11 Ways To Grow Your Shopify Store With Instagram Reels

What Are Instagram Reels?

Instagram reels allow you to record multiple 15 second clips, edit them, add music, and even club them together. You can also participate in fun challenges! The best part is that, unlike stories, reels are permanent!

A reel can be up to 60 seconds long. It’s not that different from a TikTok video when you think about it. It is also very easy for reels to reach the explore page. Not only that, but suggested reels also appear on people’s newsfeeds. There is even a dedicated section at the bottom for reels. Click on it, and you can spend hours browsing reels to your heart’s content.

Since reels don’t last very long, people are more likely to watch it till the end. Moreover, reels suggestions are based on previous user activity. So, users who don’t follow you but have engaged with content from your niche will also see your reels in their suggestions. Which means – that’s right – this is another way to grow your Instagram followers organically.

Bottom line? Reels give you the potential to create a lot of brand awareness. So, let’s look at some tips on how to use reels to grow on Instagram. Psst.. we’ve saved the best for last!

11 Tips On How To Use Reels To Grow On Instagram

Reels are short. So you have to make them snappy. You should hook the attention of the viewers in just a few seconds. Here are some content ideas and tips on how to use reels to grow your business.

Showcase your new products.

Reels are a great way to announce new products. To generate more buzz, you can use the following ideas:

• Show behind-the-scenes of the making of the product. Example: if you run a handmade crochet store, you could create a reel where you show how you planned the product to where you went shopping and all the things you purchased for that particular product.
• Show a timelapse reel of you actually making the product. Title it something like “crochet this bunny with me” so the viewers feel included!
• A simple 10-second video just showcasing a new product you have restocked.

Create “how-to” videos

60 seconds is enough time to create a short and condensed “how-to” video. Show people how they can use their products.

If you sell handmade candles, you could create a reel titled “how to spruce up your home using these handmade scented candles.” If you sell beauty products, you can do a quick tutorial of you using them.

For example: the following reel shows a quick vegan recipe in just a few seconds! They have even posted the complete step-by-step in the caption to make things easier for you.

Here are some other ideas for educational content on your reels:

• Top tips and tricks regarding your industry. Example: 3 easy ways to remove your matte lipstick, how to clean your room in just 10 mins.
• DIY reels that show viewers how they can make the products themselves.

Answer common questions people have about your products

A “Q and A” session can be great for your business and engagement! Create a list of common questions people have about your products and answer them. This helps potential customers make informed buying decisions as well as helps existing customers with their queries. The questions might even create new interest among others!

For example, if you run a store where you sell handmade cleaning products, your Q and A reel could include interesting questions such as “can I use this product to clean limescale?” You can include a short clip of cleaning limescale using your product in the reel.

You can also put up a question sticker on your stories encouraging people to ask any questions they might have. Then create a reel answering those questions. This helps drive engagement further because you’re directly engaging with your followers and solving their problems. It’s a win-win.

Share “behind-the-scenes” videos

People LOVE learning personal tidbits about the people behind brands. This lends a personal touch to the brands, making them more human to the followers. This also helps you create a deeper bond with your customers because they feel more connected to you!

With these types of reels, don’t be shy to get a bit personal. Here are some content examples:

• “A day in my life” reels where you show your followers what your typical day looks like.
• “Come shop with me” videos where you take them on a tour while you buy everything you need to create your products. For example, if you sell art prints, you can take them to an art shop while you purchase all your brushes and paints and canvases.
• A reel of how you and your employees work.
• “I just got my 50th order and I’m excited!”
• “Celebrity xyz just purchased from my shop, and I’m over the moon about it!”
• A short clip of what your workstation looks like. It’s okay if it’s messy! In fact, you can also show people what your workstation looks like before you started working and what it looks like after you’re done.

While the above examples are all directly related to your products, you can also create reels that are a bit more personal.

• Talk about things you like/ dislike. Or make each of your employees talk about one thing they like/ dislike.
• Create a video celebrating the birthday of your company.
• Videos of your pet “refusing” to let you work.
• Talk about how you get out of a slump.
• Team lunches.
• Team vacations or a day out with the team.

The main goal is to show people the faces behind the company, so take this idea and run with it!

Post customer reviews

As a small business, you probably are the point of contact for the customers. This means that you will get personal reviews and testimonials from them- whether on your ecommerce store or directly in your DMs.

Compile a list of your favorite comprehensive reviews and create a reel out of them! This shows other potential customers that

• You are trustworthy and that
• People loved your product

This format could be an ongoing periodical thing where you create a testimonial-filled reel every two weeks. You can also put on some trendy background music and do a little dance while the reel goes through your testimonials.

There are many ways in which you can execute this:

• You can post screenshots of the reviews with videos of you showing the product in the reel.
• You can ask your customers to record a short video testimonial which you can post as a reel.
• You can post videos about your customers using the products (and loving them!)

Unboxing/ Packing videos

This can be a great way to get your audience to feel more connected with your business. This also serves as a partial “behind-the-scenes.”

Your unboxing videos could contain materials you ordered that finally arrived. You can unbox them and hype up the products you’re going to create with them. For a crochet business, this might look like unboxing some rare colored yarns you were waiting on.

You can also post reels of you packing someone’s order. Show what products this particular order contains, how you package them, and where this package is going. If you include cute handwritten personal notes and have your own logo stickers, don’t forget to highlight them!

Share information about any discounts/ sales

Offering a 20% discount on all products for Christmas? Or maybe you’re just holding a sale because you fancy it. At any rate, reels are a great way to make an announcement about your discounts.

Beat the drums, put on your holiday hats, and ask people to grab the offer before it runs out! What’s more- these types of reels are sure to get you more customers. After all, who can resist a nice sale?

Sneak-peeks into upcoming products/ events

Working on something new? Post a sneak-peek and ask your customers to guess what this new exciting thing is that you’re going to launch soon. Tell them you’ll reveal the secret product in 3 days, so stay tuned!

This not only generates interest, but makes sure that the interest lasts at least for the next few days. It also makes customers feel like they were an actual part of the process!

After 3 days, you can post a video saying “this is what I’ve been working on. I’ll launch this product in my store in a week.” Don’t forget to add personal tidbits such as how long this product has been in the making.

If an idea for a new workshop (whether in-person or online) is in the works, you can post a sneak-peek about that, too. Be vague initially to generate more buzz!

Collaborate with other brands and influencers

If there is another brand/ small business that complements your own, you can collaborate with them and offer a special discount for people who buy your products together.

Let’s say you sell clothes and another brand sells shoes. Since both of the products work together to make an outfit look complete, you can partner and create a combo deal. If both of you post the reels on your respective pages, this could also result in an influx of new customers for you both.

Another idea is to collaborate with micro influencers. You can choose an influencer in your niche or someone who genuinely loves your product and ask them to promote it on their own page. You can, then, repost it on your page with a caption like “Maria talks about how using my beauty products changed her life!”

If you’re not sure where to start, you can use an influencer marketplace to find an influencer that is the right fit for your product or service.

Depending on your influencer’s reach and requirements, you may either have to pay them a small fee or give a free product in exchange for a review.

Take part in the latest trends

Just like TikTok videos, Instagram reels also feature many trends. It seems like there is a new one every week. And what happens when there is a new trend? People watch them! So, participating in the latest trends is a great way to put your content out there.

Go to the discover tab and check out the top reels. Whether it is a new song that is trending or a dance move, take part in it! Try to relate it to your content somehow, otherwise this reel is going to stick out like a sore thumb. Always add relevant hashtags so that your video will be discoverable to people who search for the trends.

Link to your shop directly

This is arguably the most important marketing tactic because this allows your customers to shop directly from your reel without ever leaving Instagram! For this, you would need to first set up Instagram shopping and add your catalog of products. Once that is done, you can tag your products in your reels.

Once your followers click on “view product,” it will take them to the catalog page.

They’ll also be able to see more products from your store.

We’ve come to the end of our tips. Before you go, here are some key takeaways:

• Reels allow you to use music and trendy audios, so use it!
• Keep your captions engaging. Include a call-to-action wherever required. Talk about the best features of the products you’re displaying in the reel.
• Always use hashtags as they are one of THE best instagram marketing strategies.
• Make sure your content is fun!

Aaaaand.. that’s it! Your Shopify Instagram reel marketing strategy is complete! If you want to read more about the best e-commerce practices, check out this article. Happy creating!