Who’s ready to “reel” in the views and widen your audience reach on Instagram?

No? We understand that you could be anxious, or overwhelmed with the sheer number of possibilities. But don’t worry… #TeamVonMack is to the rescue!

We’ve compiled 5 easy steps that will teach even the most novice Instagrammer how to create their first reel.

And believe it or not, you most likely have a ton of potential content on your phone RIGHT NOW to start off with. So follow along and let’s get started on your next content creation phase on social. 

Step 1: Record Your Video Content

Make sure you are recording all of your video footage in a vertical video format. You can do this outside of the app, but by recording your videos within the app, you can use filters that can add an extra element to your video. One of our favorite features of recording in the app is the ability to speed up or slow down video.  This can be used if you want to do a time lapse-inspired video…perhaps of your tour. 

Step 2: Open Instagram Reels

Open your Instagram App. Click the + icon at the top right of the screen. Now you can post a traditional post. If you look at the bottom of the screen you will see a navigation bar that says POST STORY REELS LIVE. You can scroll to the REELS screen with this navigation bar. 

Step 3: Upload Your Videos

When you are in this part of the process, you can either record videos directly into the app, or use the gallery feature on the bottom left of the screen to upload pictures or videos into the app. When you choose your video, you will then get the preview of your video, and you are given the option to trim the video. You can easily use the feature at the bottom of the screen to trim the beginning or end of the video, before uploading your next. Remember, what a viewer sees in the first 3 seconds will determine if they are interested in your content or not, so make this as visually compelling or personal as you can. Press the Add button at the top right part of the screen to add your video to your Reel. You can repeat this step if you want to add more videos or pictures, but REELS with singular videos have potential to rock also. Press the Preview button on the bottom right of the screen before moving on to the next step. 

Step 4: Preview & Produce Your Reel

Now that we have recorded our videos, uploaded them into the app, and trimmed them appropriately, it’s time for us to preview and produce this reel! As your reel previews over and over for you on your screen, you’ll be able to use the features at the top of the app to your advantage. 

1. The first icon on the top left is the back button to go back into trimming your videos, or changing up your videos. 
2.  The second icon in the top left allows you to download your reel. We love using this because if you accidentally leave the app, you will have to repeat steps 1-3 all over again, and you may lose all of your hard work. 
3. The third icon is the Mix Audio feature. You can control the volume of your video’s audio, and also add music from Instagram’s Music Library to your video, which can make your video more fun. You’ll be able to control the volume of the music as well. 
4. The fourth icon is a microphone icon for voice overs. This is a favorite feature because you can use this to talk over your video. Tap or hold to record audio over the video while you watch your reel. 
5. The fifth icon is Stickers and GIFs that you can add to your reel, if relevant. They have useful animations. Just search for keywords like arrow, sale, circle, foot prints, etc. 
6. The sixth icon feature is a scribble, allowing you to manually draw or scribble doodles and lines of different colors, shapes, and sizes onto your reel. 
7. The seventh and final icon is the Add Text icon, which we highly encourage that you use. You can choose a font, color, alignment, and size. You can use this to add more value to your videos, and gain more visual interest. You’ll be able to trim the text, allowing it to only appear throughout certain parts of the video. You can also use this to tag partners or locations and hashtags to help your video rank better. Many creators will add text with their relevant keyword hashtags, then shrink that text extremely small, and pull it out of view on the screen so that it still helps your video rank, but doesn’t take away from the visual look of your video. 
   

Step 5: Share Your Reel 

Now you are ready for the final step! Click the “Share To” button on the bottom right. Now you will be able to adjust your cover image on your reel, write a keyword heavy caption, tag people, and then click the big blue Share button at the bottom of the app, and watch the views roll in. 

Quick Tips:

• • Keep it short! Just because reels can be up to 30 seconds in length doesn’t mean it has to be. In fact, we encourage business owners to focus on being compelling, and keep it as short and to the point as possible. 
  • Use the features! What makes a reel more than just a short video is the additional features Instagram gives you within Reels, like text, music, voiceover and stickers, so make sure you use those. 
  • Get inspired! If you need ideas and motivation, check out our earlier Instagram reels blog from #TeamVonMack.