Start by reading these extremely detailed and well-researched articles on how to make great reels. There are loads of great examples in them that will demonstrate what the article is talking about:
How artists can grow their Instagram following
The BIG secret to selling art online
Experimentation is really the most important thing you could do but experimentation within the bounds of the rules of the format. And the rules of the format are that your reel has got to have a hook and a narrative. It has to be short, it’s an audio visual medium and the audio is not an afterthought or a backing track. The visuals and the audio work together. It’s got to be in 9:16 format. It has to have that hook that draws you in and the narrative has to be told visually and through the audio. But it’s not a documentary, it’s a pop video.
We always say experiment wildly, but start by learning the format that tends to work. Then you can deviate from that format and see if it works, whilst still understanding where and in what way you deviated.
Do things you wouldn’t normally do like voiceovers to express yourself. Don’t worry about consistency or your brand too much at the start. Don’t worry that people are going to look at your feed and think that’s a bit all over the place. Don’t worry about it because you can archive posts that didn’t work or that look out of place. Just experiment and you’ll learn much faster and you can archive all the things that didn’t work later. You’ll be in a much better place much quicker.
