Unlock New Opportunities with Reels: How Businesses Can Benefit from Using Video Content Reels—the Instagram feature that allows users to create and share short videos—is the talk of the town among those building strong social media presences. TikTok fueled the recent boom in short video content, quickly gaining popularity as a destination for short-form, music-enhanced videos. In order to compete, Instagram debuted Reels in 2020, and they’ve seen their own significant successes. An average of two billion active users engage with Reels monthly. What does that mean for businesses updating their social media strategies? It means there’s an opportunity to diversify your content, attract new audiences, and improve your brand awareness. Accelerating engagement: Brands can’t rely solely on static images to build and captivate audiences anymore. The functionality to easily share Reels on Instagram Stories and Explore pages gives them greater visibility and reach than a traditional post. Another factor of visibility on the platform is the almighty Instagram algorithm itself. In simple terms, the algorithm cross-references information about different forms of content with information about the user’s affinity—aka what you like—and serves tailored content. The final layer to the elusive algorithm is that—shocker!—it continues to favor Reel-format content over others (likely due in no small part to it  capturing two billion active users monthly?) For us marketers, this means Reels can put the engagement odds in our favor as we create strong social media strategies for 2023! Building trust with consumers: Reels have quickly become a popular feature on Instagram, with many users and brands using them to connect with their audience and promote their products or services. They have been especially popular among creators and influencers, who have used the feature to showcase their talents and build their personal brands. Businesses must consider the opportunity being offered to them. People want to watch real people with real faces, voices, thoughts, and emotions. Having employees talk directly to the camera about educational issues in and around their product or industry, for example, can help build trust with consumers and foster an engaged following as a result. Storytelling: While Reels are still relatively new, they have already proven to be a powerful tool for engagement on Instagram. They offer a unique way for users to connect with their audience and stand out in an increasingly crowded social media landscape. Reels provide a space for brands to harness a content format that allows them to share their story—to go deeper. You’ve heard that a picture is worth a thousand words? In this case, a Reel is worth two billion. This feature gives companies a unique opportunity to relate to their consumer and to share a bit about how they solve a pain point that no one else can. Reels help brands gain better audience engagement and can increase your brand awareness, which could eventually help you reach the right customers. Create content that’s relatable, funny, engaging, and always authentic to your brand, and your people will find you! In conclusion, short, engaging videos are now the centerpiece of social media, and this ability to quickly diversify content is how you use this lucrative tool to stand out in the crowded social media landscape. If consumers respond to it most and the platform wants to place you first, why aren’t you there yet? Start building Reels into your social strategy so you can use that content to tell a story about your brand that your audience hasn’t heard before. Reels have become the most engaging post type on Instagram. It’s time you started using them to unlock opportunities, deeper connections with your consumers, and new audiences! Chat with our team to create an incontestable social media strategy!