Trending: TikTok’s Got Rivals
Last month, we looked at TikTok and Trump’s battle, unsure what the outcome would be as large companies started bidding to purchase the app.
Thirty days later, and where are we now?
Oracle and Walmart won the bid, and Trump gave them the go-ahead to purchase TikTok. Oracle and Walmart will own a combined 20% of the company, TikTok Global, while other American interests control another 40%. What does this mean? Americans now hold approximately 60% of TikTok, which makes the President happy enough to remove the ban on TikTok downloads set for September 20, 2020.
All right, so who cares, right? If you’re not interested in the drama of TikTok, then we have good news: There’s a feature on Instagram that’s trying to replace TikTok. Welcome to Reels!
What are Reels?
Reels are 15- to 30-second, multi-clip videos that you can share with your followers on the ‘gram. Unlike TikTok, Reels is a new feature inside the Instagram app, not a new platform.
Reels still has some limitations, as they only recently launched it to the US and 50 other countries last month. And Reels only allows you to create 15-30 second clips, as opposed to TikTok’s 15, 60, or even 3-minute options. Reels also limit what kind of stickers, buttons, or AR effects you can use.
But, as more and more users try out Reels as an alternative option, Instagram will be adding more features in no time.
Check out Later’s ultimate guide on Instagram Reels to see what all the features include and how it appears on your feed and profile, and give it a whirl.
Using Reels for Your Business
Marketers are asking themselves, “Should we be using Reels or TikTok for our businesses?” The short answer is… why not? If Instagram is one of the main ways to build awareness of your brand and reach your ideal audiences, this is just one more way of presenting that fun, visual content that evokes emotion and reaction. The new features are getting higher engagement levels because Instagram wants to be a competitor to TikTok, so there’s a benefit to being an early adopter: Your content is likely to be viewed more now than it will be later. And joining in at the beginning gives you a head start since there aren’t as many content creators using Reels as there will be later on.
So let’s do it! Here are a few tips on how to get started using Reels.
Determine what kind of content your followers are most interested in.
Do your followers love to learn? Just want to shop for your products? Do they like to see the team behind the scenes?
First, figure out what content is the most interesting to your followers, and begin by creating content around those topics or themes. If you’re not sure, time to experiment!
Play around with the features and create a calendar
Help your future self out by planning out what kind of content you want to create AND what it will take to do it.
For example, if you’re going to create educational videos, think about what props you want to include and which topics you want to share about. Plan it out and put it on your calendar just like any other project, and take it just as seriously as your other projects, even if it’s fun or silly content.
And, if you’re nervous about using Reels for the first time, practice! Make a test account and create some practice content that’s not tied to your brand. Don’t let your first time posting a Reel be the first time you’ve ever used this feature unless you do this kind of thing all the time.
TikTok’s got a lot of new rivals
Reels isn’t the only alternative to TikTok, so if you don’t like it you’ve got options.
We will likely be seeing other apps and features like Triller, Youtube Shorts, and Dubsmash throwing their hats into the ring. Triller has been reaching out to TikTok influencers to use their app, and Charli D’Amelio is a new favorite.
As these video-based apps become even more popular, we as marketers will need to keep communicating the video’s value to our teams and bosses. Video already outperforms any other form of content. We’ve said for YEARS that you need to start investing in visuals and video now, so let’s go for it, shall we?