TikTok has experienced unprecedented development over the past few years, and this trend appears to be continuing. It is estimated that TikTok will have 1.5 billion monthly active users by the end of 2022.
Instagram Reels: Why You Should Use Them
It’s more important to get very good at one or two platforms, and have a voice, message, and community there, Kar Brulhart advised me. “A lot of brands think they need to be on multiple platforms in order to have a voice and a presence.”
Brulhart does concede that TikTok has benefits, including the ability to help entrepreneurs and brands keep up with trends, increase brand awareness, and drive traffic to other platforms like Instagram and websites. Her plan is to increase her brand’s exposure by posting to TikTok, find popular patterns and noises, and then use that knowledge to expand her Instagram following.
Here Are 5 Pieces of Advice From a Reels Guru to Help You Dominate Instagram
Determine your audience, and then stick to it.
Kar Brulhart informed me that Instagram growth and coaching are her two main areas of expertise, so these are the topics that make up the bulk of her material.
It’s not a good idea to focus your content marketing efforts on hot subjects that have nothing to do with your business. Attracting the correct kind of audience is more important than getting any kind of audience at all in social media marketing.
Social media algorithms favour users who are consistent, so publishing frequently and according to a plan can help you gain traction. When Brulhart kept writing frequently about topics that were most important to her readers, she started seeing results.
You need some caption context.
You don’t have to cram your entire message into a 15- or 30-second Reel, as Brulhart suggests. pico”Short video functions really effectively on TikTok — like audio patterns, and lip-sync trends.”
Instead, she says, “it can be a thing relatable and motivating, and you may include that context in your caption.”
Take the following Reel, for example, in which Brulhart merely hints at the context with a few brief text phrases (such as “I was harassed by a man in my initially position in Ny”) yet goes to great depth within the description.
Focus relentlessly on your information.
We’re already data-obsessed as marketeers. Data can show you what’s effective, what requires work, and what you can do without. This also applies to your approach to Reels.
“I would suggest looking at your data every seven to 30 days, analysing it, and figuring out which Reels perform well,” Brulhart advises. “Then, take that same topic and turn it into a carousel post, and add additional information in the caption of that post.”
She advises being persistent in your messaging because “half of your audience isn’t seeing your content at any given time.”
According to Brulhart, the key to a brand’s success on Reels is for the marketing team to try out different approaches and analyse the results to determine what works best. You can only find this out through analytics, but maybe your audience is more interested in trends and relatable content than educational Reels.
Make some material that takes place off-screen.
While discussing the ‘newfound rise’ of short-form video with Brulhart, I was reminded that this trend has actually been building for quite some time. In 2012, for instance, Snapchat introduced its first short-form video content to the market.
Brulhart told me, “These platforms have democratised video” by making it “cheap, easy, and fun to create videos.” This is because, as a species, “we like to overshare,” and because “we like to create videos to share our lives,” he added.
After the pandemic, social media followers want more real, human, and intimate content from their favourite influencers and brands.
Furthermore, after the pandemic, 34% of people who took the HubSpot Blog Survey said they still search out more upbeat and inspiring material than they did before.
Don’t be afraid to switch from a professional aesthetic to something more approachable and fun, as Brulhart puts it: “It’s not about perfection or aesthetics anymore — the stories that work most effectively involve at risk, intimate, inside material.”
Adding a human touch to your brand is essential for successful social media marketing. Your audience will feel more confident in your business if they can identify with it.
Find a writer to make original material for your Reels.
If you want to take your Reels strategy to the next level, you should look for a video creator who specialises in social media to join your team.
Brulhart advised me to hire a “Reels video editor” (someone with experience making videos for Instagram and TikTok) if possible.
You should try to find someone with experience on Reels who can help you make sure your videos will do well there.
In the event that you cannot afford to employ someone full-time, Brulhart advised, “Make sure your brand is tying its Reels back to your business’ content pillars. Avoid making the error of just leaping on a trend as it’s funny or pico; all that will occur is that your will attract a lot of customers, but they won’t be the right supporters.
Brulhart’s Social Department subscription, where she gives people weekly popular audio and niche-specific ideas to save them time on Reels, is another option if you don’t have the resources to employ someone full-time.