Want to know how to make amazing reels to present your modelling skills? Well, you have come to the right place! In case you’ve never come across Instagram’s reel feature, Models Direct will walk you through what a reel is, how it can help your modelling career and handy tips to make the most out of it. So without further ado, let’s begin!
If you do make a reel of your modelling looks, tag us in @modelsdirect and add it to your ePortfolio!
What is an Instagram reel?
An Instagram reel is a short, fun 15 or 30-second video, where you can add easy-to-use text, AR filters, stickers, audio and also remix by recording your video next to someone else’s making room for amazing collabs! The aim is that you can share these with your followers which opens the door for more user engagement – now who wouldn’t want that?
If they are shared to your Instagram Stories, they hang around for 24 hours and just like that, they disappear in a puff of smoke!
The feature is available in over 50 countries, including the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia and Japan, so in case you’re thinking of travelling, you’ll have a good chance of being able to capture moments where you are in the world and following other Instagram users. Reels are compatible on both iOS and Android making it more convenient too.
How can it help your modelling career?
As with any social media platform, it’s all about user engagement and exposure. All platforms use a variety of clever techniques to keep users captivated; scrolling and clicking through lots of bite-sized visually entertaining information. Instagram’s user base continues to climb, reaching 1 billion users in 2018 so the space for self-promotion and influencer marketing is ripe and thriving.
This is where reels come in very handy for models as they can act as a live portfolio of your work. If you’re able to create a short video of your model poses, different looks, extra skills you want to demonstrate, what things are current in your life and the world around you, who you’re following and so on, you’re bound to get noticed! And if someone in the industry – whether that’s a fellow model, photographer or client – views your Instagram page then perfect! They may reach out to you or pass your details onto someone else who could connect with you.
People have become Insta sensations or used the platform to propel their careers by becoming influencers – think comedian Lilly Singh and magician Zach King. It’s getting people seen and heard and it can do the same for you if you aren’t on the platform already.
How best to utilise the features
Reels is a relatively new feature and we’ll help you avoid common mistakes and hiccups.
- Keep an eye out for hashtags where around 500k to 1m posts are using them, this way you’ll get off to a good start of getting noticed. Top tip: Hashtag into the caption itself.
- Post your reels to your feeds as it goes live and notifies your followers.
- Remove your reel from your grid after posting it as this can mess up the look and feel of your grid.
- Add reels to stories just like a normal post. Hit the small paper aeroplane button for extra engagement, notifying your followers something new has happened.
- Avoid inserting text particularly into the top area of your reel as it might be cut out and unreadable.
The overall aim is to increase user engagement and push your modelling feeds onto new people and promote yourself online.
So, if you’re not yet on Instagram or using the reels features, maybe it’s time you got yourself familiar. If you need a hand or modelling advice, get in touch with our team! Happy reeling!
