How to Make Instagram Reels with Photos, Music, and Captions

You may have noticed recently that there are a lot more videos on Instagram. Instagram is putting more emphasis on video, with Reels being the most popular video format on the app. If you’re interested in creating an Instagram Reel but don’t know where to begin, we’ve got you covered.

The success of Instagram is undeniable, as shown by its more than two billion regular users. The growth of Reels, short video postings, is the platform’s answer to the enormous success of TikTok’s micro-videos. According to a recent study, 66% of consumers found short-form videos to be the most interesting kind of social media content. One of the most popular ways that brands seek to work with Instagram artists is via the usage of “And Reels.”

It’s high time to capitalize on the 22% increase in interaction with video posts that Reels is said to provide in comparison to regular video postings. If you’ve never created a Reel before, or if you’re simply looking for some new ideas, we’ll walk you through the process from start to finish.

Instagram Reels are vertical videos that may be anything from a few seconds to over two minutes long and include a collection of small clips. Instagram, like TikTok, has editing options that make it simple to make a Reel and include fun elements like music and remarks.

What are the benefits of using Reels? In a nutshell, they’re the most effective strategy for broadening your exposure and making it more likely that your content will go viral.

Instagram hasn’t come out and declared that Reels are given preference in the Instagram algorithm, but the site has made it apparent that video is a top priority by testing a feature that converts all Instagram videos into Reels. The pressure is on accounts that haven’t embraced this kind of material. Additionally, the platform has made Reels the most discoverable content type by allowing them to be shared and shown in four different locations: Stories, a Reels-only tab, the Explore page, and the normal Feed.

This is a tremendous opening since there are now more eyes on your material than ever before because of Reels. Take advantage of people’s interest in this new format while it’s at its peak.

It’s not as difficult as you would think to start creating a new kind of material. The time spent mastering Reels is well worth it.

Let’s go through the steps involved in creating an Instagram Reel, along with some suggestions for making it really shine.

The key to creating engaging Reels, like with any other kind of content, is to stay true to your brand’s voice and values.

Think about the following when you construct your plan:

Make a plan: Determine where Reels fits in with your overall social media strategy. Just what do you plan to do with them? Better participation? Reach? If you know going in, you may use it to inform the design of your Reels.

Remember who you’re talking to: All of your writing has to be driven by who you think will be reading it. Think about the kinds of things they like to read, listen to, and watch.

Create categories and themes for your content: To be successful, Reels should be entertaining, but they need not follow any particular dancing fads. Stories may serve many purposes, including instructing, entertaining, dramatic, and motivating. 

The best place to start is by analyzing your most successful pieces of content to determine common threads and successful subjects.

Find out how your rivals are using Reels and where there could be opportunities to fill the void.

When you first begin publishing, it’s important to look at your stats to determine which Reels are doing the best. If you use this information, you can improve your content strategy.

Now is the time to pull out your phone and start scrolling through Instagram, because the good times are about to start. To add more, click the plus sign in the top right. Then you’re all set to begin.

Filming new material or sifting through archives for clips to include in your Reel are the two primary options.

Ready, set, go! Press and hold the white recording button on the circular control to begin filming. To face the camera inward or record what’s directly in front of you, click the double arrow icon.

A pink ring will form around the white record button while your video. What you’ve filmed up to this point is shown here.

Make your material more interesting by using the options on the right. What they do, in order, is as follows:

Get the most recent version of the Instagram app. To make a new Reel, go to the tab labelled “Reels,” and then hit the camera icon in the upper right.

It’s time to put on your hat as a video editor. Click “Next” when you’re ready to begin editing your clip.

Including music in your Instagram posts is highly recommended if you want to be noticed by a wider audience.

To access the music notes icon, just touch it while you are editing. You’ll be brought to a window where you may modify sounds. Drag your finger along the columns that appear to change the level of the video and any additional audio, such as tunes.

All of them at once, or only the ones you need.

Your Reel will update to reflect the title of any new music you add. If you don’t, your Reel’s audio will be labelled as “original audio” when it’s viewed, and if your account is public, other users will be able to use it in their own Reels.

For greater accessibility on social media, videos must include closed captions. People continue to observe them even if they muffle their phones.

Select the square button with the smiling face in the upper-right corner of the screen to activate closed captioning. You may customize your Reel with a wide variety of options, including GIFs, stickers, polls, and more, all accessible from this page. Choose “CC CAPTIONS” for the time being.

After Instagram has transcribed your audio, you may alter the font and colour of your captions by using the controls at the top and bottom of the screen, respectively.

Obviously, auto-captions have their flaws, so you should work on that. You may change the text as it appears by touching it. Select the words you wish to change, and then press the done button.

This procedure will appear quite familiar to anybody who has ever made an Instagram Story.

Select “Aa” from the menu at the top right of the screen. You may then edit the font, size, and colour of the inputted text. To include even more, choose the “Aa” button once again.

You may reposition text on the screen by touching and dragging it to the new location. In addition, you may schedule its appearance and disappearance in the video by pressing the matching text at the bottom of the screen. The start and finish times of the text may be adjusted by dragging the left and right bars.

Tap and hold the text you want to delete, and then drop it on the trash can symbol that appears at the screen’s bottom.

To search for and apply new filters and effects, or ones you’ve saved, hit the sparkles symbol at the top of the screen. This may be used whether you’re looking to add a filter for enhancing aesthetics or a crown of cartoon hearts.

Once you’re satisfied with your Reel, click “Next” to go to the last step before sharing it with the world. If you just do these three things to be ready every time:

When you are satisfied with your Reel, you can either publish it immediately, store it as a draft, or schedule it for a later date.

Rapid publication is essential for staying ahead of the curve. When you’re satisfied with your Reel, click “Share” to broadcast it to the world. The next step is to add it to your Story, where it will get further exposure.

In the Settings and Privacy area, you may prevent others from remixing your Reels if you so want.

You may store a draft of your Reel until you’re ready to share it with the world. When you get to the page where you may compose your post, click “Save Draft” at the bottom. At a later time, you may access your saved drafts of Reels by clicking the Reels button that appears under your bio.