I’ve been actively growing my social media platforms since I started this blog in September 2020.

I started as a total social media newbie, I’d had my Pinterest account as a hobby for years but I didn’t use it to promote myself.

My Instagram was a personal account, which I decided to change and start promoting my business on, as the business of blogging is quite a personal one I guessed.

My Facebook page has been running since February 2021 and is starting to grow, and I started my Twitter account when I started my blog.

It’s been like a puzzle, scrambling between social media platforms trying to learn as much about each one and then starting again on a new platform.

I ended up studying for a Social media diploma with the Shaw Academy to help me out, which I ended up passing with a distinction.

Still, while my blog started growing, my personal life fell apart. The decision to start my own business and take a huge cut in pay to pursue my ambitions came at a price…

What was that saying? ‘when your entire life goes up in smoke, then it’s time for a promotion.’

Anyway, one feature on Instagram I am loving are Instagram Reels. If you haven’t tried it yet and your looking to grow your Instagram account quickly or get a wide exposure for your business/ product, you need to start using reels.

Not only do you get to unleash your creativity, it’s going to boost your account and get you a much wider audience.

10 Tips to help Growth using Instagram Reels…

1. Post up to 5 reels per day

Yep, I know what you’re thinking because I thought the same thing, who has time for that? But, seriously reels really help with reach. If you’re a small business with a small team you might be able to delegate tasks between yourselves to produce this much content.

I know I mentioned in my last post on Instagram to not overwhelm your followers by posting too much content, but reels are different. They’re designed to be creative and entertaining. Posting up to five reels a day is going to help dramatically boost your business growth on Insta.

Tip: if you use Tiktok reuse videos from that platform on your Instagram reels in between using fresh content. If you’re a one-person team like me, post fewer posts and focus on reels instead to grow quickly.

2. Ask your audience questions

I’ve said this before, engage your audience with something creative, informative or cheeky and then ask them a question. Encourage them to comment on your posts. This is going to mean they spend more time looking at your post and that means Instagram will show your post to more people.

Also, respond to every comment and do it fast. Instagram wants you to spend lots of time on its platform so make sure you engage with your followers. A simple emoji will do.

3. Don’t delete videos that don’t do well

The great thing about reels is that the growth can last months. Things like songs that are trending or products that are doing well can all suddenly boost your reel. If it doesn’t do well initially, leave it, in a couple of months your reach could change.

It’s also great to leave your content there for followers to scroll through. It took me a while to get people to view my reels but now my view numbers are continually climbing.

4. Use the app to create videos instead of uploading

It’s not the end of the world if you upload one, but I’ve found that the reels that do better are the ones you make on the app. It was a little tricky to master at first, there are a few features that bug me, there are certainly better video editing apps you can use, but I try to work on the app as much as I can.

5. Share the reel onto your profile grid and leave it on there…

I like to upload my reels to my profile grid and then remove them after a couple of days. My inner perfectionist won’t allow me to keep them on there. I just think the images look grainy and I don’t like the way Instagram chops the reel to make it fit. (Yeah my perfectionism is a bit crazy).

Still, you have to share reels with your profile gird and ideally, you should leave them on there to allow maximum engagement with your reel and therefore potential growth. The more engagement it has, the more views you’re going to get.

6. Don’t use cover photographs

So in response to the last point, I could add a cover photo to make it fit my feed however, Instagram just doesn’t like it. I would avoid adding photographs altogether. As a photographer, I’m always tempted to add them but I find they just don’t perform as well.

7. Use 30 hashtags

Yep, this sounds extreme, but you’re allowed to use 30# so you might as well utilise them. Add them at the end of the caption, unless you’re using one for a comedic effect of course. This makes the caption readable and keeps it looking fresh whilst boosting your reach.

Tip: Use companies like flick.tech to find a medium to low hashtags. They’re less competitive and they’re going to help you find your niche audience, this should mean more follows.

8. Use effects and equipment to improve your reels…

Try the green screen effect to change the background. Use the timer setting to go hands-free. Use a tripod to get the dazzling backgrounds. Get creative and showcase your talents.

Add text so people can read what’s going on if there’s speech. Tag products, clothing, makeup etc. Use songs that are trending.

Take time to edit videos, make them flawless and start to reap the rewards.

Tip: Jump on the latest trends (trendjacking) see what’s performing well on Tiktok and create your own version.

Thanks for reading,

Share my post and comment below if you found it helpful.

Soph

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