1. You have to dance in your reels and at the very least, show your face.
This one is totally wrong and is often one of the biggest things that holds business owners back from creating reels, especially if they’re more introverted. Sure when TikTok and reels were first introduced, there was lots of dancing, Hey we were in a global pandemic. People were locked in their homes with nothing other to do other than dance on video. But in the years, reels have come a long way. There are SO many different types of reels you can create that don’t involve dancing, singing, lip-syncing or even showing your face at all, and in fact, many accounts have blown up creating these types of reels. One of those accounts is Avaloncakes. Avalon is the same business member as I and she’s had amazing success with reels. The majority of her reels show her designing and making the most incredible cakes and she now has over 95,000 followers, all without having to do a single dance!
2. You have to create short reels to go viral.
The truth is that yes, people’s attention spans are becoming increasingly shorter. However, you shouldn’t limit yourself to short reels if you have a longer message to share. I’ve tested out creating reels of varying lengths and the shorter ones don’t always perform better than longer-form reels. The key to having a viral reel is to create something that people enjoy consuming. Focus on creating reels that are of high value to your ideal clients and customers rather than obsessing over the length of your reel because, at the end of the day, this is actually what matters when it comes to how successful your reel is!
3. You should only be posting reels on Instagram
Some Instagram gurus will have you believe that all other forms of Instagram content are obsolete and that reels should be the center of everyone’s universe. Okay, maybe this is a slight exaggeration however, even I’m made to feel like this sometimes on Instagram. In saying that, I still stand by the statement that reels provide the biggest opportunity for you to grow on Instagram but that doesn’t mean that reels should be your sole focus. What it comes down to is what your unique goals are. This will determine your content strategy for Instagram. If you are in a season of growth, then yes, I would encourage you to place a heavier weight on creating reel content however if growth is not your primary focus and instead, you want to nurture and warm up your audience, then you can definitely mix your content up to include live video, carousel posts, infographics and yes, even photos!
4. Your reel is a failure if it doesn’t get many views in the first 24 hours.
The truth is, that reels have a longer shelf-life than regular feed posts on Instagram. Sometimes, it takes days and even weeks for your reels to gain traction in the algorithm. I’ve had reels that I thought were a total flop only to look back at them a week later to find they have thousands and thousands of views.
This recently happened with one of my Instagram management clients too. We shared a reel and the performance after 24 hours was average. After a week, it had nearly 10,000 views which was viral for them considering they had a following of around 500 at the time. It became their most-viewed reel of all time!
So the next time you post a reel and think it’s a massive fail after just a day, stop and remind yourself that this could end up being your most viral piece of content yet!
5. Reels will only go viral if you use trending audio
Using an audio that is trending can definitely help to increase your chances of getting more views however you shouldn’t limit yourself to only using trending sounds, especially if you can’t relate them back to your business. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram has also come out recently to say that they will be ranking for originality meaning that creating your own original reels could definitely get you more reach in the algorithm. I like to use a combination of trending audio and sounds along with original content to mix it up. Do some testing and see what works best for you, but definitely don’t feel limited to using trending audio only!
6. Your reels won’t go viral if you don’t already have a big following
This one is totally wrong and in fact, Adam Mosseri debunked this last month too when he said, and I quote “We are going to prioritize smaller creators over bigger creators, when push comes to shove, and I want to be honest about that”. This means that there is a massive opportunity right now for you if you are someone who has a smaller following on Instagram. So what constitutes a small creator versus a big creator? Well, that’s a good question that Mosseri didn’t elaborate on but the consensus going around the community is that a small creator is someone with less than 50k followers and certainly less than 10,000. This means that now is the time for you to double down on your Instagram marketing! There is an opportunity right now for you to skyrocket your reach and get more eyes on your business.
7. You have to post reels every day to grow
Again, despite what some Instagram gurus might have you believe, you don’t HAVE to post reels every single day to grow. Growing on Instagram is about putting out high-quality content that your audience cares about. Full stop. Unless you have a dedicated content team, most of us running a business don’t have the time or capacity to create enough reels to post consistently every single day. If you’re just creating and sharing reels for the sake of posting them every day and you’re not being strategic with your content, you’re only going to burn yourself out. Take that pressure off and consider what posting frequency feels maintainable for you. If this is 2 – 3 reels per week, great! Stick with that you’ll do great. If it’s realistic for you to create multiple reels per day, go for your life! At the end of the day, do what’s manageable for you and you’ll be set for success!
Click here to How to Do These 5 Things After Every Post to Boost your Instagram Engagement
