Everything You Need to Know About Instagram Reels Ad

Once you know how to run a Facebook Ads campaign, it’s time to go one step further and introduce Instagram Reels and its Ads. 

Meta has 3.8 billion monthly users and since launching Reels on Instagram there has been a 24% increase in time spent on the platform. We are experiencing a shift in the way we consume media and entertainment, driven by evolving consumer behaviours and expectations. Short-form video is the NOW. It is the next big leap in the way entertainment content is created, shared and watched. And Reels is the fastest growing content format on Meta.

As a result, reels have emerged as a primary source of capturing audiences, especially for businesses in the race for high follower count.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Decoding Instagram Reels
• Instagram Reels Ads

• What are the main advantages of Reels Ads?

• Step to creative Instagram Reels
• Instagram Reels ad formats
• Building effective Reels on Instagram
• Reels performance metrics and analysis

Decoding Instagram Reels

Instagram Reels are a feature of the platform that allows users to create and share short videos lasting 15, 30, 60 or 90 seconds. These videos can be recorded in several clips and edited with various creative tools, using special effects, music, text, filters and stickers.

At the bottom of the icon on the Instagram page is a special Reels icon. Clicking on this icon displays the trending Reels that can be viewed by scrolling through them one by one.

Reels are a fun way to connect with your community through entertaining videos that inspire everyone to join in.

For creators, it's the best way to find a highly engaged community that shares their interests.

With Reels, a new ad format has also been created on Instagram. This new ad option for brands was launched worldwide in mid-June 2021. However, before its official launch, it was tested in selected countries. 

Meta's Reels Ads is a form of short, vertical video format advertising that has become a way for brands to create and discover content. Reels Ads are inserted between Reel videos and appear in users' feeds as they browse the platform.

These ads allow brands and companies to promote products or services using creative and engaging videos. This format offers companies the possibility to increase visibility and reach on the platform, as Reels videos tend to have high engagement and virality.

What are the main advantages of Reels Ads?

Reels Ads offer certain advantages for brands and companies that want to promote their products or services on the platform.

• Wide reach: Reels are very popular among users and therefore have a high potential reach. This allows Reels Ads to reach a wide audience and increase brand visibility.

• User engagement: Reel videos tend to generate higher user engagement compared to other advertising models. These users can participate by commenting, liking and sharing the videos, which increases engagement and brand exposure.

• Attractive format: It is a format that adapts well to the preferences that users have when it comes to consuming content because of its short, vertical video format and its ads are visually appealing and thus finally capture the attention of users.

• Creative options: They offer several creative options for brands. These ads can use music, visual effects, text and other elements to create engaging videos. This allows brands to stand out in users' feeds.

• Audience targeting: You can segment your audience by various demographics, interests and behavioural criteria to target a specific audience, allowing you to show your ads to the people most relevant to your business.

This is an effective way to reach a diverse and engaged audience, especially among younger users who enjoy consuming short-form video content.

1. Create your advert: start with creating an advert using your creativity. To do this, you need to shoot a video, work on editing it and find hashtags. It is best to start with organic Reels that come with catchy music or trending music clips. 

2. Make sure you have a business profile: Make sure you have a business profile on Instagram, then go to the ad manager. When you get to the manager, click on the 'Create' button. 

3. Identify your objective: Identify and select your objective behind the promotional campaigns. Depending on the requirements of your business and your brand, you should encompass your ad into a target audience. 

   Here are some of the targets on which you can base your Reels ad: 

   • App downloads

   • Traffic

   • Lead conversion

   • Product or brand promotion

   • Reach

   • Video views

4. Fill in campaign details: Fill in details related to the ad campaign, such as advertising requirements, budget, timing and target audience. Facebook Audience Insights can help you learn more about and improve your audience.

5. Place your ad: Place the ad, preferably manually. It would be best to go to the drop-down menu adjacent to the "Stories" tab. Select the "Instagram Reels" option to make your ad visible as a Reel ad.

6. Create an eye-catching CTA: edit your CTA (Call to Action) to entice users to read and react. 

After review and approval, your ad should be active.

Reels Ads are created to enjoy an immersive experience and offer the possibility of reaching audiences with high intent, through content related to the interests of users. We show you some of the recommendations you should follow in order to generate quality content.

Design recommendations: 

• File type: MP4, MOV

• Aspect ratio: 9:16

• Video configuration: H.264 video compression, square pixels, AAC stereo audio compression from 128 kbps, etc.

• Resolution: minimum 500x800 pixels

• Video captioning: optional, but recommended

• Video sound: optional, but highly recommended.

• Consider the safe zone: leave a space without text, logos or other elements of around 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% on each side to avoid content being obscured by the call to action or profile icon.

  Trabaja dentro de las zonas seguras para que tus texto, llamadas a la acción o mensajes clave no queden ocultos por la interfaz de usuario de Reels.

  Los Reels que tienen elementos clave superpuestos a la interfaz de usuario de Reels, tienen un porcentaje de clics de un 28% inferior de media en comparación con los que no violaban la zona segura.

  
  

Text recommendations:

• Main text: 72 characters

Technical requirements:

• Video length: Reels can be 15, 30, 60 or 90 seconds long.

• Maximum file size: 4 GB

Building effective Reels on Instagram

Let us find out some of the effective ways to create engaging content for capturing your target audience and promoting your brand. 

Research on Your Audience Preferences 

First and foremost, put in a lot of time and effort to analyse what your audience demands -their likes and dislikes. This way, you can harness the popularity of the new content format to maximize your reach and traffic. 

Using the analytics software (paid or free versions), you can chart the performance and find out which content receives more engagement.

Scheduling the Reel

Ensure to keep the promotional video clip well within the prescribed time frame, i.e., 30 seconds, to avoid being cut off. Failing to do so could make you lose an opportunity to connect with your target audience and effectively advertise your product or services.

Good editing: adding sound and video effects

Good editing of your ad Reels plays a significant role in capturing the audience and making your brand promotion successful. This becomes more significant when you aim towards both organic as well as paid reach. 

The ad formatting should be done so that it caters to all sorts of the audience, be it hearing or visually impaired. You can even add exciting captions to deliver your message more clearly.

Double-check for technical glitches

A poorly recorded and edited ad reel is not going to be appreciated by any user. Therefore, you need to ensure that technical details such as video quality, sound quality, aspect ratio, file dimension, screen size, etc., are taken care of.

Watch out for current trends

It is a good practise keeping yourself updated with viral and trending concepts that could help make more engaging Instagram Reels Ads.  One of the best strategies is to keep an eye on your competitors, which help know what goes for and against you.  

Tapping Audience That Has Not Followed You on IG

Reels have become a significant source of reaching out to audiences that currently do not follow you on Instagram. Instagram is the best platform to advertise your business or brand globally, making you visible to almost everyone.

The ads were released to help businesses promote their products and services on a large scale letting consumers view engaging content from creators.

The Reels ad is displayed based on your preference and interest by tracking your following history. If you do not wish to see a particular ad, you can hide, skip or report it. However, the option is only available for specific ads and is not applicable for Instagram Reels Ads.

Reels performance metrics and analysis

Reels ads provide metrics and analytics tools like Instagram Reels Insights that allow brands to track the performance of their ads. This includes data on impressions, engagements, plays and other important metrics to evaluate the success of the ad campaign.

When it comes to Reels Ads performance metrics and analysis, we advise you to look at:

• Impressions: These indicate how many times your ad has been shown to users. This metric is useful to evaluate the reach and visibility of your Reels Ads.

• Reach: Refers to the total number of unique users your ad has been shown to. It helps you understand how many people have seen your ad compared to the total number of impressions.

• Clicks: This shows how many times users have clicked on your ad. This is important to measure the level of interest and engagement your Reels Ad generates.

• Engagement rate: The interaction rate is calculated by dividing the total number of interactions by the total number of impressions. This metric helps evaluate the effectiveness of the ad by measuring the ratio of interactions to impressions.

• Viewing duration: Reels Ads allow you to measure view duration, you can get information on how long users view your ad before scrolling. This helps you evaluate the effectiveness of capturing and maintaining the attention of your audience.

• Conversions: If you have set up conversion goals in your Reels Ads campaign, you can track conversions to measure the direct impact on your business goals. This could include actions such as website visits, email sign-ups, purchases, etc.

With the potential of Meta Reels Ads to maximise the reach and impact of ads, it offers an opportunity to reach new audiences and captivate users to achieve your stated goals.

Now is the time to harness the full potential of Reels Ads to take your campaigns to the next level. These types of ads allow you to be creative and innovative to grab users' attention.