A Guide to Creating Instagram Reels

31 – A Guide to Creating Instagram Reels

Social media in general can be a bit of a minefield, right? With its every changing rules, algorithms and decisions it makes on who see’s your content it can sometimes feel like you are posting out into a black hole. Instagram can definitely feel like one of those places and it can be deflating posting content to only reach a handful of followers, right? All we can try to do is stay on top of the ever-changing changes and the current thing Instagram seems to be pushing is Reels and videos. This type of content seems to be being shown more widely to more people (both followers and non-followers) over static images and “currently” seems to be the key to get seen.

If you are keen to have a go at some Reels or have been hesitant to try due to not knowing how, keep reading below for a guide on how to create Reels for Instagram.

Step by Step Guide to creating a Reel

#1 – Create your content. First and foremost, you need to create your content which can be in either video or image form, but most reels are video or a compilation of short video clips. Remember to film in portrait mode and use functions such as the timer or hold down the central “stop start” button to make filming easier. Doing this will essentially pause the video and restart it from the same place without having to film two separate videos. This is how lots of people film things like transition and quick-change videos!

#2 Now that your videos are ready to upload select the + button at the top of the app and select “REEL”. Here you can upload all your clips and images into the screen ready to edit. Once they are all uploaded, at the bottom of the screen you will see a button that says “edit clips” click on this to arrange your video in the exact order you want them in.

This is also where you can trim your videos, rearrange the order they appear in and add transitions between each video! To do this select either “reorder” or “transition” at the bottom of the screen and follow the instructions. For transitions this means selection transitions and clicking on the + sign that appears between each video clip, then selecting a transition action which will be performed as one video clip transitions into another to make it a little more interesting.

#3 – Once you have all your content ready and, in the order, you want you can now add the final touches such as edits or additions to make your Reel really stand out. This includes edits such as music, subtitles (or text to speech), filters and anything such as stickers, doodles or gifs. This bit is very similar to when you create stories too.

If you want to add music, a voiceover or remove any sound in the original video (such as talking or background noise) click on the musical note at the top of the editing screen. This is also where you can select music from a huge library or choices, turn down the original video sound and record any voiceover for your clips. You can even add funny sound effects to part of your video include evil laughs, air horns and animal sounds!

#4 – Once you have added all your edits, transitions, music, stickers and you are sure everything is exactly how you want it, click “next” at the bottom of the screen. This will take you to the page where you can now share your new Reel to your page. Add your caption, choose where you want to post it too (just the reels tab or your profile feed too) and then click share. You have created your Reel!

A few simple guidelines to keep in mind

  • Try to keep your Reels short and fun or snappy and informative to keep the watcher interested. If the reels drag on people will simply scroll onto the next one if you don’t grab their attention straight away.
  • Don’t be afraid of trying new things and having fun with creating your reels, experiment using different filters, stickers, speech to text and even music to your Reels.
  • Don’t forget to select the option to “share to feed” as well to ensure you reach the maximum audience. Reels are shared onto a different grid, one specifically for reels and unless selected, they will not appear on your grid for all your followers too see, so don’t forget to share on your feed too.