Instagram’s short video feature Reels has provided an opportunity for small business owners to generate buzz around their respective businesses.
That too with almost zero marketing budget.
This is applicable if your small business comes under any one of these categories – convenience store, dental clinic, small grocery store, bakery, restaurant, accounting firm, wedding planner, photography studio, homestay, or a web design agency.
In this post, you will know why to use Instagram Reels and how to use it to promote your small business.
Why Use Instagram Reels to Promote Your Small Business?
The global pandemic and the increasing short attention span made short-form video format popular these days.
You can leverage short-form video to build brand awareness for your product, service, or your business itself.
Building brand awareness and educating target audience are the two main goals companies want to achieve by using video, according to Wistia’s State of Video 2022 report.
And according to Hubspot, 85% of marketers believe short-form videos as the most effective social content format.
Instagram has been ramping up its short video game after witnessing the rise of TikTok worldwide.
Instagram has been adding new features into Reels to attract more creators and businesses to its short-form video platform.
Since Instagram being a part of ‘Facebook ecosystem’, Reels videos can be shared on Facebook as well.
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Here you need to link your Instagram business page to your Facebook page.
Also, after interacting with your Reels content your target customers can reach out to you via Instagram Direct Messaging (DM) chat or via WhatsApp (if you have integrated it your Instagram page).
How Get Started with Reels?
You need to know how Reels work before moving to the part of using Instagram Reels for small business promotion.
Using Reels, you can shoot, edit, and share 15, 30, 60 or 90-second vertical videos.
Similar to TikTok, Instagram Reels also offers sophisticated editing and video processing tools on its platform.
Here’s an awesome tutorial video made by Hootsuite on making and editing a Reels video under 7 minutes.
To create a Reels video, all you need is a smartphone with good cameras and a high-speed internet connection.
30 Actionable, Instagram Reels Tips to Promote Your Small Business
Here are 30 Instagram Reels tips that increase engagement, followers, page views and thereby build awareness for your small business as a brand.
You can experiment with these tips and find the ones that work very well as per your expectations.
1. Introduce Yourself
Introducing yourself through Instagram Reels is a great way to attract new followers, extend brand reach, and build more trust for your small business.
You can make videos of:
- how you started your business
- when you started it
- what motivated you to start a business of your own
- your ups and downs while running your business
- little about your personal/professional background.
- share tips and strategies from your own experience of running a business.
…and lot more.
You can also leverage Instagram Reels if you are running a freelancing business.
If you are an entrepreneur with a personal brand, you can leverage your status to grow your Instagram business page, in terms of followers.
2. Short Explainer Videos
You can leverage explainer videos to describe your small business and show people your product/service offerings.
You can create animated videos to explain your products or services in a short and easily understandable way.
These videos will get more engagement (likes, comments and shares) and thereby more reach to newer audience.
Here’s an example of animated explainer video made by an UX design agency for their client in the health fitness domain.
If you don’t have the budget to hire an animator then you can use online video making tools like Animaker, Renderforest, InVideo, Biteable, and Canva to create short explainer videos.
Most of these tools contain existing templates on which you can create your own videos. You can find lots of Youtube tutorials on how to make videos using these tools.
3. Replying to Comments Under Your Posts
You can make videos on answering (select few) comments that appeared under your previous Instagram posts.
In the same Reels video, you can say that you will choose those comments as ‘pinned’ and give replies to those ‘pinned comments’ in next Reels.
This way you can encourage your followers to actively engage (like and comment) with your Instagram posts (whether it be Reels or image posts).
Thereby, your posts will reach into Instagram feeds of new audience.
4. Announcements via Reels
Making announcements is another great Instagram Reels tip you can use for your small business promotion.
Your announcements can be new product launch, new office/shop opening, festival/season sale, job openings, participation in industry-related events, news mentions, etc.
5. Trends Can Help You
Following trends and participating in viral challenges can help your Instagram business profile get in front of new audience fast.
Make sure that you choose trends and challenges that you also enjoy participating.
6. Repurpose Your Old Stories and Carousel Posts
Are you run out of new content ideas?
You can repurpose old carousels, Stories, and single image posts on your Instagram business page to create new Reels.
Using Instagram Insights on your business page, find old posts (Stories, carousels, and single images) with high engagement and reach.
Make a list of those posts and start creating new Reels using the same content from your old posts.
7. Use Content from Your Website Blogs
If you have an active blog on your business website, you can use the content from your published blogs to create new Reels.
You can use content from those blogs that are popular with your readers (using data from your Google Analytics or Google Search Console account).
When you publish new blogs on your website you can promote them via Reels as well.
If you are leveraging YouTube to build brand awareness for your business then check out this article.
8. Reuse Your Old Reels
Another awesome Instagram Reels tip for small business is the reuse of your existing-yet-old content.
Here, you can reuse your old-yet-popular Reels to create new ones.
Whether it be tips, memes, or sharing your experience, you can share new Reels with updated information.
9. Busting Myths in Your Industry/Niche
You can create Reels on busting myths in your industry/niche. This helps in not just getting more engagement but also raise awareness about your industry.
10. Directly Ask Your Followers
You can directly ask your followers via Reels:
- What type of content they like to engage.
- Ask them for content ideas.
- Whether they are finding your content informational, valuable and entertaining.
- Ask them a question with 3 or 4 options (as a poll) and comment their answer under your video.
11. Behind the Scenes
You can show your audience what you (and your team) are doing behind the scenes via Reels.
It can be your video recording process, your team working, your office activities, office tour, and many more.
You can also share your own take how to use Instagram for small business.
12. Collaborate with a (Nano) Influencer
Collaborating with an influencer is the fastest way to get your small business in front of your new target audience.
If you don’t have the budget to approach big influencers with hundred-thousand or millions of followers then don’t worry.
There are social media creators with 1000 ~ 5000 followers called nano-influencers whose audience is niche-specific and actively engage with influencer content.
They are easily approachable (compared to their bigger counterparts) and they will collaborate with you in return for your product samples or freebies.
Make sure the influencer you approach is trustworthy, genuine, and niche-specific.
13. Announce Free Giveaways
You may have seen large brands announcing free giveaways to their customers. You can adopt it in your Instagram Reels for small business promotion.
The giveaway can be your product, your brand merchandise, gift cards, online shopping coupons, event and movie tickets.
14. Involve Your Team
You can involve your employees at your office in making Reels. Allow them to create Reels for your Instagram business page with their own content ideas.
You can also consider it as a part of employer branding. It helps you attract and retain top talent in your organization.
If you are interested then check out this article on how to build an employer brand using Linkedin.
15. Answering Web’s Most Searched Questions
You may have seen Hollywood celebrities answering web’s most search questions especially on WIRED’s YouTube channel.
Just like this one.
You can do the same on your Instagram page.
Find questions related to your brand or your industry (branded search queries) on Google search and make a long list of questions with high search volume.
Then you can do a series of Reels answering these questions.
16. Ask for Client/Customer Testimonials
Client/customer testimonials can help build trust and bring more sales for your small business.
You can ask your loyal customers to record their testimonial as a video (it’s called a user-generated content) so that you can post it (with their consent) on your Instagram page as a Reel.
17. Grow and Maintain Your Reputation
If your small business already established and well-known then people will mention your brand in their online conversations.
Using tools like Google Alerts, Mention and BrandMentions, you can track these brand mentions social media and other websites.
You can address these brand mentions via Reels.
For example, if an online news portal mentioned your business in their article (in a positive light) then you can talk about it with your followers in a Reel.
Or, if someone mentioned you in a bad light on social media or in an online forum then you address it in a cordial way.
This helps in maintaining your brand reputation both online and offline.
If you are interested in monitoring brand mentions online then check out this article on brand monitoring and how it helps your website’s SEO.
18. Product Making Process
As you know, people love to watch “making of” videos on Youtube and other social media platforms.
You can do the same for your audience by taking a video of the whole process of making a cake, biryani, furniture, wedding album, or sewing a dress.
You can then speed up the whole video using a video editor and share it as your Reel.
19. Product Packaging Process
Similar to the tip #18, you can take a video of the process of packing your customer orders. You can add trending songs in the background or make it as an ASMR video.
20. You Can do Unboxing Videos
You have seen unboxing videos of newly launched smartphones and other gadgets on Youtube channels like MKBHD, Unbox Therapy, Mrwhosetheboss, etc.
You can do the same for your Instagram business page.
As you are managing a small business, you have to regularly order your basic materials. So, you have the chance to start unpacking your orders and record your unpacking process.
You can show your audience/followers the materials you use, the brands, and even the place you use to store them.
21. Repurpose Live Session Videos
If you are conducting live sessions weekly or monthly on your Instagram or Facebook business page then you can reuse these videos to create Reels.
In a live video session, you may provide tips, reply to comments, or provide valuable, information to your followers.
You can then cut that video into tiny pieces of content and then you can share them as Reels.
22. Share Tools and Apps You Use
You may have seen messages or comments under your posts where people asking which tools you use to create your product/service or promote your business using digital marketing.
You can create a Reel mentioning the top tools and apps you use.
23. Celebrate Your Foundation Day
You can celebrate ‘the day your small business founded’ as a birthday event with your team and your Instagram followers.
This can be a great way to thank your customers/clients for their support and show them how they helped in the growth of your small business.
24. You Can’t Ignore Bloopers
Through bloopers, your audience love to see the lighter side of your brand and this helps in improving your social media engagement in a big way.
25. Participation in Industry-related Events
You can record your participation in industry related (offline) events. You can share your thoughts and opinions about the event.
Also, you can record your conversation with peers (with their consent) in your industry.
26. Shoutout to Your Loyal Customers/Followers
There are loyal customers of your business and there are followers who actively engage with your Instagram content.
You can give your loyal customers and followers a shoutout via Reels. Thanking or recognizing a customer/follower via social media platform is a great way to show that you care about them.
Also, most people love being recognized online and chances are that they will share your post on their social media accounts.
27. Don’t Forget to Promote Your Products/Services
You can push out Reels that promote your products or services every once in a while.
It helps your followers to familiarize with your offerings and get potential sales conversions for your small business.
28. Celebrating Major Sport Events
You can celebrate winners in major sport events popular in your geographical location. You can add a congratulatory message or motivational message in your Reels.
29. Repost
You can repost Reels made by your followers, customers, and other accounts in your niche.
Make sure that you tag the original account and that you use this strategy sparingly.
30. Share Messages that Move People
Share inspirational quotes and messages based your business or industry.
You can either record yourself and recite those quotes, or you can make your recording visually rich with any video editing tool of your choice.
Bonus Tips!
31. Schedule Your Reels
You can schedule your Reels using Meta Creator Studio or on your Instagram page itself.
You can find the days and times when your followers are online using Instagram Insights data in your page.
If you are scheduling your Instagram posts (including Reels) in bulk then it’s better to use Creator Studio or third-party scheduling tools like Buffer, Later, Sprout Social, and Iconosquare.
32. Encourage Newsletter Signups
If you have an email newsletter service and have an active Youtube channel (or any other social media page) then you can use Reels to encourage your followers to signup your newsletter or follow your Twitter/Linkedin/Youtube page.
33. Cross Promotion
Assume that you are ‘friends’ with another business that is from different industry, not competing each other but have similar audiences.
Then you can cross promote each other’s products/services via Reels.
34. Republish Your Reels on Other Platforms
You can republish your popular Reels on other (short-video supported) platforms such as YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Twitter.
You can also convert them into status updates on your official WhatsApp as well.
Final Thoughts
Hope you got some insights on how to use Instagram Reels for your small business.
Whether it be sharing Instagram posts or interacting with followers, you need to be consistent to get the desired results. It will help you in the long run.
