A Beginner’s Guide on How to Make Reels on Instagram
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know what reels are. They’re vertical-format, short form videos on Instagram designed to be entertaining, informative, and—this one’s the clincher—easily shareable. First introduced to Instagram in 2020, reels quickly took over as the most common form of media. So, as your resident social media coach, I’m here to tell you that yeah, you need to know how to make reels on Instagram. And I’m going to teach you exactly how to do it.
(Oh, and if you have been living under a rock for the last six years, hi! Welcome to the world! It might be on fire, but we’re doing our best to be the good, starting by helping small business owners and female founders create a killer social media presence. I’m Ariel, a social media coach for personal brands and service based biz owners who want to connect with the right people and make money doing what they love. Come say hi!)
Types of Instagram Reels
There are a few “main” types of reels. These are the ones you typically see cycling through popularity, and they are always changing and evolving! For the purpose of this blog, though, there are 5 types of reels you should know about.
B-Roll with Text Reels
This is probably the most popular style of reels overall. B-roll is just background footage; shots of you living your day-to-day life, like drinking coffee, walking your dog, or doing some kind of hobby. Pair this chill, low-effort footage with text, and viola, you have a reel.
B-roll reels with text are kind of a catch-all, meaning they work well for every content bucket (learn more about content buckets here!), but I like to use them for educational content. The key for making strong b-roll text reels is to have a solid hook to catch attention, and then to follow it up with a nice, juicy caption that expands on what the hook says, instead of just repeating it.
B-Roll with Audio Reels
In this type of reel, you take some trending audio and pair it with some b-roll footage that matches the vibe of the audio. These reels are fun, personality-driven, and excellent for growth.
Talk to Camera Reels
The title of this is pretty self-explanatory: you turn your camera to selfie mode, and you talk to it. Recently, creators have started calling these videos “yapping content” or “yap to cam.” These reels are ideal for a warmer audience, people who have been following you for a little while and are actively interested in learning more. You can talk about anything in these types of reels, but they’re best for teaching and sharing expertise!
These reels imitate what it feels like to have someone look you in the eye. It feels personal and authentic. This is why I like to partner talking-to-the-camera reels with solid, educational content. Sharing information like this is a great way to build trust and deepen your connection with your audience.
Voiceover Reels
If talking to the camera feels a little too intimidating right now, voiceover reels are a great middle ground. You use your voice to narrate over b-roll clips and maybe add some brief text on the screen. Voiceover reels fall into the “nurture” content bucket, since they’re a way for your audience to get familiar with you and deepen any connection you have with them!
Lip Sync Reels
You either love ‘em or you hate ‘em. Lip sync reels can be fun to make, and tend to perform well for growth content since they reach a wider audience. They’re usually funny or lighthearted, which makes them a great way to show off your personality and help your audience get to know you.
A Step-by-Step Guide for How to Make Reels on Instagram
If you already know how to make reels and are simply reading this blog for some tips on how to make good ones, skip to the next section. But if you’re new to this, this section provides everything you need to make your very first Instagram reel!
Step 1: Open the Instagram App
Once you open the Instagram app, you’ll be on your home page. Tap the “+” button on the top left of the screen, then select “reel” from the options at the bottom of the screen.
Step 2: Start Filming or Choose Your Pre-Filmed Clips.
You can film directly in the Instagram app by holding down the record button (the big red one at the bottom of the screen) but I don’t recommend this. Instead, I suggest filming all the clips you want before you even open the app. Then, you can upload these clips by tapping the photo icon in the bottom left corner of the screen. I think this is much easier.
Step 3: Edit Your Reel & Add Text and Audio
Once your clip(s) are in, you’ll find yourself in an editing screen! Here, you can trim the length of each clip, reorder them, and adjust the speed by dragging each clip around. This can be a little tricky to get the hang of, so be patient!
This is also where you can add text and audio. To add text, tap the “text” button at the top of the screen. Type what you want to say, and then adjust the font, color, size, and location of the text block. You can also set it to show up at a specific point in the video, rather than the whole way through, by dragging the bar representing the text in the bottom of the editing screen.
To add audio, tap the music note at the top of the screen. You can scroll through trending audio and choose one—either a song or a sound—that fits the vibe of your clips. If you’re doing a talk to camera reel, you can skip this step, or add music at a low volume underneath.
Step 4: Write Your Caption & Select a Cover Photo
Once you’re happy with the reel, you can tap the arrow to move to the next screen. Here, you can write your caption! Depending on the type of reel you’re making, the caption can be a silly one-liner or an in-depth explanation.
You can also choose how your reel appears on your profile grid. This is called the cover photo. I recommend making the cover photo a frame from the reel or uploading a custom graphic that matches your branding.
Step 5: Publish!
Have you finished uploading and editing your reel?
Have you added audio and text?
Have you written a caption and added a cover photo?
If you answered yes to all of the above, you’re ready to publish your reel! Simply click the share button and keep the app open as your reel uploads. There you go!! You’ve done it! Give yourself a pat on the back.
A Social Media Coach’s Tips for Making Reels That Are Actually, You Know, Good
Okay, so now you know the absolute basics of how to make a reel on Instagram. Now, you just need to know how to make it worth watching.
The truth is, everyone is looking for something different online. Your content won’t appeal to everyone, and that’s okay. And even if it does, sometimes a reel will just flop. It might be the best reel you ever made, and it only gets a few views. It happens to literally everyone.
Butttt there are a few things you can do to make consistently high-quality reels!
Length
Every type of reel has a different “ideal” length.
B-Roll with Text or Audio: 5 to 7 seconds
Talk to Camera or Voiceovers: 60-90 seconds
While reels can go up to three minutes, the longer it is, the more people scroll past. On Instagram, watch time determines whether the algorithm pushes your content or not! Keep your content short and concise and try to avoid rambling. The goal is to leave people wanting more, rather than making them scroll before you’ve reached your point.
A Strong Hook
If you want people to watch your content, you’ve gotta grab their attention within the first two seconds. This is called a “hook”. Sometimes it’s a visual hook, or sometimes it’s an unexpected line of text. The goal is to interrupt the expectation and make someone want to learn more.
Fonts
Pick one font and stick to it every time. This is a small detail, but it elevates your content and makes your brand more consistent and recognizable. If you’re choosing between fonts, I recommend Classic and Literature. They’re clean, easy to read, and work in both reels and stories.
Text Placement
If you’re including text on your reels, try your best to center it, both horizontally and vertically. If you can’t center it, put it at the top. Our eyes naturally go to the center or top of the screen when scrolling.
And pay attention to the blue guidelines that pop up when you’re moving text around! They tell you if your text is going to get cut off. (You don’t want your text to get cut off.)
Choose Your Audio Intentionally
Whether it’s trending, funny, or just fits the vibe, audio matters. Be purposeful with the audio you choose. Don’t just pick something because it’s trending, especially if it doesn’t align with your brand. I talk a lot more about audio (and tell you how to find it!) in this blog.
Captions on Screen
While audio is important, there’s always a chance people are scrolling with their sound off. So if the audio matters, like in a lip sync, talk to camera, or voiceover reel, add captions. It makes it easy for people to engage with your content and makes your reels accessible to people who are hearing impaired.
You can do this directly in the app by clicking the “CC” button, and they’ll autogenerate.
Captions Off Screen
By “off screen” I mean the caption that you write to accompany your reel. Your captions are especially important for b-roll reels. This is where you add the extra layer of context or value that the video alone can’t provide.
Use Tools
Listen, we don’t have to make this any harder than it needs to be. Find a tool you like to work with! Personally, I make all of my reels in Edits, Instagram’s sister app. For talk-to-camera reels where I need to cut pauses and filler words, I start by editing the video in InShot, then bring it to Instagram to add captions, text, and audio.
This blog gives you a rundown of all the tools I use to create my own content and my clients’ content!
EMBRACE 👏 YOUR 👏 PERSONALITY 👏
Do you want to make a good reel that connects with your ideal audience? Then you’ve gotta embrace your personality. The reels that perform best are the ones that feel like a real person made them. Make stupid jokes! Share your opinions! Tell them about a relatable moment! Allow yourself to talk naturally and be your true, messy, unfiltered self.
Because generic, polished content is forgettable. But authentic, specific, and vulnerable content? That’s what builds relationships and keeps people coming back for more.
Learn How to Make Killer Reels (and More!)
As an Instagram strategist, reels are one of my favorite types of content to create! I love their ability to show off a business owner’s personality while simultaneously demonstrating their expertise.
But, like all things, making reels takes practice. Chances are, you’ll love making some kinds, and hate making others. But every type of reel is important for the sales funnel. This is part of what I teach my clients in one-on-one coaching. Not just what the reels do—but how to make them in a way that feels enjoyable, authentic, and not cringe-inducing.
If you want to learn how to make reels on Instagram, understand the strategy behind them, and elevate your social media presence to start attracting your dream clients, I would love to work with you. Explore my social media coaching packages and reach out to see if we’re a good fit!
