrolling through.
Along with the reels being pushed out everyday, it’s important to also have other forms of content at the same time. A good place to start is with Call To Action statements (CTAs) in your posts and profile to direct that traffic to other places within your business or towards what you’re launching.
The lessons on Instagram Reels
As I said before, there were so many lessons learnt from taking on this challenge and definitely some opinions formed (even unpopular ones) so this is your unpopular opinion ALERT!
Here are all of the lessons I learnt from taking on the 30-day reel challenge - the good, the bad, and the ugly!
1. You don't have to batch all of your reels too far ahead, even just a couple of days at a time is enough.
2. Look at where you are creating on other channels and have a break (these challenges take time)
3. Get a design you can use as the cover image of the reel and just slightly change it (Canva is the best for this)
4. Have a “Hook” in your Instagram Reel cover (For example: The day XX, didn’t work as well)
5. Scrolling Reels and TikTok IS research, so don’t be afraid to spend an hour or so looking at these platforms and finding sounds you want to use
6. Learn from the ones that don't 100% work out (this will tell you a lot. You can reflect after the fact)
7. Work one week at a time even with the captions (otherwise it is TOO much)
8. Draw people to the caption (you can put this in your reel - eg: Check the Caption!)
9. Have a hook at the start of your reel to capture the attention, something that jumps out quickly at the beginning of the video
10. Watch Instagram Reels with your eyes closed. It allows you to hear the sounds and make your own creation in your head without copying someone else
11. Spending MORE time on it doesn’t mean they get better results (the ones that take hours to create often get less engagement)
12. Don’t use 30 hashtags. Aim for 10-15 for the Reels
13. The “success” of your reel is determined by the number of people you reached outside of your following (we want to reach more people, remember)
14. (This is more of a personal one) I learnt that I hate dancing and I hate the transitions with dancing and I also hate pointing to text. BUT in finding the things I hate I also found that I like lip-syncing and find it super fun!
Advice for Creating Your Own IG Reels
If you’re looking to start making reels in any capacity, here are my top tips for you to get the most out of your IG Reels!
It all comes down to making a start so just do it! Set a timer for 20 minutes on your phone and make whatever you need to get done happen in that time!
Find inspiration for your content by getting out of the house! Go for a walk, find a place in your backyard to create, or even listen to different music whilst exercising, you never know where your ideas could come from. With this, you can also try listening to podcasts that isn’t business-related for inspiration as well
Starting a bank of ideas to call from, even if it’s whatever you think of at the time. Good ideas, bad ideas, and more - jot down everything you think of! If you’re struggling to get these ideas in order or you need some help with inspiration, the Content Queen membership is just what you need! We've got your back with everything IG Reel related and more, so if you’d like to learn all about it - click here to find out more!
Final thoughts
At the end of the day, whatever you want to do with your content and whatever challenge you want to take part in - just jump in and do it! BUT if you are going to do a challenge like the 30 day IG reels, make sure that isn't your only piece of content going out, try to blend your content creation and stick to other channels as well, it’ll really help keep up with engagement whilst trying to bring in new people.
Otherwise, just go for it and make a start, the longer you put it off the less likely you are to take it on! If you need help with taking on a challenge like this or even implementing reels into your weekly content, check out the Content Queen strategy template here! A freebie just for you to get control of your weekly content whilst balancing all the platforms!
I can’t wait to see you using it and KILLING your content game!
Have an amazing week all!
Lots of love
-Mariah
