5 Tips to Make Your Facebook and Instagram Reels Pop

Whether you’re a travel creator, brand or destination, using Facebook and Instagram Reels is a great way to improve your reach and engagement. So, we've curated 5 tips to help you create engaging content for your Reels.

Shoot vertically

Until pretty recently, the vertical video was frowned upon! Landscape video players were the norm, from television screens to YouTube. So vertical footage would display awkwardly and only take up a small space in the center of the player.

However, with the rise of Instagram and Facebook Reels, and mobile-first video consumption, vertical video is becoming more and more popular.

Shooting vertically will give you more control over what appears on screen and allow you to fill up the entire frame, for a better viewing experience.

An attractive dark - skinned blogger with afro braids in a jeans shirt and white t-shirt takes selfie on her smart phone, standing on a pink background, we see her from the waist up in a professional photo studio light. Pulse Live Kenya

Get creative with transitions

Reels on Instagram and Facebook have integrated editing tools which makes the whole thing really easy!

Some transition skills used by our favorite content creators in their Reels are simply astonishing! Moreover, these Reels really make us wonder how exactly they are done since the shots look so smooth and easy to do.

Tapping on the screen for example is a popular transition that focuses on tapping or touching the screen and having your outfit change after you move your hand back. A lot of makeup artists use it!

Summer portrait of happy, funky afro american young man in modern outfit, wearing headphone, cap, jacket and backpack, standing against pink background, holding a smart phone in hand. Pulse Live Kenya

Use effects, stickers, and texts

The difference between dull visual content and an appealing one usually involves using effects. That’s why Facebook and Instagram offer so many effects that are an amazingly easy way to enhance your content within seconds.

For instance, you can use the heart sticker for a relevant portion and another sticker for a particular segment or entire reel. This is great as one can add multiple stickers and schedule them to appear only at chosen time intervals.

Smiling young African female influencer standing in her living room at home and talking during a vlog post using a smart phone Pulse Live Kenya

Add music and captions

Using trending songs for Facebook and Instagram Reels can help you get more views. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1. Find the Reel that contains the music you want to use.

Step 2. Tap on the song name at the bottom of the Reel.

Step 3. Then you can browse Reels with the same song or directly click the Use Audio and make a Reel.

Step 4. Now, you can record your Reel with the trending song.

Portrait of handsome young man wearing white sweatshirt and black bucket hat, using mobile phone. Studio shot on black background. Pulse Live Kenya

Utilize the golden hours and blue hours for perfect lighting

There are four times a day when the light is just right for taking photos/videos outdoors, these are known as golden hour and blue hour.

They occur in the hour before the sun rises (blue) and the hour after (golden) and the opposite in the evening, an hour before the sun sets (golden) and the hour after (blue).

The natural light at these hours is ideal for photography because of the relationship between the sun’s positioning and distance to your subject.

Female dancer with eyes closed dancing during sunset Pulse Live Kenya

During the rise and fall of the sun, it is closer to the subject, and it is also moving through the atmosphere at a much lower angle than usual, producing soft diffused light.

This type of light works well for content creators. It does not create any harsh shadows or exaggerated highlights. The golden hour also casts a warm colour temperature illuminating the subject in a fairly flattering way.

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