Instagram Reels

Before you start, please note that Reels are not difficult once you do a few, but the Instagram system is quirky and will make you crazy at times, so stick with it and give the first few reels some time to complete.  Also, Instagram often moves icons around and changes things, different phones and versions can have items in different places and so it requires some patience to work your way through to find out where things are on your screen. (My left may show up on your right side of the screen for example.) 

If you’re feeling a little nutty as you do this, it’s probably not you!  It’s a small screen and it’s easy to click on the wrong thing by accident and find yourself in an unexpected area.  That’s why it’s important to “Save Draft” periodically as you go so you don’t lose all your hard work.  But we do this because Reels are supposed to get more engagement. 

Put all photos/videos/graphics you want to use on your phone in the Photo App. If you are going to put a series of images or videos in your reel you can put them all into an album on your phone in the Photo App so that they are easier to find.How to put photos into an album in the Photo App:  Open the Photo App, click All Photos (bottom right), click Select (top right), touch the photos you want to use (blue check mark appears in that photo (bottom right of photo).  Click the small circle with 3 dots in it (bottom right).  Choose Add to Album.  Click on New Album square.  Enter a name and save.  To see that album, Click Albums icon at bottom of screen and choose the album.

Make an Instagram Reel

1. Update the Instagram App so you have the latest version.
2. Open Instagram App
3. Go to your home (icon bottom left)
4. Click on the plus sign at the bottom
5. Click on Reel at bottom
6. At top see New Reel – gently use your finger to swipe down from the words “New Reel”

Looks like Image A (your camera lens is active) – (or touch camera icon)

1. Reels are usually only up to 30 seconds in length but you can make them as long as 90 sec.  See a series of icons on the right. One icon is a circle with the number 30 (length/sec) in it. If you want a longer reel, tap that icon and click 90. Most people won’t watch the entirety of a longer reel, but you may want to do one that long.  In that case, any message should be near beginning of reel. Ignore the other icons until you know what you’re doing.
   
   
2. In bottom left corner there is an icon that leads to your photos, tap that icon.
   
   
3. (If you see “select” in upper right you can choose a series of images/videos all at once, but I’m finding that’s glitchy, so do it this way) Image B
   1. Click on an image/video, then click Next (upper right)
   2. Click Edit Video (bottom left)
   3. Click Add Clips
   4. Click on next image/video you want to use,
   5. (If you come to a screen that wants you to select audio, click skip – you have enough to do first and can choose music later.  You should be at a screen that looks somewhat like Image C
   6. Click “add clips” – keep adding all the clips you want

If they aren’t in the right order, click reorder, rearrange them and click Done.

1. You’ve done a lot of work so we want to save the draft – click on the blue arrow upper right. And ‘Save Draft’ bottom left. If you mess up and haven’t saved the draft you’ll have to start all over. Looks like Image D
   
   
2. You’re back looking at your camera images. Image B Click Draft button, top/middle.
   
   
3. Click on your draft, then Edit top right. You should now be back at a screen that looks like Image C
   
   
4. On this screen you can do all kinds of things like reorder your clips add audio, add text, etc.
   
   

If you click on a clip it turns yellow. Grab an edge with your finger and move it back and forth to make the clip shorter or longer. You can edit the clip this way (or edit a video in photos before you chose it)

1. Text: You don’t need text, but may want it. Click Text icon. Image E Type out your text. Use the slider on the left to make it bigger or smaller. There are other tools at the top to change the color, center/left/right, background for text at the top. Touch the text and drag it to the desired position on the screen.  Click Done  (top right).  If you want to change the text click on the purple section below the images, then click edit, make changes, done. 
   
   
2. SAVE THE DRAFT PERIODICALLY: blue arrow (top right), Save Draft (at the bottom left). (Image D) Edit (top right) to go back and do more.
   
   

To move where the text appears in the timeline, Click on the purple text box area under the images, yellow lines appear (Image F)– you have to touch the back and forth arrows on the yellow sliders, right and left to get it to the spot to start and end as desired. If you want more text, start at #14 and do the same thing.

1. If you click on the white square between the clips you can choose a transition between clips (careful, most are pretty tacky zoom type things) Click on Apply All (for all transitions) or Done. Suggest not doing transitions until you’ve created a few of these reels, but you may click on white squares by accident, in which case, just click Done to get back.
   
   
2. Add Music: When you’ve got all of your clips and text, etc into place, THEN choose your music – otherwise it will drive you nuts during the whole process.

Click on Add Audio bottom right. Now at Image G. This is music that Instagram has somehow licensed.  (If you use your own music recorded by someone famous they may flag you and cause trouble – so don’t bother – I’m not sure why they even have the import option).  You can search for music.  Try for example “jazz” or “puppies” or “Beatles.”  Then click on the white arrow on the right to listen to a track.  When you decide which one you want, click on that track name.  Next you can adjust which part  of the track you want  to use by sliding the track at the bottom around with your finger. Image H  When you’re happy with that part, click Done.  If you decide you want to change the music, click on the music track  and Discard and do it again.

1. Did you save your draft? Click blue arrow (top right) Save Draft. Now you are back at reels but you’ve saved your work.  Click on the draft again.  You’re back at the finishing page.
   
   
2. Finishing: Image D -You want a good cover image – that’s what will show in the enticing little square on your timeline. Click Edit Cover. You can either choose a frame from the video or Add an image from the camera roll – meaning add an image from your photo library. Clicking on Profile Grid will show you what it will look like. Click back on the word Cover.  Find the right cover then click Done.
   
   

Write a caption. Create your caption – most pertinent info upfront. Only about 2 lines actually show up under your image in the Instagram stream.  You can add hashtags here, but you can also do that later in the comments field, which I find easier to do.  It has the same effect in the comments, plus you then have your first comment.  (May want to Save Draft again.) This post will land on all the hashtag pages. Instagram advised creators to use between 3-5 hashtags on their posts, despite allowing up to 30.

1. Next there are a bunch of other items (listed below) to figure out before you share it. Here are a few to consider: Image I
   
   
2. Tag People or add collaborators (important to do BEFORE sharing – can’t do it later. Image J Click Add tag, search for someone you want to tag. Cherrycreekartgallery for one – or anyone you want. Click on that person, then add tag again if you want to add more people. Tagging makes that person aware that they are tagged in a post – so it brings the post to their attention and they can comment, share, like etc.
   
   

Number of Collaborators: the number limit for both tags and collaborators is 20 per post. For instance, you can tag 5 people and add 15 collaborators but not 20 for each. (As of Nov 15, 2023 it’s back to only 5 collaborators -  groan - why do they do stuff like this???)

1. Invite Collaborators: Used to be that you could only invite two collaborators, but now you can invite up to twenty. (Make cherrycreekartgallery a collaborator so that we can put the post in our timeline - ). When you collaborate, that person can add the post to their timeline (instead of just to their story).  This is important because then their followers can actually see the post in their feed. 
   

Important Note: If you make a draft up ahead of time for a reel or a post, it doesn’t retain the collaboration, even if you’ve set it. Always check that the collaboration and tagging is set before hitting the share button.

Be a Collaborator: The collaborators get a message in their Instagram messages (When you get a collaboration message – look on your home page, click the house icon bottom left, then the message icon top right – a circle with a ~ in it.) Look for an IG notification in your message inbox . There are 3 steps.
1. View Request.   2. Review.   3. Accept.
Once you “view the request,” you are asked to "review” the post. Click on this and where it asks to “accept”, click on that so that it will flow into your IG feed. Please reply to comments on this post and consider sharing this post in your stories. This can be removed later if needed.

1. You can now download a reel and use it to create the same reel for your own feed.  (This is a download, not a remix)  Go to the post you want to download and click on the little paper airplane icon (it’s the share icon- below the post next to the heart and comment icons.) There is a series of icons at the bottom, one of which is now a “download" button.  Click that.This downloads to your photos and then you can create your own reel with the same thing.  Problem is that you have to retype all of the text and do your own settings at the end because you can’t copy the instagram text (always something!)  But at least you don’t have to recreate the entire reel.