Are you struggling with your Reels views? Not to worry, read through our tips and tricks below to see what you can do to increase your engagement.
What is considered a view/play?
A play on your Reels is the number of times your video starts to play after an impression is counted. This is defined as video sessions with 1 millisecond or more of playback and excludes replays.
So how can you get more views and more plays on Reels?
1. Don’t overlook the basics
People are always searching for the latest tips, tricks, and hacks, but they skip the fundamentals and the basics. If you skip all of the basics then your video will not perform well. When we refer to “basics,” we are talking about the quality of the video and the lighting of the video.
You don’t need to have the latest iPhone or the best equipment, but simply wiping off and cleaning your camera can be all you need! If you want to use the highest quality, make sure to use the external camera on the phone as it is always clearer than the “selfie” cam.
2. Know your hook
You want to grab your audience’s attention within the first second of your Reels. If you are not grabbing attention in the first second, you have already lost a view. When you’re scrolling through your Instagram Reels tab or even your TikTok, what makes you stop scrolling to watch an entire video?
Typically, it’s somebody’s hook and how that hook captures someone’s attention. It gets you to watch the entire video. There are different strategies that you can use inside your hook, for example, movement. If you use movement towards the camera rapidly, that is a way to get your audience’s engagement or if you jump into the video or Reels, that’s also a way to grab your viewer’s attention.
Other ways are, the words that you say, the text that pops up, and even the colours that you are wearing.
Ask yourself: How are you capturing attention within the first second of your Reels?
If you’re sharing something informative, then use engaging words not only when you speak but being aware of the words you are using in the text on the screen. At the beginning of your video, you would say something like “Here are 5 tips to increase the views on IG Reels” and make sure that text is also written on the screen so the audience knows what the result they are looking for is at the end of the video.
3. Keep the attention
While hooks are important, if you want more plays, you want Instagram to push out to more people because repeat plays don’t count.
To keep attention, you want the Reel to be fast-paced and continuously moving. One way to do this is by using Instagram Templates. There are many templates to choose from so you can add your videos and Instagram will automatically edit the video to suit your music or the vibe you are going for.
If you’re an influencer or content creator who is talking to the camera, then take a breath and then record. The first second of the video is normally of the creator breathing *inhale* “Soo…” – cut all the breathing out of your clips or any “erm, well, so, basically” as it slows the video down.
Instead of doing one long clip talking to the camera, cut it into small bits so it’s more to the point.
Instagram also pays attention to your retention rate so it looks at how long somebody stays on your video. If your Reel is 10 seconds long, what percentage of people are completing the video before dropping off?
If Instagram sees that your video is getting a 100% completion rate, they will push it to more people.
4. Length of your video
Instagram says that the most important predictions we make are, how likely we are to watch the Reel through.
Read more on how you can beat the Instagram Algorithm here: How to beat the Instagram Algorithm in Simple Steps in 2022 (itp.live)
Many people say 7 seconds is good or 15 seconds is good for a Reel. Adam Mosseri who uploads many helpful Reels on his own Instagram said that making short Reels are better as people end up watching them all the way through. We are not going to say there is a magical number, as there isn’t one. However, in general, having a shorter Reel will as Mosseri said, allow the viewer to finish the video rather than having a 45-second video where some may click off halfway through.
The best thing to do is to test to see what works best for you. Whether it’s 7 seconds or 20 seconds, experiment with what works for you or your business, your niche as everyone is different so keep that in mind.
5. Don’t waste seconds in your video
This ties in with your breath, trimming content, making the Reels as short as possible, etc. It brings everything together as we discussed. After each clip, go through each one and see how short you could have or can make it. Ask yourself, Can I trim off the beginning? Can I explain this sentence in a different/shorter way to make it still easy to understand?”
If you feel like it’s moving too fast-paced then add captions. Instagram has the option to auto-generate captions for you to make it easier to follow. Use what the social media platform is giving you as it is there for a reason.
Bonus Tip: Your videos will perform well when you know exactly who your niche is
When you know exactly who you are talking to in your video, it’s so much easier to create captions of creating pop-up text. If you wanted to target students who were thinking of becoming an influencer, then you really need to put yourself in their shoes and think about how can I capture their attention, How can I provide value to them today? What’s something they’re struggling with today?
If this helps you with your Instagram Reels, then let us know by tweeting us @itpliveme.
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