12 Creative Instagram Reel Ideas

If you are looking for creative Instagram reel ideas, you are in the right place. The short video format that has become a success on TikTok, is conquering more and more space on Instagram, and many users started posting more reels than pictures on the platform. 

Enjoy this opportunity to engage with your followers and reach new audiences. People who don't follow your profile may discover your brand by watching the reels you make through the Instagram Explorer page. 

Besides, the reel format is dynamic, eye-catching, and can grab people's attention in a way only photos wouldn't. Plan your content, try multiple reel types, and analyze the feedback you will receive to identify the topics and formats your audience like the most. Check out some ideas you can implement. 

1. Introduce Yourself and Your Business#

One creative Instagram reel idea that is perfect for companies and digital influencers who are beginning to make reels is recording a video presenting yourself and/or your business. Tell your audience what your brand is about.

Explain to them what values drive your company, and what motivated you to create it, and talk about your goals too. If you are a digital influencer, you can present yourself, explain the type of content you produce, and what you like, and tell some curious facts about yourself. 

This type of video helps to humanize a brand, to make people feel closer to you and relate with what you are telling. It conveys trust and helps to strengthen your relationship with your audience. 

Remember, though, to always be honest and sincere. At the end of the video, you can invite the public to send questions or ask them to talk a little bit about them in the comments. 

2. Show Behind the Scenes of a Brand#

Ads on TV are highly produced and don't show how a company's work routine is, right? That isn't a problem because that isn't the purpose of those commercials, however, the audience may feel distant from the brand.

On Instagram, you have the opportunity to foster a close relationship where people engage directly with your company. One way to do this is by publishing reels that show behind the scenes of your brand. For example, showing how a product is made, and how it is packaged.

You can select one employee every week to record their routine in the company, so your followers will be able to see the work inside your company from different perspectives. 

3. Make a Before and After Reel#

When the subject is creative Instagram reel ideas, Before and after reels are a success.  If you work with fashion and beauty, you can make a before and after video showing someone before wearing an outfit from your brand and after it, with beautiful clothes, for instance. 

Before and after makeup is a trend as well. For instance, you show the person without no makeup and after, with artistic makeup. It's also possible to make this type of video with multiple other products, just think about how you can highlight visually the differences the product causes. 

4. Answer Questions From Followers#

Select the most frequently asked questions and record a sequence of reels answering each one. That's very useful to avoid having to solve the same doubts through direct messages since you can always send the video link when someone makes the same question. 

Besides, it shows your audience that you pay attention to what they say and you care about it. People feel seen when you choose their questions to be the topic of your video and this is the type of content that can help customers to decide to buy from your brand. 

5. Give Tips#

Use the reels to provide valuable information to your target audience. You can do that by identifying what are their main demands and recording videos giving tips that help them to solve these problems.

For example, if you own an online store that sells skin care products, you can explain what types of products are recommended for people with oily skin, and show how to treat this condition. When creating the script for the reels, remember to use a tone of speech that is aligned with your brand's identity. 

6. Participate in Challenges #

Challenges like lip-syncing a famous song, imitating choreography, and answering trivia games are very popular when it comes to reels. You can enjoy those trends to reach more people, and grow followers. 

Discover what challenges are trending, and select the ones that are aligned with your brand's image. It can't be something that has nothing to do with your company or your target audience, keep that in mind.

Remember to insert the challenge hashtag in the caption or one of the comments, this will help users to find your reel. Challenges are fun and show you are up to date with the internet world.  

7. Post How-To Videos#

How-to videos, or tutorials, are another type of creative Instagram reel, which allows you to deliver useful content to your target audience. You can include one of your products or services in the tutorial and highlight its benefits. 

Tutorials have become a successful video format on Youtube for multiple niches, including beauty, video games, and crafts. With reels, it isn't different, however, the tutorial is shorter. You can teach how to install software, how to make the perfect eyeliner, how to make a recipe, how to remove stains, and so on. 

The theme of the how-to videos will depend on who your target audience is and the types of products or services that you sell.  Remember that in a tutorial you should explain every step, making sure the viewer will be able to understand everything.

8. Show Your Products#

The reels offer a great opportunity to showcase your brand's products. You can highlight their details in the videos, explain how to use them, and show their benefits. The customers can see the products better than in the pictures. 

Show the package, and the size, if the item is available in more than one size or color, present the other options too. You can add a link to the product in the reels, so the client may click on it and be redirected to buy the product. 

9. Record a Day in Your Life#

Continuing with the idea of using Instagram to develop a closer relationship with your leads and customers, you can humanize your brand by telling people how your routine is.  Record what you do from the time you wake up,  take breakfast, and go to work. 

People want to see who is behind a brand. They care if the company's founder shares the same values they have. When you show yourself, you give them a chance to relate to you, which is great to increase engagement. 

Reels have a time limit of 90 seconds, record the most important moments of the day with your smartphone, then use a video editing app to cut and create the final video. You can add music to it and put special effects too.

10. Encourage Engagement#

Regarding creative Instagram reel ideas, what about creating your own challenge and inviting the viewers to participate? That's a creative Instagram reel idea to promote engagement. 

Think about a type of challenge that has to do with your brand, stipulate how to make the challenge, and record a reel explaining to people about it. Ask them to tag your profile, and use a special hashtag that you will create. 

To encourage people to record their videos to participate in the challenge, you can make a contest where the reel with more views or likes, for instance, will get a prize. Besides that, select the videos that you like the most and repost them on your Instagram account. The participants will feel that you appreciate them, and this gives more authority and credibility to your brand.

11. Make Dancing Videos#

Dancing videos are a trend on Instagram and TikTok and a creative Instagram reel idea. They are fun, eye-catching, and attract different audiences. If your company has a more casual tone of speech, this type of reel may be a success in your profile. 

Choose a song that is popular now, and plan the video. How are you going to record the dance? Who is going to participate in the video? After deciding this, it's time to record, edit, and publish. Research the best hashtags that are related to dancing videos and to the song you choose. 

12. Create Listicles#

Listicles are a successful reel format, the idea is to record a video where you make a list of your favorites. For example, the 9 best horror movies on Netflix, the 5 best Japanese restaurants in your town, the 6 most delicious desserts from your country, and so on. 

It doesn't need to be something that you sell, you can talk about topics that you know your target audience likes. It's a type of content that catches people's attention and provides interesting information since you can help them to decide what to watch next or where to eat, for instance. Stimulate user participation by asking them to create their own listicles and share them with you.

Start Making Creative Instagram Reels#

What do you think about these creative Instagram reel ideas? Choose the ones that better suit your brand's identity and start creating your reels. You will see how this type of video can help increase your Instagram profile engagement and visibility.