It’s no secret that video content is fast becoming the most consumed type of content on social media. When TikTok entered our lives and became the go-to lockdown companion for many, other social platforms quickly followed suit and introduced similar short-form video content options on their platforms to compete. Cue Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and Snapchat Spotlight. While TikTok’s audience tends to be younger, Instagram’s is more diverse and their reels feature is extremely popular with a wide demographic - covering ages 28 - 45; the core of schools’ target audience for average parental ages. Instagram’s CEO Adam Mosseri recently announced that Instagram is “no longer a photo-sharing app” and indicated changes are coming to the platform with a focus on video content. Whilst there will still be a place for static posts and photos, Instagram will be pushing video content in a big way.

So, what does this mean for your student marketing strategy? In a nutshell, if you’re not making short form video content for your school, college or company, now is the time to dive in! Not sure where to start? Don’t worry, we will break it down for you to help you get started or improve your current strategy.

What are Reels?

Reels are short videos on Instagram. They can be up to 60 seconds long (recently extended from 30 seconds) and allow users to get creative with editing tools to add music, audio, text, differing speeds, timers, filters and effects. The best performing reels are short, sweet and capture the attention of viewers within the first 3 seconds (after which it is counted as a ‘view’ when viewed on followers’ timeline, or for any duration when watched via stories). Download our List of Reels Ideas for Schools, which includes the most successful Reels formats that we have found work for our school clients, getting them 100,000s of views and Reach!

Why should we use them?

Video content is on the rise and social media platforms like Instagram have been pushing the reels feature to a wider audience and confirmed that their focus will be to continue to do this. Users have reported a much higher reach, engagement rate and growth since implementing reels as part of their strategy. People evidently are enjoying video content to entertain and educate themselves so now is the time to jump on the bandwagon and start making reels as part of your marketing strategy or risk being left behind!

Where do I find them?

On your profile page, you will have a dedicated tab for your reels (here you can also save videos as drafts to complete and post later). You also have the option to share your reel to your feed (highly recommended to increase reach, views and engagement) meaning that it will appear on your main grid and your followers’ feed. Reels also have their own dedicated tab at the bottom of your screen to allow you to browse user videos and they can also be found on the ‘explore’ page.

What type of content should I show?

Reels are a great way to educate, inspire and entertain and should resonate with your audience and target market. Using them as part of your education marketing strategy will bring in a more human aspect to your brand by building genuine relationships and strengthening your online community. Their core purpose is to grab attention - making them perfectly suited for growing your Reach and Enagegemnt. Some reels ideas for brands in education would be;

Tours of different parts of your campus
Events and productions e.g., concerts & sports games
Facts about your education establishment
Student/teacher/staff spotlights
Tips for studying
Sneak peeks e.g., new courses, buildings, gardens
Download our full list of Reels ideas for your school, here!

Top tips for making reels

Being an expert in creating captivating and popular reels doesn’t happen overnight! It takes time but should be fun so don’t overthink it! Our top tips to get started and nail your reels skills are;

Browse other accounts similar to yours for inspiration and ideas. You can save reels & audios that you like to use and refer to later.
Plan ahead. Integrating reels into your education establishments marketing strategy involves forward planning. Create a content planner to allow you to research, record ideas and prepare in advance to save time and ensure you are sticking to your brands strategy. Download our FREE Instagram Content Planner here.
Use insights. Like any content on your social media, looking at your insights will allow you to view data based on how your reels are performing (likes, saves, views etc). Look at the reels which have performed the best and think about what made them stand out to recreate the magic!
Use hashtags! Don’t forget to use hashtags just like any post on Instagram to increase your reach and chances of being found by your target market.
Trending sounds. When browsing reels, save any sounds that you hear coming up again and again, these are trending and will increase your likelihood of being seen!

To summarise, reels have been hugely popular on Instagram since launching in 2020 and with news coming from the top confirming video content is the future of the platform, it would be daft not to join in on the action! While they may seem a bit daunting if you have never tried them yet, we promise that they are not difficult to master and offer huge potential to schools, colleges and universities.

For more information on how to use Reels appropriately for your school or company, take a look at our ‘Instagram Reels for Education: Beginners’ Course.

Still struggling to get started and figure out how to implement reels into your marketing strategy? Fret not, help is here! We love chatting all things reels and helping marketers get to grips with their education brands Instagram strategy so why not book in for a free consultation to chat about how we can help you? Book here!

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