Great news for anyone who heavily uses short-form video as part of their marketing strategy: Instagram has introduced a new feature that allows you to boost your Reels directly in the app.
As announced via the Instagram website:“Today, we’re announcing that businesses can now boost their reels within the Instagram app to turn them into ads for the opportunity to reach new audiences and drive more engagement.”
While users were always able to use vertical short-form creative to advertise in the story space via Meta Ads Manager, it seems this new feature allows you to generate extra reach and engagement on your organic channel by using budget without having to go through the technicalities of setting up a traditional ad campaign.
Boosted Reels will appear in-feed, stories, the Reels tab and the Explore page.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind when creating your Reels to ensure they are eligible to be boosted within the app:
- Reels must be less than 60 seconds long
- Have a 9:16 aspect ratio (filmed vertically and have a full-screen format)
- Must not use third-party IP, such as copyrighted music, GIFs, interactive stickers or camera filters
- Reels shared to Facebook are ineligible to boost
In the announcement, Instagram also reveals how to boost eligible Reels:“You can boost your reels by finding the reel in your grid in profile and tapping Boost Post. After running your ad, remember to check your Insights to learn which ads brought in the most engagement.”
While this new feature is a fantastic way to reach a broader audience with your Reels, it is still important to consider how this will impact your overall social media and marketing strategy and what objectives are in focus when boosting.
Are you boosting your Reel for brand visibility?
Attempting to add some brand personality by jumping on a trend?
Looking to generate high levels of engagement to use the audience for remarketing in your paid campaigns?
According to Instagram, Reels are the fastest-growing content format that they offer, so combine a strong content plan and the new ability to boost your videos and you have an incredibly powerful tool in your marketing strategy if all done correctly!
If you haven’t already, check out Instagram’s step-by-step guide on how to create Reels here.
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