We have been itching to write this post for a while now! This is our biggest secret to how we create Instagram Reels without frustration or losing hours each day you choose to post a Reel. Want to know what it is? Batch Work! We batch Instagram Reel content in a single day. This one day provides us with an entire month of Instagram Reel content for our business. It’s truly a game changer and we want to show you how to do it too!
Why You Need Instagram Reels for Your business
Let’s start with why. Why in the heck do you need Instagram Reels for your small business? The biggest reason is for visibility. If you want to use Instagram to grow your business and reach your niche, then you need to be creating Reels. An average post is only seen by a small percentage of your audience – anywhere from 2-10%. With video content, like a high quality Instagram Reel, you can see twice as many views.
Second, it’s more engaging for your audience. Instagram didn’t decide to make this shift out of nowhere. They are doing it because this is where users are hanging out on the app. This is where the world is shifting and being adaptable is the number one rule of any marketing strategy. Finally, it makes your business more personable. We’ve seen first hand that when you show your own pretty face more, you are likely to see better engagement.
The Power of Batch Working
Did you know that multitasking actually makes you less productive? Trust us, as women and moms, we live on the fact that we can multitask like champions. Yet, when it comes to our business, we are fully in support of batch working these days. Do you know those projects that sit on your list week after week? You dread them and just continue pushing them off no matter how simple the task may be? Well, the answer is batch work. Batch working can eliminate that scatterbrained feeling and help you carve out time to tackle the simplest of to-dos.
This goes for batch working Instagram Reels too! When you focus on a single task at hand you will be more efficient and productive. You eliminate outside distractions and it allows your brain to focus on a single goal. Work smarter, not harder. Our business motto!
Step by Step Process to Batch Instagram Reels
1. Set a Goal
How many Reels do you plan to create in a single day or half day? Let’s start by deciding how many Reels we want to post each week. For us, we decided to start with a minimum of three Reels per week. This means we needed about 12 Instagram Reels per month. Which is completely doable! Last month we were able to create about 16 Reels in 6 hours. Remember, each month will get easier and quicker.
2. Source Inspiration
Switch your brain into content creation mode. Jump into Instagram Reels and start consuming content. Save the Reels that inspire you. The ones that make you laugh. Save those that make you click “read more” on the caption. Especially save the ones that make you want to engage on a deeper level such as viewing their profile, commenting or following.
3. Save Audio Clips
This is a huge time saver when it comes to batching Instagram Reels – save the audio clips! Not just the music clips you love, but also the fun voice over commentary. All you need to do is click on the audio and click “save audio”. That way these clips are ready when you go to create a new Reel.
4. Schedule A Day
This step is easy… mark a date on your calendar as a “Batch Instagram Reels Day”. Since there are two of us, this step might be a little harder but we schedule these a month in advance. That way we are prepared and can always navigate these dates with client work or scheduled meetings.
5. Gather Reel Equipment
High quality Reels means having the right tools and equipment available for your batch day! Here are a few things we recommend:
- Tripod and / or Ring Light: Example
- External Light Source: Example
- Props: consider coffee cups, planners, books, laptop or any everyday equipment you use for your business.
- Outfits: pull together a change of outfits so it doesn’t appear that you’ve batched all your Instagram Reels in one day when your audience is watching your content.
6. Create a “shot list”
In order to have a highly productive Instagram Reel batch day, we suggest making a list of your favorite Reels. We list out our Reels in Asana, but you could also simply record them in a Google Doc or notebook. We also recommend categorizing them against your social media strategy. This way you can make sure you have rich content from educational tips and tricks, a way to showcase your portfolio and we can’t forget about the fun, behind-the-scenes dancing Reels.
7. Start Creating Reels!
The day is finally here – Instagram Reels Batch Day! Grab your list and dive in. We recommend starting with the easiest Reels first. This helps you gain confidence right from the start and leads to a more productive and fun day.
Before you start recording: read our rules and tips below!
8. Plan out a posting schedule and make final edits on the days you plan to post.
Once you’ve finished, grab a calendar or open up your scheduling app and start to rough out your content. Decide which days you will post which Reels. This way you won’t forget about any of the incredible content you just created!
Instagram Reels Rules and Tips
Before you jump in, here are some rules we live by when it comes to batching Instagram Reels content:
- Keep it short and sweet. Reels between 7-9 seconds tend to perform the best. This is actually a content creator’s dream! It means that you can spend less time creating content and still bring in more engagement than a static post.
- Use trending music and audio. Not sure what’s trending? A simple Google search can help here!
- Use fun transitions and surprises. Why? Because this encourages replays. You can always add these transitions and cuts in later when you are ready to post. This will help your batch day stay on task instead of getting caught up in video editing.
- Use text overlays whenever possible. Keep each word bubble to 2-3 words when possible.
- Recreate those fun trends in your own way and use the post copy to speak to your audience directly. These Reels are trending for a reason, so jump on it!
- Be consistent each week. This goes back to your goal. Stick with it! You probably won’t notice a difference week one or week two, but over time you will see strong growth if you just commit and create consistency for your audience and the algorithm.
- Try to create the Reel within Instagram rather than uploading a completed video or a video created in TikTok. When you use outside videos you’ll notice really low quality and this will hinder your reach and performance.
Final Note: An Important Lesson We Learned About Instagram Drafts:
Instagram Drafts are saved to your actual phone data and not the Instagram app. So what does this mean? If you delete your cache or delete the app for any reason your drafts will also disappear. Also, if you share an account with anyone else, they won’t be able to see the Drafts on your phone. Even if you share the same login. This is important to remember if you decide to batch your Instagram Reels content because you will likely have Drafts sitting on your phone for a month as you start to push them live.
Ready to get to work? Here’s 38 Instagram Reels ideas for entrepreneurs and small business owners.
If you are still struggling with content creation for Instagram and need help with either an organic social media strategy or social templates, send us an email. We would love to create a custom social media strategy just for your brand!
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