In this article you will learn how to organise your work so Instagram reel creation doesn’t take you more than 30 minutes a day.
This is a part of my free training “ReelLove – 5-Day Online Bootcamp” if you want to access all material in one place, you are welcome to sign up for free.
An easy 8-step Instagram Reel Creation Process.
1. Mini research for your reel on Instagram
While you are having your morning coffee or tea, create a habit of browsing through reels on Instagram. Don’t do it longer than 5-10 minutes.
Pay attention to which of the reels catches your attention or sparks ideas for what you can create.
Important to remember – Reels is about “moderate originality” if something works you want to replicate it. You can put your spin on it. But when you are just starting out, use what already works.
This was a struggling point for me in the beginning, after all, we were taught that copying is not good. However when it comes to reels you can “borrow” ethically working ideas. You can use sounds (especially the trending ones).
The purpose of using reels is to be discovered by as many people as possible, if something is popular Instagram will show it to more people by default. So you want to bear this in mind, especially when you don’t have too many followers yet.
This was a trending sound and a specific video.
I decided to use the same sound and the concept with a little modification. I used it successfully for ads as well.
2. Save music, text, or other audio/visual elements to enhance your reel.
When you come across a sound that you like or you see that it is trending you save it to your audio library inside the Instagram app. If you like a particular video and want to replicate it later, save the link to the reel in your notepad.
Time allocated – 5 minutes.
The pictures below show you how you can save sounds or reels that you want to use later.
3. Choose a theme or topic for your reel.
You can go for an easy option and use the original sound that you’ve saved and either decide that it will be a lip sync video ( you just repeat the words) or you can use video footage and use the saved sound.
Important to remember – Brevity.
You have a maximum of one minute. You want to bring your point across quickly. One useful tip is enough. You can present an answer to frequently asked questions.
For instance, one of the questions I was asked was “Should you post YouTube links on Facebook business page?” I created a reel answering that question.
You can use copy.ai to generate ideas for your reels (they have topics for TikTok but as Reels are competing with TikTok this will do.)
You can use websites like www.answerthepublic.com to see what kind of information people are actually searching regarding your zone of expertise.
You can search Google or YouTube, Amazon to get inspiration on what you can talk about.
You can use content from your previous newsletters or blog posts and adapt them to reels.
If something goes on in your life use it as a topic for your reel.
4. Creating an outline (including all main elements of a reel)
At this stage you can jot down the main outline of your reel:
Allocated time – 10 minutes.
Read more about the all main elements of the reel in this article.
5. Writing down a story-line or a mini script for Instagram reel
I would put on paper everything that you plan to say, not exactly word for word but you have a clear structure in front of you so you can record your text without long pauses in between the sentences.
6. Deciding on creative/ visual elements to create a powerful reel
At this point you decide whether you are taking photos or use video footage, or record yourself.
Time allocated – 10 minutes.
7. Filming - final stages of your reel creation.
Reel can be filmed in one go, or you can create it from different small pieces – video and photos put together.
After recording your video, you add other audio or visual elements.
Start assembling your reel. If you have never done a reel before. Here are some quick video tutorials.
8. Sharing your amazing reel with the world
Click share and your reel is published.
Time allocated – 10 minutes.
This 8-part process gives you structure that allows you to become efficient in creating reels. It may take time in the beginning as with everything new while we are learning.
You don’t need to create a reel every day, even though it is possible. I spent the whole month publishing a reel a day. I needed it to create this process, moving forward I will stick with 3 reels a week schedule as this approach is more sustainable.
You can create just a reel a week. Give this 8-step process a go and let me know how you find it.
Watch the video below that describes this process more visually.
If you would like to ask questions you are welcome to join my free Facebook group “Business Growth for Intuitive Entrepreneurs”
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