Why & how to use Video Marketing, Instagram Reels & Tiktok for your social media strategy

After a 2 month blog pause, while working hard on my new Dutch website and social media marketing - Instagram consultancy & coaching business, my current priority, I decided it was time for an Instagram & social media update on here too.

That’s why in this blog I’ll happily tell you all about some of the newest social media trends and a new Instagram feature, introduced in fall 2020, all important and valuable to use for your business/brand.

If you’re active on Instagram you know that the layout of the app was drastically changed last year. Making it obvious that Instagram is trying to push some features by changing the location on the homepage and repositioning the timeline/like notification button to the top.

It was a big, and not very pleasant transition for most, as it goes against muscle memory, but also says a lot about what they prioritize and how to get favored by the algorithm. And in order to make IG work for you(r business) it’s smart to take into account!

In this blog I will tell you why you should certainly use this most valuable new Instagram feature to your advantage, and how:

Instagram Reels

Reels were added to IG in the Netherlands around fall last year, but are still not available in every country unfortunately. IG did however give the Reels explorer button the most prominent position in the app, right where the posting button used to be, so that says a lot!

Reels are obviously a blatant copy of TikTok, but also offer new opportunities to go viral on IG. This function gives you the tools to create in-app video’s up to 30 seconds, with several unique transitions, filters, speed functions and popular music that can be added easily, making Reels increasingly popular.

Go viral with Instagram Reels

And by recording multiple videos with the align feature you can create seamless transitions which can go viral if done correctly and become trending.

Since Instagram added a special explorer screen just for Reels your video’s will be able to stand out, get discovered by new followers faster. And you can also use 30 # in the caption and comments, same as with a normal feed post, providing even more tools for extra reach.

These video types will also have more impact, as the measurements are bigger, and are therefore more screen filling than the normal grid video!

Why use IG Reels for your (personal) brand and business?

You may have noticed that I have been posting quite a lot of Reels on @AuthenticChica too, as I’m testing this new feature to see what works. And since the algorithm seems to like it when you use all of IG’s features, especially the new ones, I made Reels part of my content schedule and try to post at least 1 per week.

But there are many reasons why you should add Reels to your social media strategy to use to your advantage!

A few compelling examples of accounts that benefitted greatly of Reels:

• Louis Vuitton has an average of 7 million views per Reel

• Sephora France more than 453,000 views per Reel

• Red Bull in general gets millions of views on each video

• But also their smaller Red Bull France account has been able to reach 2,4 million views on their most popular Reel

• Balmain gets 100K+ likes and more than 1,2M million views per Reel

• Many fashion influencers are doing very well on Reels with their outfit transition video’s

• And another travel-fashion influencer I know grew from 200k to 450k in just 4 months by consistently posting Reels that go viral with over 500K-1 million views on average.

Difference Instagram Reels & Tiktok

Although IG Reels have the same functions as Tiktok, you can use both to cross-promote and repurpose the video's. Tiktok however still has more features than IG Reels, like AR filters and cool transition functions, but overall they're quite similar.

I must admit that I’ve only been active on Tiktok for a few months now with my @AuthenticChica account. Posted about 25 video's there so far, am not a big fan, nor have I gone viral, so certainly no Tiktok expert:)

But from what I've seen and read the content that works well on Tiktok and IG Reels is very much alike in general. And some girls I know, that did go viral, have been able to grow very quickly on Tiktok, which also drove a lot of traffic to their Instagram account.

Although the user age on Tiktok is a lot lower, it can create extra growth opportunities for your Instagram account, if you cross-promote them well. And when you play it smart you can repurpose your content, and post all your Tiktok video's on Instagram Reels too.

There’s just one catch: if you download your Tiktok video after posting, it automatically adds a big Tiktok logo to the video. This doesn't look very nice and is rumored to limit your reach on Instagram when posted on IG Reels.

But luckily I have 2 workarounds for that:

• On Iphone: you can choose the option in Tiktok to download your video as a live photo. After that, go to your camera roll to the live photo and download it again by choosing: save as video to get the video without logo (does not work on Android unfortunately).

• Or option 2: after you made the video in Tiktok, make sure to screen record it just before posting, to have the original video combo made in Tiktok without logo.

How to use Instagram Reels for your (personal) brand & business?

Of course you can make your Tiktoks and Reels in the apps themselves, but personally I prefer to keep it flexible. That’s why I use other apps to create my video’s in advance, on the go, whenever I have time. These apps also allow you to combine several pictures as a gallery, or combine pics with video. Some of my favourites are:

• Inshot or Videoleap, make it easy to combine different clips, and even pictures to create 1 video by just adding clip/pics, adjusting the length and dragging.

• But you can also add nice transitions, stickers, text, and even music in these apps

• Most basic functions are free for a few days, or available for just €3,99 a month (Not an affiliate, just a fan!)

• This video for example was made with Videoleap:

For 15 more favourite (video) apps check out this blog: 15 fave phone photography, video & editing apps

Other Instagram Reel tips & tricks:

• When making an IG Reel with text in it, make sure that the text will also be visible in the smaller IG grid frame, for the countries that don’t have the Reels function yet, as they can still see it in your feed.

• Remember to always use portrait size clips or pictures of similar size (no landscape) to take advantage of the full frame.

• Upload the video to your Reels by choosing 15 or 30 seconds, and add music via the Instagram library, if needed, by searching for your favourite artists, songs, a specific word or mood matching the video.

• Always remember to add a caption with hashtags before posting.

• And add a nice cover, you can either choose a cover frame from a nice segment of the video, or upload a separate picture from your library.

• This appealing cover is very important, as it will grab the attention for your Reel faster.

• And ALWAYS make sure the blue slide is on to also share it in your feed, as this will maximize your reach!

• You can also choose to remove the Reel from your feed a few days later, if you don’t want to keep it in your Instagram grid.

15 Instagram Reel / Tiktok content ideas:

These short-from video’s are perfect for storytelling, sharing information, creating connections, showcasing your business/brand and entertaining in general.

Therefore I will happily share 15 topic ideas to help you get started;

1. Behind the scenes/making of video

2. Debunk 5 myths

3. 5 tips for...

4. Tutorials & fave online tools..

5. Best lessons I learned this year...

6. What to wear for...

7. Outfit transitions

8. Top 10/15/20 hotels/destinations/restaurants/outfits/foods etc..

9. Before VS After

10. Instagram VS Reality

11. Answer FAQ's

12. About me or team introduction

13. Funny stuff

14. Dancing video's

15. Joining challenges & making trending video's works best on Tiktok, preferably of max 10 sec.video's, that's why I personally don't like Tiktok:)

Video Content Marketing

Although IG Reels are an important new tool to use on Instagram, for your overall (social media) marketing strategy, video content is becoming increasingly important.

Not only because current and new generations are more accustomed to it, but also because:

• Studies show that of all internet traffic in 2022, 82% will be video focused.

• Video gets your message and story across much faster!

• It enables you to connect with your ideal customer more effectively.

• And the addition of better camera’s on each (new) smartphone model, and the availability of more great (free) video editing apps makes video content accessible to an even large audience.

• Also Google and the algorithms of several social media platforms favor video content due to longer watch (dwell) time, making video content extra valuable for reaching a broader audience, and gaining more traffic and leads.

• Current research has even stated that 94% of marketeers say video content helped their customers understand their product faster!

All of this makes video a powerful tool for your brand, shop and products, which should not be missed in your content strategy!

Where to post which video content?

For my own brands I prefer to create video content on the go, as short clips for my IG stories, with Boomerangs or other fun effects. But I also create travel-, drone-, behind the scenes- and client video’s, usually of max. 1 minute, to use as a normal post in my IG feed or FB, like this one:

And if they do turn out longer you can also choose to post them on Youtube or in Instagram as an IGTV, which allows video’s up to 1 hour.

I did however find that the reach for IGTV posts tends to be much lower lately, so try to limit myself on Instagram to 30 second Reels or 1 minute grid video posts, which I also use for Facebook and Youtube.

What do you think of these Instagram Reels, Tiktok and Video Marketing tips? Do you use this to your advantage, and create Reels and video content for your (personal) brand, business or product already?

For more social media and Instagram updates, growth and engagement tips, you can also check out my earlier posts on my social media tips page.

Or get in touch with me for custom-content creation, personal consultancy and coaching, about which you can read more on this page.

Or check out my Instagram post below to read how I can help you!

Feel free to let me know here, connect with me on social media, via the icons at the bottom of this page, or mail me at: contact@authenticchica.com, always happy to help and connect!