Facebook Reels are a cost-effective opportunity to accelerate customer engagement and boost brand identity.

For the past few years, short-form vertical video has taken over social media. The trend started with TikTok, and then Instagram created Reels shortly after to directly compete. Reels quickly became Instagram’s fastest growing content format. This prompted Meta (which owns and operates Facebook and Instagram) to bring Reels to Facebook as well, which has created major growth opportunities for users who have adapted to this change and put more emphasis on Reels.

Early adopters of Reels on Facebook have reaped the rewards as the algorithm has heavily weighted the feature, allowing content to get shared and highlighted more, which in turn offers more exposure and engagement as well as an increase in followers.

Facebook Reels is very similar to Instagram Reels with its editing capabilities, including music, voiceovers, filters, effects, stickers, and other tools. In fact, users can even create a Reel on Instagram and post it to both Instagram and Facebook Reels at the same time if their accounts are synced.

One of the biggest benefits of Facebook Reels is increased discoverability to a new audience. With Facebook’s one billion monthly active social media users worldwide, businesses have a large number of viewers to attract to their content, which turns into increased brand awareness and potentially more customers. If done well, brands can reach a large segment of their target audience and grow their following in a short amount of time.

Reels are public and get pushed out to everyone, not just your current followers or friends, but more specifically to those users who engage in similar content and topics as your industry. The algorithm picks up on users’ viewing habits and continues to send them videos related to what they already enjoy watching. For example, there are millions of motorsports fans and gearheads globally, so if you’re a racing business highlighting automotive-related content, your videos will be showcased to the many like-minded viewers out there. A majority of the users viewing your videos aren’t yet followers, so posting to Reels gives you the chance to get your brand in front of them and convert them into followers, and then customers.

For the best results, here are some tips and best practices for Facebook Reels. Focus on quality content. Instant gratification is more prevalent than ever right now, so you must grab the audience’s attention immediately or else they will scroll right by. Use content that’s exciting, relatable, and/or inspiring. And keep it short. Attention spans have become shorter, so a 10- to 15-second clip is the optimal length for Reels. Get creative, try new things, and don’t get discouraged if an idea doesn’t work. Not every video will go viral.

It’s also important to keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need professional camera equipment or top-notch video editing skills. High-quality videos can be captured on cell phones, and Reels offers several easy-to-use editing features directly through the app. If you don’t have a team of professional videographers and editors, utilize those editing tools for best results and further reach.

Avoid low-resolution video, horizontal video, and videos with watermarks. This type of lower-quality content offers a less satisfying experience for viewers, which will result in the Reel being less discoverable on the app.

Facebook is one of the original social media platforms, which also makes it one of the largest from a user standpoint. Because of that, it’s almost necessary for a business to utilize Facebook Reels, since it’s currently the best way to reach the most people organically.

To sum it up, the most important reasons to start using Facebook Reels are to reach a wider audience, increase engagement, and increase brand awareness. Plus, it’s a cost-effective way to reach our target audience. It’s time to get creative!