“If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million.”

It’s a great quote, but one that elicits a groan from most photographers (two of them in our office).

And yet Troy Olson and Jeff Loquist, of Search from ShoppersChoice.com, make a valid point. Studies show that video is shared 1200% more than images and text combined.

Short, engaging videos, provide a fast and fun way for brands to promote, teach and relay their brand identity straight into the public’s screens. And among the various video format tools available, Instagram Reels has emerged as one of the most powerful features for maximising media impact and boosting brand recognition.

For leading fashion brands such as GAP, Levis and Adidas, Instagram Reels have become the leading social media feature for reaching new audiences.

So, what’s so appealing about them?

Well, in short: they instantly grab you!

It’s becoming harder than ever to capture people’s attention, but with Reels, you can offer short, fun videos complete with music tracks, voiceovers and snippets of other user’s audio. Better still, you can even borrow other user’s content to promote your brand where relevant and, in some cases, sit back and watch whilst the video goes viral! What’s not to love about that?

Take the example of Gap, who reposted a video that parodies mums in their thirties and forties during a SuperBowl game whist wearing a GAP jumper, and then subsequently saw their viewing rate sky rocket.

All this for a video, they didn’t even have to commission!

It’s a clear example of how brands and marketeers can make use of this form of content by keeping a finger on the pulse of what viewers are enjoying seeing on social media right now.

Take another brand, like Adidas, who successfully zoned into their consumer’s desire to engage with brands who tackle environmental issues.

Via their #RunForTheOceans campaign, the company produced a beautiful Instagram Reel highlighting a running campaign to encourage people to come together to help end plastic waste. Engaging, collaborative and visually pleasing. A sure winner!

Other than user-generated viral content (as with the GAP example) or demonstrating company ethical values (as Adidas did), there are a number of ways to catch those eyeballs:

• How to/or styling videos
• Sharing behind the scenes content
• Launching new products
• Announcing events.

The list is by no means exhaustive.

Here at Creative Clique, we have just purchased a new gimbal to aid our video productions for our clients. So, why not join us on this ever-changing social media rollercoaster? In fact, who in the office wants to take that gimbal on Clarence Pier’s rollercoaster to make a new reel?