Have you been feeling stuck on Instagram for a long time? Maybe you’ve been putting in countless hours curating the perfect feed, researching hashtags, or engaging with new accounts that don’t follow you but you just aren’t seeing any results. 

This has been the norm for a long time. It has been difficult to grow on Instagram starting from 0. The above tactics should still be part of your Instagram strategy, they do work overtime. AND the place people are seeing the most growth faster is on Instagram Reels. 

Instagram Reels are 15-30 second vertical videos that people can watch to be entertained, learn something new, shop from, or be inspired by. This feature came out in early August and has continued to grow. The reason Instagram Reels can be so powerful for your future growth is because of the personality you are able to put behind them combined with the opportunities Instagram provides for new users to find your content.

Reels are shown in three main places:

1. Your newsfeed that is filled with people you follow.
2. The explore tab where you will be shown content Instagram thinks you are interested in.
3. The reels tab that is front and center on Instagram now. This is the area that is perhaps the most valuable real estate. Reels are shown here to people who follow you and people who don’t follow you. Instagram makes it super easy to quickly hit that follow button and there is an endless downstream of content. 

If you have been dreading getting on the Reels bandwagon, I understand! It can be scary or uncomfortable to stand in front of a camera, but it is one of the best ways to grow and to really speak to your potential customers or followers. 

To help get you started on Instagram Reels, I laid out a little 10-day to-do list for you. The goal is to help you get comfortable with the camera as well as taking out some of the overthinking that you may be doing. 

Instagram Reels To-Do List

Day 1: Watch a whole lot of Instagram Reel content. There is no better way to get comfortable with a new feature than using it! Spend some time just scrolling through different reels, look up accounts you like, and see what they are doing. Do not use this as your roadmap for the content you will create, just have fun. 

Day 2: Brainstorm a list of 20 ideas for Reels. If you need help, click here where they share 48 ideas with examples. Be sure to keep in mind that you want to be in one of the following categories: entertainment, inspiration, teaching, or selling. 

Day 3: Now that you have a list of ideas (20 of them), pick the one that will be easiest to create. This is most likely an intro about you and your business. You can see my example here. Make sure it’s a Reel that you feel confident you can create. Don’t include transitions or wacky effects or even ask someone to hold the camera for you. Make it as simple as possible and post it. 

Day 4: Watch this tutorial on how to add text on Instagram Reels. And this one on adding music to your Reels if you don’t have that option available. 

Day 5: Film a Reel that uses the two things you learned about yesterday. Here is an example of one I did! 

Day 6: Watch this tutorial on transitions. 

Day 7: Now that you have the basics covered, tackle a Reel that feels scary. Maybe it incorporates a new transition you don’t know how to do or perhaps you do a dance and feel silly or embarrassed. Create and post one. 

Day 8: Now that you have had a week of learning and practicing how to create Reels, it’s time to batch your content. Instead of filming one new Reel every day, film 5 different Reels today. 

Day 9: Schedule out and post your Reels for the next week.

Day 10: Start this process over! Brainstorm new ideas, make a list of tutorials you want to watch in advance, and set aside a morning or afternoon to film your content for the week.