True People Check, a social media investigation company based in New York, continues to see a trend upwards with the use of Instagram Reels. Instagram is not only a source of photos; it is now a very popular site to post videos. Our fraud detection service routinely finds subjects posting videos on Instagram Reels. So, we thought we would talk about this very popular feature on Instagram.
Instagram Reels is a new feature introduced by Instagram in 2020 in which Instagram users can create short videos of up to 30 seconds and share them with anybody on Instagram. An Instagram reel is a combination of visual content, background music, captioned trends, and special effects added to make the video more appealing to watch.
This feature is available to every Instagram user and businesses with Instagram pages as well. Instagram introduced this feature after getting inspiration from TikTok where the short video format gained a massive popularity in no time. With the addition of this feature, now more businesses and brands are shifting to Instagram to grab the attention of their target audience through appealing and precise visual content.
Features of Instagram Reels
Here is a quick sneak peek into the features of Instagram reels:
Audio
There are multiple ways to use audio in your Instagram reels. First, you can keep the original audio of your clip that you had while recoding the video. Secondly, you can add a different audio from the Instagram Music Library. There are countless ways to make your Instagram reel appealing through this audio feature. Moreover, your audio can also be used by other users who make Instagram reels.
Tempo
Slow-motion videos are very popular these days. Changing the speed of the video in accordance with the background music seems very engaging. You can use Tempo feature to speed up or slow down your video or audio of your Instagram reel.
Pre-Recording Timer
If you don’t have anyone to make your video and you have to record video by yourself, then this timer feature is the best option for you. You can set a specific timer and then press the Record button. The recorder will not start recording video until the countdown ends. This way, you can easily make your adjustments after setting your phone and pressing the Record button.
Sharing
You can share your Instagram reel with anybody on Instagram, share it to your feed, and even share it on the “Explore” community if your page is public. Instagram offers maximum outreach to such content.
Benefits of Instagram Reels
Instagram reels feature attained a lot of attention and acclaim from the users, and it did not take long before Instagram reels became the talk of the town. Here are some of the key benefits that Instagram reels are offering to individual users, influencers, and businesses:
It’s Precise & Catchy
There are tons of different activities that you can do on the internet. Nobody wants to stop scrolling just to see long videos on Instagram. This is where Instagram reels bring a very appealing content to the users where they can use easily see what their friends are doing and what a celebrity has to say with merely a short 15-30 second video. This maximizes the engagement of the audience on Instagram without developing any kind of boredom in them.
If you are a social media marketing company, then this is your go-to feature to create stunning ads and influence marketing videos to showcase your products and services to the users.
Increases Visibility
Before Instagram reels were introduced, most of the users relied on Instagram posts and stories. Not everybody will see your Instagram stories. But Instagram reels have changed the dynamics a lot. Now users find it quite interesting to see what’s new in your life. The same goes for marketing. Social media marketing agencies have found the golden opportunity to maximize their visibility on such a popular platform by doing promotions in these short videos.
Promotes Personalized Content
Let’s be real! Most of the bling and glitz you see on Instagram is not real. There is a lot of editing and work that is done before something is posted there. Only a fraction of the content on Instagram is posted without any editing. Instagram reels have brought a more personalized and “behind the scenes” appeal to the customers. You can share personal videos with your audience to build a deeper connection and trust with them.
Less Effort, Better Engagement
Platforms like YouTube are amazing for video content creators. But you have to do a lot of work before you post a video. Quality of the video matters a lot, and your audience is always expecting to see something amazing in the videos. Luckily, this is not the case with Instagram reels. The personalized nature of this feature makes it easier to adopt with the assurance of better engagement. If you are a well-known social media personality, then merely sharing your normal routine short videos with your audience will keep them engaged with you.
Assists in Social Media Investigations
Social media investigations are conducted to gather facts and evidence regarding the subject through social media platforms. This includes tracking their social media history like posts, pictures, comments, places visited, shared videos, and various other investigation-related stuff. Addition of Instagram reels can really benefit social media investigation agencies. You cannot be certain about the mood and intentions of somebody while reading their posts and comments. But Instagram reels provide investigators with a personalized outlook about the subject. The expressions, background, and content in these short videos can turn out to be concrete evidence.
Do Instagram Reels Have Ads?
Yes, Instagram reels have ads. The massive popularity of this feature gave Instagram the opportunity to test ads in these reels. These ads were introduced in 2021. An Instagram reel can be a fully-fledged ad. There is a “Sponsored” tag in the bottom left corner of the reel to showcase that this is an advertisement. These ads run in a loop and allow users to comment on them and share them as well. Instagram ensures that these ads gain optimum user engagement.
Instagram itself stated that these reels are the best way to reach people who don’t follow you. So far, these ads are proving to be a good promotional tool for brands around the globe.
Social Media Investigations
The use of videos on social media are everywhere. We will continue to see more and more people posting videos onto social media sites like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. As for social media investigations, this is a great tool to detect fraud.