Reel Talk: The Pros and Cons of Instagram Reels

Last month, Instagram introduced its direct competitor to TikTok: Instagram Reels. This new feature allows users to create short, fun videos utilizing Instagram’s filters and other editing tools. The result is something fairly similar to TikTok, but these videos live on a special section on your page, similar to IGTVs. While it’s always fun to play with the newest and shiniest tools, it’s also important to evaluate and determine if it should be incorporated into your social strategy.

Take a look at the pros and cons of using Instagram Reels for your brand!

Pro: You Can Increase Your Organic Reach

Since Reels are Instagram’s newest rollout, they will be showcasing them more on the app’s Discover Page, which means more eyeballs on your content. That being said, if your brand is creating Reels, there’s an opportunity for you to obtain a higher organic reach simply by utilizing this tool.

Con: You Can’t Promote Reels

Because Instagram wants Reels to be an organic environment, you cannot boost Reel posts with paid advertising like you can with IGTV videos. This might change in the future, but for now, you will have to focus on building your reach organically.

Pro: Likes vs. Views

You’ve probably noticed in the past that video posts on Instagram only show views, not likes. For Reels, that’s not the case! Instead, you can see exactly how many people have liked the post, which can help you determine if that content resonates with your followers.

Con: Business Accounts Can’t Add Music to Their Reels

Due to licensing issues, if you have a business account, you will not be able to add music to your Reels like you can with a personal account. There are, however, ways to bypass this by utilizing original audio and using original audio created by other accounts. Here’s a guide on how to use audio from another Reel.

Pro: Opportunity for Interaction

You probably know that one of the biggest appeals about TikTok is the use of trends in videos. From choreographed dances to fluffy coffee, there’s no limit to what people can share and duplicate! There’s a good chance that the same phenomenon will also happen on Reels. You can use that to your advantage to either adopt trends that are relevant to your brand, or to create your own! You can encourage your audience to make their own version and tag you to facilitate audience participation and interaction.

There are plenty of pros and cons to all social media tools, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t worth a try! It may be worthwhile to create a couple of Reels and see how they perform on your page. While it is a new platform to showcase your brand, you don’t actually need to create new content. You probably have content you’ve already written or recorded that can easily be repurposed for Reels. For example, if you have a blog post about the “Top Five Reasons to Move to LA,” you can take those five bullet points and easily make a fun video showcasing the area.

Have you used Reels yet for your brand? Let us know what you think!