BLOW UP Your Reels Using These Tips (IG Expert Explains Growth Hacks)

Summary

This video script debunks popular Instagram Reels hacks, revealing the truth behind viral hooks, optimal reel length, and posting strategies. It emphasizes the importance of viewer engagement and content quality over short reels and flashy hooks. The script also addresses the myth of using external editing apps like CapCut affecting reach, and offers insights on maximizing story views with strategic posting.

Takeaways

• 📈 The ideal length for Instagram Reels is not strictly 5-7 seconds; the actual sweet spot depends on creating content that holds viewers' attention, which varies based on skill set and audience knowledge.
• 🔍 A large analysis of top-performing Reels and TikToks found that the average length of top-performing Reels was closer to 60 seconds, contradicting the 5-7 seconds advice.
• 🎥 For beginners, creating short but high-quality Reels is recommended over longer ones, as poor quality long Reels can send negative signals to the algorithm.
• 📚 Consistency is key; creating multiple Reels per week can help increase reach, especially with easy-to-create content that can be reused.
• 📉 However, to truly connect with the audience and grow a fanbase, longer and more sophisticated videos are necessary as content quality demands rise.
• 🍲 The use of the word 'Here' in Reel hooks can be effective due to its ability to break through audience guard against overly formulaic hooks and create a more authentic feel.
• 🔑 The perceived effectiveness of the word 'Here' in hooks is part of a trend towards more genuine and less formulaic content creation.
• 🚫 Posting Reels only to Instagram Reels and not the profile grid can expose content to a new audience, but relying solely on this strategy might not be effective for growth.
• ❗ There is no evidence that using an external editing app like CapCut negatively impacts reach on Instagram Reels.
• 🛠️ CapCut is recommended over Instagram's native editor for creating higher quality content, especially for beginners.
• 🔄 Story reach on Instagram can fluctuate, and using interactive elements like polls in Stories may help increase reach for subsequent Stories.

Q & A

What is the claim about the ideal length for Instagram Reels to maximize reach?

The claim in the script is that the ideal length for Instagram Reels is 5 to 7 seconds, but the creator's own data analysis shows that top-performing Reels average closer to 60 seconds.

Why is it suggested that short Reels are better for beginners on Instagram?

Short Reels are suggested for beginners because they are easier to create and maintain viewer attention, which is crucial for sending good engagement metrics to the algorithm.

What is the importance of a good hook in content creation?

A good hook is important because it captures the viewer's attention at the beginning of the video, which is essential for increasing watch time and engagement.

What does the script suggest about the use of the word 'here' in video hooks?

The script suggests that using the word 'here' in video hooks can be effective because it feels more authentic and can break through viewer guard against formulaic hooks.

What is the suggested strategy for reaching new audiences with Instagram Reels?

The strategy suggested is to post Reels only to the Reels feed and not to the profile grid, which may show the content to a new audience rather than just followers.

Why might posting Reels only to the Reels feed initially result in lower views?

Posting Reels only to the Reels feed may initially result in lower views because the algorithm needs time to understand the content and its audience, which can take a few weeks.

What is the potential downside of not posting Reels to the profile grid?

The potential downside is that you might miss out on reaching your existing followers who could be part of the right target audience for your content.

What is the claim about using external editing apps like CapCut with Instagram Reels?

The claim is that using external apps like CapCut to edit Reels might lower reach because Instagram might not favor content created outside its native editor. However, the creator's tests found no correlation to support this.

Why might changing the file name of a video exported from CapCut be suggested?

Changing the file name is suggested for those who are concerned about Instagram recognizing the file structure of CapCut, although the creator believes this is not necessary.

What is the advice on using CapCut compared to the Instagram native editor?

The advice is to use CapCut over the Instagram native editor for better and easier content creation, especially for beginners, as CapCut offers sophisticated editing features.

What is the discussion about the fluctuation of story reach on Instagram?

The script mentions that story reach on Instagram seems to fluctuate and there's a claim that using a poll as the first story of the day might increase reach for subsequent stories, but the script does not provide a conclusion on this.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Debunking Instagram Reels Virality Myths

This paragraph discusses the common misconceptions about what makes an Instagram Reel go viral. The speaker fact-checks various Instagram hacks, starting with the idea that short Reels are more successful. They analyze data from 40,000 top-performing Reels and TikToks, finding that the average top-performing Reel length is closer to 60 seconds, contrary to the 5-7 second 'sweet spot' theory. The speaker emphasizes the importance of creating content that holds viewers' attention, regardless of length, and the need for good scripting, editing, storytelling, and audience understanding. They also mention the importance of consistency in posting Reels and the potential downside of focusing solely on short content.

05:01

📈 The Evolution of Effective Hooks in Content Creation

The speaker explores the evolution of hooks in content creation, noting a shift towards more authentic and less formulaic approaches. They discuss the importance of the first frame, background audio, and the manner of delivery in creating effective hooks. The paragraph highlights how the word 'here' can serve as a powerful hook, breaking through audience resistance to overly flashy or formulaic content. The speaker provides an example comparing two different hooks for a video on quitting drinking, suggesting that a more raw and real approach is more engaging. They also touch on the importance of adapting to changing audience expectations and the rise in content quality due to increased competition among creators.

10:03

🛠️ Instagram Reels Growth Hacks and Algorithm Insights

This paragraph delves into a popular Instagram growth hack involving posting Reels exclusively to the Reels feed to reach new audiences, rather than posting them on the profile grid. The speaker explains how the Instagram algorithm evaluates Reels based on follower interaction and how posting to the Reels feed alone can limit reach if the content doesn't resonate with the existing follower base. They also discuss the importance of using hashtags and captions to help the algorithm understand the content's context. The speaker suggests a strategy of removing Reels from the profile grid after a short period to potentially boost reach among new viewers. Lastly, they address rumors about using external editing apps like CapCut potentially reducing Reel reach, stating that their tests found no correlation, and recommend using CapCut for higher quality content.

📊 Analyzing Story Reach and Engagement Strategies

The final paragraph addresses fluctuations in Instagram Story reach and the strategy of using polls as the first story to potentially increase reach for subsequent stories. The speaker teases the continuation of the discussion in a follow-up video, promising to deconstruct more myths and strategies related to maximizing reach on Instagram Stories. This paragraph sets the stage for further exploration of content performance and audience engagement tactics on the platform.

Keywords

💡Viral

The term 'viral' in the context of the video refers to content that spreads rapidly and gains significant popularity on social media platforms. It is a central concept in the script as the speaker discusses various 'hacks' or strategies that creators believe can make their Instagram Reels go viral. The video aims to debunk myths and provide insights into what truly contributes to a video's virality.

💡Algorithm

The 'algorithm' is a set of rules or processes that determine how content is displayed or recommended to users on platforms like Instagram. In the video, the speaker explores the idea that certain actions, such as toggling off posting to the profile grid, might influence the algorithm's behavior in terms of content reach and visibility.

💡Reels

Reels are short-form video content on Instagram, similar to TikTok videos. The script discusses the creation and optimization of Reels for better engagement and reach. It mentions the misconceptions about the ideal length for Reels and the importance of creating content that holds viewers' attention.

💡Hook

A 'hook' in content creation is a strategy used to capture the audience's attention at the beginning of a video or post. The video script mentions the idea that using the word 'here' in hooks can make Reels more engaging, suggesting that simple and authentic hooks may be more effective than flashy or formulaic ones.

💡Engagement

Engagement refers to the interactions users have with content, such as likes, shares, and comments. In the script, the speaker talks about how engagement from followers can influence the algorithm's decision to promote content to a wider audience, emphasizing the importance of creating content that elicits strong audience reactions.

💡Consistency

Consistency in content creation means regularly posting content to maintain audience interest and visibility. The video mentions the importance of posting multiple Reels per week to keep up with audience expectations and to improve the chances of content being noticed by the algorithm.

💡Sweet Spot

The 'sweet spot' in the context of the video refers to the optimal length or approach for creating Reels that maximize viewer engagement and reach. The script refutes the idea that 5 to 7 seconds is the ideal length, suggesting instead that the sweet spot varies and depends on the ability to hold viewers' attention.

💡CapCut

CapCut is a video editing app that some creators use to produce content for platforms like Instagram. The script addresses a myth that using CapCut to edit Reels might negatively affect reach due to the app's association with TikTok. The speaker dispels this myth based on their own testing and experience.

💡External App

An 'external app' is any application outside of the primary platform used for creating or editing content. In the video, the speaker discusses the misconception that using external apps like CapCut could reduce the reach of Instagram Reels, but they find no evidence to support this claim.

💡Story Reach

Story reach refers to the number of views or impressions a user's Instagram Stories receive. The script mentions a strategy of using polls as the first story of the day to potentially increase reach for subsequent stories, indicating an interest in understanding the factors that influence story visibility.

Highlights

The ideal length for Instagram Reels is suggested to be 5 to 7 seconds, but this is not universally true; it's more important to create videos that hold viewers' attention.

The average length of top-performing Reels is actually closer to 60 seconds, based on an analysis of 40,000 top-performing reels and TikToks.

Creating long Reels without the necessary skill set can lead to poor engagement and negatively affect the algorithm's perception of your content.

For beginners, short but high-quality Reels are recommended over longer ones to avoid sending bad metrics to the algorithm.

Consistency in posting Reels is crucial, with the suggestion to create multiple Reels per week to maintain viewer engagement.

The use of the word 'Here' in Reel hooks is suggested to break through viewer guard against overly formulaic hooks and create a more authentic feel.

The importance of a good hook in content creation is emphasized, with the word 'Here' being an example of a simple yet effective hook.

Posting Reels only to Instagram Reels and not the profile grid can potentially increase reach to new audiences.

The algorithm evaluates Reels based on interaction from the creator's followers, which can affect the reach of the content.

Using hashtags and captions can help the algorithm understand the content better when posting Reels to the Reels feed only.

There is a suggestion to remove Reels from the profile grid after a short period to potentially increase reach to new audiences.

There is no evidence found that using external editing apps like CapCut negatively affects the reach of Instagram Reels.

Changing the file name of exported videos from CapCut is suggested for those concerned about potential algorithmic recognition.

CapCut is recommended over the Instagram editor for creating higher quality content, especially for beginners.

Story reach on Instagram has been fluctuating, and there is a suggestion that using a poll as the first story could increase the reach of subsequent stories.

The video promises to debunk myths and provide strategies for increasing Instagram Reels reach in an upcoming video.

Transcripts

is there a hook that makes almost all of

your reals go viral and is it true that

toggling off posting to your feet will

reset the algorithm and show your

content finally to a lot more people or

how about that using capcut to edit your

reals will actually destroy your reach

because they just want everything in

platform well I've taken a look at some

of these Instagram hacks on the internet

and I've done a fact check with each of

them so you'll actually know what works

starting with the first one that

actually promises five hacks to increase

reach on your Instagram real and among

the obvious like having a hug in the

first 2 to 3 seconds duh you've never

heard that before she still does make a

very interesting point to which there's

a lot of confusion out there these days

namely she says to keep the length the

ideal length to 5 to 7 seconds and this

is how she exploded her rear re reach

and she attributes that to basically

short attention spans right and

basically saying what most creators out

there say that 5 to 7c Reels are The

Sweet Spot now according to my data

which is a lot of data that's not really

true but um there is some truth to that

a few months ago I analyzed about 40,000

top performing reels shorts and Tik toks

and for reals the average of the top

performing once were actually closer to

60 seconds so kind of far away from the

5 to 7 Seconds Sweet Spot she's talking

about now I've said that once in a video

and ever since then people come to me

showing me a lot of very bad one minute

long reels that are just not going to

get anywhere cuz they're just bat

because and that's important thing here

the actual sweet spot of the length of

the reels depends the thing that

actually matters is creating videos that

hold your viewers attention for as long

as possible and that only comes down to

your skill set the scripting the editing

the storytelling and knowing your

audience and yeah if you don't have that

scill set and just create bad long reels

just because I for example said that

you're just going to hurt yourself more

than it's good because you're going to

send a lot of bat metrics to the

algorithm and then and everything starts

crashing down so generally speaking

especially for beginners yeah short but

very good reels are a lot better than

long reels and this one's actually a

very good example of that it is good

quality right it's basically there it's

short and keeps people reading right

staying getting the relative average

watch time way up and especially with

the other thing that's really important

which is to keep up with the consistency

right creating four five six reels a

week obviously videos like these need to

be in everybody's repertoire because

know they're fairly easy to create you

can even reuse the video itself you

don't even have to do anything real

right just put the camera there film

yourself eating some soup and you're

good to go now the problem with this is

at some point you're still going to need

some longer more sophisticated videos to

really connect with your audience and to

grow fans and people who actually trust

you on a deeper level plus you know

demands are rising content quality is

rising cuz there's more creators who are

becoming really good but yeah generally

the 5 to 7 second sweet spot is kind of

true but also not if you get what I mean

all right so by now we hopefully know

the importance of having a good hook

right I hope I don't have to say this

again and I keep seeing these videos out

there of creators saying use this hook

or use these hooks to go viral right now

and this very interesting video of a

Creator eating soup by the way using the

very same principles that we just talked

about before says here's the hook that

makes almost all of my reels go viral

now obviously the hook itself is pretty

good cuz what is it I want to know what

is actually the hook that makes almost

all reels go viral so yeah like I said

same principle like before fairly simple

fairly short fairly good quality and

some read in the caption we've talked

about this now reading the caption you

it's kind of getting meta here again she

actually does a very good job tightening

basically the anticipation rope right

not revealing What The Hook is right

away she says here it is but first Shear

blah blah blah this something I kind of

disagree with then she says okay I

noticed that whenever I use this word my

reals get the most views and many of

them go viral you know curve is going up

I want to know did you guess what the

word is said no but please tell us now

I'll spare you the whole read through

but the magical Hook is the word here

yeah that's basically all that it comes

down to so just to make you aware again

of how content creation Works cuz he

actually does a very good job at at it

the essence of this whole video and real

is basically just to use the word Here

In Your Hooks cuz it's a game changer

right now obviously this is a little bit

of a clickbait thing but it's actually

perfectly executed but let's talk about

what she actually means with that cuz

there's actually some truth to what

she's saying the thing with hooks

nowadays it's not so much anymore about

these formula hooks like you know seven

branding secrets you never knew existed

which by the way I'm not saying you

should not use them right I didn't say

that I'm just saying things start to

change slowly towards a more nuanced era

but there's one thing I've noticed a lot

recently and I've talked about this a

lot with my mentorship students I kind

of noticed a trend of hooks becoming a

little bit more real right I don't even

know how to put it into words a lot of

things play together with really good

hooks nowadays you know first of all you

got the overall first frame then the

feel of the whole thing the background

audio and the way you actually say

things and things are happening and I

believe though in some niches more than

others people are slowly building a

[ __ ] R radar or basically guard

towards these overly flashy and super

formulaic hooks cuz everybody just seems

to say the same things all over again

people just create content for the sake

of content right I can make a whole

series about this and people just slowly

become aware of that so yeah G's right

in my opinion the word here can actually

break that guard to some extent that

people have I'll give you actually an

example three reasons why you should

quit drinking versus here's how I

actually was able to quit drinking for

gut right basically the same message but

between the lines I would totally

gravitate towards the ladder because you

know it's just more real it's more Raw

it's still kind of takes all the boxes

let me know what you think about this

now this next one is quite interesting

because it actually has 5.9 million

views on Tik Tok and it's basically a

growth hack on Instagram especially if

you're stu and can't reach new people at

least that's what he says let's take a

look together nobody knows this about

Instagram if you post a real to

Instagram reals only so you toggle this

off and not the profile grid it gets

shown to mostly new people and not your

followers so if you're posting reals

frequently and you want to grow on IG

don't post to your profile grid I just

changed these settings and now I'm

growing again I broke a platform no he's

basically saying that posting real to

your feet will only show it in the feet

to your audience and this is why you

can't grow because you can't reach new

people well this one actually also has

some truth to it and I actually talk

about a few similar strategies using

this very principle in my course for

example the IG black file but let me

give you the gist of it if you post a

real to your feet the algorithm will

take a look at how people in your feet

AKA your followers interact with it how

long are they staying do they share do

they like whatever now let's say you

built your audience a while ago or you

were part of some engagement group or

you slightly changed your content right

your content style your topics the

people who follow you will most likely

not react like they're supposed to right

because it's all a little you they'll

see your content in the feed swipe away

cuz they're just not interested or they

don't even know who you are anymore

especially if you've been gone for two

weeks cuz people just forget people are

basically goldfish right now and if that

happens the algorithm will actually

lower your nonfaller reach because it

looks like your content is not valuable

content because your followers don't

even interact act conversely what our

friend whose name I didn't even read

talking about short firm videoos says is

actually true if you don't post your

real in your feed right away it will

only get Chown to the Real's feed AKA a

totally brand new audience now the

problem with that is in order for that

to work you still need to give the

algorithm an idea of who you are what

the content is about by using hashtags

actually right there's still a space for

hashtags also your caption and you

getting some interactions from the right

people and it can take actually quite a

while for the algorithm still to

understand your content if you just post

it to the feed so it's totally normal

let's say you post it just to your feet

that you get 20 views right for a while

in the background the algorithm still

tries to figure it out somehow sometimes

after 3 weeks people get lots of reach

so don't expect to blow up immediately

like he showed in this video obviously

on the other hand if you have followers

who youd consider the right target

audience for your current content right

you'd be just stupid not to include your

content in your feet and I have heard

from some sources that they're actually

playing around with the idea of removing

that feature Al together Instagram and U

yeah here's actually a little bonus tip

from my programs basically you can

actually remove your post your reels

from your grid from your feed after

let's say an hour or two and see what

happens because sometimes you know

initially the first 30 people that see

it of your followers react Wild and then

kind of the bigger cuz it always expands

the bigger part doesn't really react to

it and this is why the reach usually

Fades out but if you remove it after an

hour or so sometimes it gives just the

right amounts of data to the algorithm

and um you'll get pushed to a lot of

more new followers nonf followers

basically now speaking about the

algorithm I have heard recently from

multiple sources that using an external

app like especially cap cut to edit your

videos will lower your reach because

Instagram just doesn't like it you know

being basically from the same parot

company as Tik Tok so it kind of makes

sense right if you listen to it there's

lots of people saying this well here's

what's up I've done extensive tests

during the last run of my Creator

mentorship program and I have not found

any 0% correlation in my data in the

metadata of the videos nor in the reach

nothing related to it now if you're the

tinf foil type of person which is all

right but if you really want to make

sure just change the file name after you

exported it from cap cut cuz technically

they could kind of recognize well this

is the file name structure of capcut not

saying this is the case actually I'm

pretty sure I'm certain that it's not

the case but for the nervous ones right

change the file name and you're 100%

good to go I actually would even

recommend using capcut over the

Instagram editor just because it's a lot

better and easier to create good content

or higher quality content higher quality

editing especially as a beginner because

cap cut is actually pretty pretty good

and it's gotten pretty sophisticated

even for me as a seasoned editor I

sometimes use it so all good remove all

the tin foil hats or actually or

actually leave them on because of the

aliens now let's talk about story reach

because it seems to fluctuate quite a

lot recently right a lot of ranges

between story views and some people say

that using a poll as the first story of

the day will actually increase your

reach for your subsequent stories as

well so if you want to know the answer

to this one make sure to watch this

video next to get this and more of these

myths and strategies de constructed