Ever since Instagram launched Reels to compete with its snappy competitor TikTok, more and more improvements have been made to the feature. Did you know you can make ads for your business in the form of Reels? Say hello to Instagram Reels Ads, an innovative way to connect and engage with your target audience. With over 1 billion users, Instagram offers a vast potential audience for businesses to tap into. In this blog post, we’ll explore Instagram Reels Ads and how they can be an effective part of your marketing strategy.
Launched in August 2020, Instagram Reels is a feature that allows creating, editing, and sharing video clips. These can be set to music or an original sound. Sound familiar? That’s because it’s extremely similar to TikTok. Reels Ads are full-screen and immersive content that appear in between user-generated Reels. This format enables businesses to reach and engage with users in a new way. Reels Ads can be up to 30 seconds long, however, most are 15 seconds or shorter.
Instagram Reels Ads are a great way to reach an audience that prefers video to still images. Another benefit to Reels is that when you share a Reel Ad, your business gets shown to people who don’t follow you. In addition, the algorithm for Reels is different from your usual Instagram feed, so you may notice a wider reach. Reels can be watched both from the explore page and the home page. With a Reels Ad, you can specify the audience you want to reach and you can also add clickable calls-to-action, further improving their effectiveness.
If you’d like to try out Reels Ads for your business, make sure you follow these tips.
Your Reel Ad can be as long as 30 seconds. While that might not seem like very much time, it is likely more than enough to get your message across. Before you begin filming, make sure you have a script or an outline of what you want to cover in your video. This will make every second count and keep you from rambling. As mentioned earlier, many Reels are shorter than 30 seconds. As social media users’ attention spans continue to get shorter, your ads probably should as well.
It’s not uncommon for people to watch Reels without their sound on. They may be scrolling in public or somewhere else where listening isn’t possible. For people like this, it’s important to include text or captions that allow them to still understand the video. You can use the text to enhance and emphasize the main topics covered in your Reel or provide word-for-word captions of everything that is said. The text is also beneficial for hearing-impaired viewers.
You want people to view your entire ad. As such, you need to capture their attention early on in the video. If there isn’t an enticing hook within the first few seconds, they will simply scroll past or tune it out. You can start with an attention-grabbing visual, sound effect, or text. You can also start by asking a relatable question, telling a captivating story, or offering a solution to a common problem.
The worst thing you can do when you upload a new Reels Ad is to upload it with the wrong dimensions. This can make the video very blurry or difficult to watch. Specifically, landscape videos also don’t do very well in a Reel, since most people don’t want to rotate their phones while they watch. Make sure your video is in portrait format and keep the aspect ratio at 9:16 or 1080×1920 pixels. As an additional tip, an easy way to avoid a blurry video is to edit using Instagram’s tools built directly into the app.
Instagram Reels Ads are an exciting opportunity for business owners to connect with and engage their target audience. It allows you to create immersive and impactful ads that can boost your brand’s visibility and ROI. In order to make the most of your Reels Ads, focus on grabbing attention, being mindful of length, and optimizing their dimensions.
Interested in learning more about your advertising options on Instagram? Book a call with our team today!
