Many Instagram reels logo on black background. 3d illustration.

There's no question that social media platforms are incredible tools for businesses. They allow brands to build a greater brand identity, trust with their customers and create exciting and engaging content to promote their products, services and host new marketing campaigns. TikTok brought a new spin on video-style platforms, adding exciting editing tools and essentially putting basic film making in the hands of millions. Instagram soon followed with their release of Reels allowing users to create long form videos using cuts, music, voice overs and video effects to create engaging content for their viewers. For businesses, this is a great opportunity to take advantage of a new platform and create new forms of content to promote their products. Let's take a look at what some top business leaders have to say about using Instagram Reels to promote your business, widen your potential customer base and make waves in your industry!

More Visual and Personal Content

Reels allow users to create slightly longer, more involved videos that can tell more in depth stories than their standard features allow. They also allow you to engage your customers more directly with your content. 'Instagram Reels are big on media, whether that be images, sound or a multitude of other facets. This means that you can share product or service features in a much more visual way than ever before. Make your Reels interactive by asking questions or inspiring comments. It's a great way to spark customer engagement,' said Marc Atiyeh, CEO of Pawp. This makes customers feel like they are directly a part of the conversation surrounding your brand and products.

In addition to providing a more visual and engaging way for customers to see your products, they also provide a more personal setting for them to be featured in. Reels, stories, and posts allow viewers to see themselves in the influencer using the product. 'Reels are a great way to showcase your product in a personal, individual setting. Reels keep the feeling of self-made content and seeing a product used on a reel makes it seem more real, consumable and trustworthy to your target audience,' said Amanda E. Johnson, Chief Marketing Officer of TatBrow.

Educational Videos

Reels are a great way to educate your customer base on industry trends or facts about your products vs. competitors! Also consider featuring customer testimonials and of course, customers using your products. 'Instagram reels allow users to create more engaging and lengthy content, making it a great opportunity to make educational content surrounding your business. You could highlight industry facts, trends or testimonials of people using your products and share the results!' said Chris Cronin, Co-founding Partner Kitanica.

In addition to providing educational information about your industry, you can also use Reels to highlight the culture of your company by featuring 'behind the scenes' videos of you day to day operations. 'Social media in general is a good way to feature behind the scenes footage of your business operations. This does a lot to humanize brands to customers and gives you a chance to show your unique brand culture and feature your hardworking employees,' said Jordan Nathan, Founder and CEO of Caraway.

Re-Create Viral Trends

One way to create some fun content for your customers is by recreating popular viral trends and memes! 'Customers discovering you through Instagram Reels will most likely be scrolling through pages posting the lasted memes and trends with social media, and recreating those trends around your product or service can be a great way to grab the attention of a new customer quickly and easily,' said Lauren Singer of Package Free Shop.

However, make sure that you stay on top of what's currently popular, as that tends to shift pretty quickly in the world of influencers and meme-makers. Make sure you don't seem out of touch as a brand! 'Stay in loop with trends as much as possible. There's nothing that looks more out of touch than brands bringing back old trends, jokes and memes. This will ultimately make your company look old, so make sure you and a team of social media managers are on top of what's trending and how you can use that to your advantage in your social media advertising,' said Ari Sherman, Co-Founder of evo hemp.

Crop Your Videos Correctly!

When using platforms like Instagram, make sure you understand the formatting that occurs when you post. Certain aspects of your video could get cut off if you don't format them correctly. 'Because of the formatting of instagram, make sure that your text is always centered when using text. Sometimes, text that is placed on the side of the screen or off-center can get cropped once it's posted. Remember to think about where most of this content is going to be viewed: most likely on smartphones and mobile devices,' said Dino Ha, CEO of Kaja Beauty.

It's important to think about how your text appears on your videos because much of the time people might be scrolling through with low or no volume. 'Make sure that your video gets the point across with the least amount of dialogue to consider the fact that your viewers might be watching without sound,' said Mathilde Collin of Front. 'The simpler and more visual your product feature is, the better chance it will get noticed before your potential customer scrolls on to the next video.'

Tell Your Brand Story

Instagram Reels give brands a greater ability to tell their story and connect with customers on an emotional level. 'Testimonials are great, but you want to get a little more specific than that. Try thinking about telling a story with your product or brand, this is something that customers will connect more deeply with than a simple product explanation. A customer telling their story about your product will do amazing things for your outreach and brand awareness,' said Gabrielle Mustapich, Co-CEO and CMO of Hardpops.

Daniel Seehoff, Sophistiplate's CEO agrees, 'Reels are the perfect alternative to YouTube. More people tend to be on Instagram than Youtube, especially certain demographics. Use reels to break up your content and feed, especially when launching a new product or service, or when first launching your brand and shaping your brand story online. Use Reels twice a month. So it is sparse, but it should be within your strategy.'

Again, Instagram Reels, Stories and posts allow customers to see themselves using your product. Telling your brand story allows them to connect with both your brand and themselves, creating a deeper connection with your product, services and values as a company. This is why social media is such a powerful business tool, it allows a greater level of emotional connection than television ads used to provide years ago.

Get Creative!

This style of marketing and advertising is relatively new, so get creative as you can! These are base level video editing tools, and there's a lot you can do with the right creative attitude. 'These kinds of ads are just becoming popular and there are tons of fun ideas and ways to showcase your products using instagram reels. The tools provided are essentially video editing tools, so the only limitation to how you can present your products is your own creativity! Take a moment to observe what other brands are doing and what posting trends are gaining the most attention,' said David Wolfe, Founder and CEO of Oliver's Apparel. Even if you're doing relatively simple content, you can easily make it exciting by taking advantage of their editing tools, voice over and video effects.

And again, this is a relatively new option and not a lot of businesses are involved with it. 'Reels are a great place to host ads and instagram only this year has made this option officially available as a service. This can help you build brand awareness, widen your customer base and increase traffic to your website,' Jean Gregoire, Founder & CEO of Lovebox. Getting in on the ground floor of a new advertising trend will increase your brand awareness and widen your reach to new customers and importantly, younger audiences who are primarily using these tools!

Instagram Reels allow your business to gain exposure in a wide network of users. TikTok provides many of the same tools, but Reels offers an already built audience with a variety of ages and values. You can use reels to highlight your company culture and create 'behind the scenes' videos of your employees and day to day operations. Companies that have employees with positive testimonials will be able to create a greater deal of trust with potential customers. Consumers today take ethics and morals very seriously when making their choices of who to shop with. Showing your companies behind the scenes operations is an opportunity to showcase the diversity of your team and how things get done at your company!

You can also create fun and engaging product features that include customers using your products or customer testimonials talking about the positive features of your products. This is another way to create a strong sense of community and trust within your customer base. Advertising on Reels is still relatively new, and there is rich ground to create new styles of content. Try using Instagram Reels to promote your business and widen your network today!