Creating engaging reels is one of the best ways to grow on Instagram. Here’s everything you need to know:

What Are Reels & How They Work

Instagram Reels is a way to create short, engaging videos. They can be up to 90 seconds long at the time of writing, and the aim is to make them as engaging and shareable as possible.

For Etsy sellers, reels provide a way to share behind-the-scenes looks, quick DIYs, or feature the unique selling points of their products in a video format. The beauty of reels is its potential virality; a viral reel can often out-perform photo and carousel posts.

Creating An Engaging Hook For Your Reels

When it comes to creating Instagram Reels, the first few seconds are crucial. A great hook can help you grab your viewer's attention and hold them so that they keep watching. Increasing the watch time helps you increase the reach of your reel and have it pushed out to more followers.

Let's dive into some effective ways to craft an engaging hook for reels:

Open a Curiosity Gap: Begin with a statement or a visual that leaves a question in the viewers' minds. For example, “Ever wonder how this (your product) is made?” This strategy encourages viewers to keep watching for the answer or the reveal.

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‍Ask a Question: Posing a direct question can prompt viewers to engage: “Have you ever seen xxx before?”

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Visually Stunning Opening: This is a no-brainer for Etsy sellers with visually appealing products. Highlight the uniqueness of your craft in the first frame. A reveal of your creation, a close-up of a glittering gemstone, the swirls of paint on a canvas, or the details of a hand-knit scarf can grab viewer’s attention.

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‍Shock Factor: Starting with a shocking statement or visual can be highly engaging: “You won’t believe this happened when (e.g. I accidentally drop my paint on the canvas)”.

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Secretive Elements: Statements like, “I shouldn’t be sharing this crafting technique, but…” can create intrigue. Just make sure what you share is actually a valuable insight.

How To Increase The Performance Of Your Reel

Your reel's performance isn't just about the number of likes you get, but the watch time of your reel. It's important to keep your audience engaged throughout the entirety of your reel. Here are some best practices:

• Duration Matters: While a longer reel might seem like a good way to give more information, if it's not engaging, it can negatively affect your watch time. And therefore, hurt the reach of the reel. Experiment with trimming your clips.
• Relevance is Key: Always keep your target audience in mind. As an Etsy seller, keep in mind the objective of your reel (Educate, Entertain, Inspire or Showcase) and make sure it benefits your target audience.
• End with a Call to Action (CTA): Whether it's giving more details in the caption or encouraging them to comment, a clear CTA can drive engagement.

Picking The Right Music For Your Reel

It’s tempting to pick the trending song for every reel you make. But there are some details you should know.

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Trending song (with a tiny upwards arrow next to the song name) can help give you a boost to the reach, but the relevance of the song to your content is more important.

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As you know, Instagram tends to suggest similar content to users based on their previous interactions, and that applies to reel music as well. If a user engages with a reel featuring a particular song, they're more likely to be presented with other reels using the same song. This feature can work in your favour if you strategically pick your reel music.

Because of that, it’s important to make sure that the song you use are used by relevant reels in your niche.

To know what content is popular under the song, when you are watching the reel, click the button with the song title at the bottom of the screen.

If the top reels under that song are relevant to your content, then the song could be a great fit. But if the reels, for example, are all dancing videos, using the music for your candle product showcase wouldn’t be a good fit.

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Once you find a song that fits with your content, save it by clicking the bookmark button. Or you can click the “Use Template” button directly on the reel.

Using Instagram Reel Templates

One of my favourite new features on Instagram is the ability of using templates to create reels. Not only can you use the “Use Template” button mentioned above, you can also browse templates by going to your 'Post' tab and click 'Reel':

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Using templates could save a lot of time, as the editing, song choice, syncing, etc. are already done for you. All you have to do is to replace the templates with your own clips, make a few adjustments before you publish.

Here is my workflow using Instagram reel templates:

1. Browse the templates and choose the template that match your products and the vibe you’re going for
2. Click the template and replace the clips with your own, make sure put the most visually appealing one in the beginning
3. Preferably tell a visual story with your clip. Maybe put them in chronological order, or show the big picture before going in product details.
4. In the real editor, click “Edit video” at the bottom left corner.
5. As the clips are already sync to the music, DON’T adjust the length of them
6. If you want to show a different part of the clip you’ve chosen, click the clip, and choose “Adjust section” and drag to a different part of the clip.
7. Or you can replace the clip by clicking the “Replace” button
8. When you are happy with the clips, add text to give more information or create a hook for your reel. Click the “text” button to add text.
9. After adding the text, adjust the placement, font, colour, etc.
10. And then go to the editor to adjust the part that the text appear. You can do so by clicking on the text layer and then drag the ends to adjust the length. The length automatically snaps to the clips.
11. After editing, go to the next step to put in your caption, hashtags, tagged accounts, etc.

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