Are you using videos on Instagram to build and promote your business? If not, you should be! Videos are a great way to engage with your audience and create brand awareness. They can help you to achieve your marketing goals by getting the word out there about you, your products, and your services. In this blog, we'll go over how to use videos on Instagram to benefit your business, engage your audience and keep your following growing.
So, Instagram isn't just singular photos anymore. Social media is constantly evolving to what we like to engage with, and video content is where it is at. Reels, stories, and short video posts are now the most engaging way to interact with your followers and potential customers. You can use video content to entertain, educate and showcase your products or business all in one place. Engaging content helps with driving traffic to your business website and lets your audience get to know you.
The newest form of video on Instagram is ‘Reels’. Reels are videos that are between 15 and 60 seconds long (much like Instagram’s version of Tiktok) that are designed to quickly gain the attention of people. They're a great way to introduce potential customers to your business. Reels don’t mean you need to sing and dance (but feel free to if you can!), but with the right combination of images, music, or voice-over you can create content that really benefits your audience.
When creating a reel, be sure to keep it short, informative, and fun. Reels are a great way to educate your viewer on who you are, the business, products, or services you have and to problem solve. Think of it as everything you need to know in 60 seconds! You can use them to introduce and showcase what you do, special offers, products you sell, and even problem-solve for people. They are fast and easily shareable and viewers love them!
Reels help drive traffic to your profile and onto your website (make sure your link is in your bio). They are like a taste test of what you have to offer. Try out different styles and content ideas to see what engages your audience. You can even ask them what they'd like to see in your stories, so you know what content to create in reels.
Instagram stories are a great place to build confidence in your customers in regard to both you and your product or service. You can show everything from everyday life, products on sale to your business journey. Think of it like going behind the scenes, people love to see the ‘real’ you and how your business operates. It gives a feeling of familiarity like you are a friend they know. It is a great way for small businesses to build brand confidence with current and potential customers. Many followers will watch for weeks or months before they buy.
You can also use stories and their functions to interact with your audience. There are options that allow you to share links, a question box, polls, share location, and more. Using functions to interact with your audience makes it a two-way communication instead of just you providing the content. You can ask what they’d like to know, quiz them about what they need next and even use them to help create a community around your brand. Stories are more intimate; they allow your followers to feel like you are really talking to them and that they are part of your community. For example, ‘What recipe would you like to see next? Brownies or pancakes?’ your audience votes, the option that receives the most votes can then become your next reel or post. You get insights into your client's thinking, what problems they need to be solved and what they like. Stories also allow you to see the analytics on what people interacted with so you can tailor your content to suit what they are enjoying. Market research and data at your fingertips!
Stories disappear after 24hours, but you can save them on highlights in your profile. This is such a great option as you can name each highlight for people to easily watch. It is a great place to have FAQs, products, and reviews as evergreen content.
Video posts on Instagram can be between 3seconds and 10 minutes. For a video that is above 60 seconds, a preview will be played within the viewer's feed, then an option to continue watching will appear. This is where you can go watch the remainder on your profile. Quick video posts can be used alongside information tiles on your feed to show and inform customers. To use the recipe example again you can show a video of the final product and people can swipe to the recipe on the next tile. You can use Instagram video features for Q&As, teaching or demonstrating how to do or use something and educate your audience on a product, topic, or issue.
IGTV is no longer (RIP). Instagram has decided to merge IGTV with feed videos, creating their platform into becoming a one-stop destination for all things video. IGTV launched in 2018 in hopes it would become the mobile equivalent of YouTube. However, it never quite took off. Instagram found users weren’t clicking the IGTV icon, instead of finding other ways of interacting with videos on the platform.
Whether you’re looking to increase brand awareness, drive website clicks or sales, or simply create a more engaging Instagram profile, video is a powerful tool that can easily be part of your marketing strategy. And with options like Instagram reels and videos, there are even more ways to use videos to reach your target audience. So which video style are you going to try first?
Want to know what your next Instagram video could be. Get in touch with us today and see how we can take your profile to the next level.