Looking Towards the Future of Reels

During October, our social media team attended Meta's Agency Summit, where they gained exclusive access to the latest developments and invaluable insights from Meta’s team of experts.

In this blog, we’ve highlighted one of the key findings from the seminar to keep you informed and ahead of your competitors as we look towards a social future with more sophisticated integrated AI tools.

During the Summit, Meta revealed that out of all their peers in the digital space, Meta is investing the most in AI technology. They will be investing a massive 30 billion dollars to increase their AI capacity to support growth in AI-based tools. It’s therefore no surprise that a significant portion of the seminar focused on integrating AI tools within Instagram Reels.

What does this mean for your business and the dynamics of agency-client collaborations in conquering the digital realm? Read on to learn about how Meta’s integrated AI algorithm is evolving to produce better results for your Reels and how we can help your social media channels reach new heights.

Reels: AI-Powered and Here to Stay

Meta highlighted the importance of Instagram Reels as we move into a new era of AI technology. According to the data Meta presented, over the next few years, marketers are expected to expand how much they use AI by 166%. With the emergence of TikTok and its 1.6 billion users globally (of which 1.1 billion are monthly active users, as of 2023*), short-form videos are increasingly becoming the standard for entertainment. According to Meta, gone is the demand for long videos, as users scroll through twenty to fifty-second videos on their feeds. This easily digestible video format is the most popular globally, and with Meta’s AI-powered algorithm, it seems it’s here to stay.

Meta told us that 190 billion Reels are played every day and, thanks to AI, better and more curated algorithms are coming into play. This gives your brand the chance to be seen by its target audience, those who are likely to engage and take action, and by people in your desired location. According to Meta’s data, over 2 billion people share Reels every day - a figure that has doubled in the last six months. In the UK, 98% of people surveyed have taken some sort of action after seeing Reels.

In terms of advertising opportunities, Reels are addictive in nature and often produce better results than traditional digital advertising. In addition, these Reels can be plugged directly into existing social media strategies with no new budget or particular new learnings or skills needed.

By incorporating Reels into your routine social media strategy, you can significantly expand your reach and unlock more efficient and effective outcomes in both the short and long term. This emerging digital frontier, powered by AI and captivated by the allure of Reels, promises a transformative journey for brands looking to engage and flourish in the ever-evolving social media landscape.

Top 5 Tip For Creating Outstanding Reels

As short, engaging videos, Reels can serve as a valuable tool for connecting with a broader audience. By strategically aligning your content, hashtags, and captions, you can significantly boost your audience size. Moreover, Reels have a dedicated section in the app, making them easily discoverable. To help you create compelling Reels that will captivate your audience and attract new followers while enhancing your impressions and engagements, we've compiled our top five tips.

Comply With the Algorithm

As we know, Instagram is constantly changing the goals posts with their algorithm, it seems. As their platform changes and user behaviour evolves, new rules come into play. Ensue you are on top of these changes to better comply with their guidelines, maximising performance. The algorithm has one mission - to keep people on the app for as long as possible, and as engaged as possible. By keeping up-to-date with their new guidelines, you can essentially ‘hack’ the system and enjoy the benefits of better reach and audience growth.

Create Original Content

One aspect of this that remains constant for Instagram’s algorithm is original content. Instagram does not prioritise recycled content, meaning if you post a video on TikTok, then post again later on Instagram, your video may not be shown to many people. In a nutshell, Instagram loves original, engaging and entertaining content.

Be Engagement Focussed

Engagement is key; the app factors in many things when considering when and to whom your content will be shown to. Keep in mind things the below when creating content to ensure excellent results:

• Is my content likely to be engaged with?
• Is my video the right length to keep users’ attention?
• Will people save the video for later?
• Does my post evoke an action like website visits with a strong CTA?

With these things in mind, you can tap into the ever-growing bitesize video trend and see your results soar.

Make Use of Instagram’s Tools

When creating your Reel within the app, make sure you are utilising all the tools on offer to create more eye-catching content for your brand. This includes adding text over your video, stickers, filters and audio sounds - whether that be music that matches the content or a voiceover.

Keep informed about current trends on short-form videos to make use of what is popular now for better results.

Keywords and Hashtag Strategy

Don’t let your content go to waste. Ensure high impressions and reach by implementing hashtags and keywords into your captions and descriptions. These keywords should be based on things like location and your brand - think of it like SEO for social. Within this, don't forget to include alt tags where you can for maximum discoverability, helping you connect and build your audience while being search-friendly.

There are a plethora of tools you can use to form, understand and analyse your Instagram hashtag strategy. These tools not only offer insights into which of your hashtags are performing well, which need re-evaluated, but also which ones you are potentially missing out on. With a solid hashtag strategy in place, you will see your performance improve as impressions and engagement experience growth.

Supercharge Your Brand's Social Media Presence

Leveraging more than a decade of expertise in crafting and executing digital marketing strategies, Click2Convert boasts a dedicated team of social media professionals primed to achieve tangible results for your business, regardless of your objectives. We've earned the trust of renowned industry leaders to enhance visibility, elevate engagement rates, and foster the expansion of audience growth.

Discover further insights into Our Services and discover how we can propel your brand to unprecedented heights.

*Source: www.demandsage.com