Why should brands collect Instagram Reels as UGC?

What are Instagram Reels? And in the battle of Reels vs TikTok, who comes out on top from a marketing perspective? Read on to discover more about Instagram Reels and their potential as a form of engaging User Generated Content.

What are ‘Instagram Reels’?

Instagram Reels have become an important part of the social media universe. Reels are short-form videos of 90 seconds or less. These videos can be recorded in one sequence or can be compiled of separate videos and images cut together.

Reels can be shared to a user’s feed or Stories, and the Reels explore page. Reels have been Instagram’s fastest-growing feature, with their popularity predicted to rise in accordance with Instagram’s plans to focus on video content in the coming years.

How are Reels generated on Instagram?

Reels can be generated by influencers and regular Instagram users alike. The success of Reels is partially thanks to the fact that Reels differ from regular videos on Instagram. You can find some of Instagram Reels’ distinguishing features listed below: 

• Looping videos that last between 15 and 90 seconds in length
• Both the “Reels” tab and the main IG feed feature videos published via Reels 
• Captions are available (which is inclusive for the hearing impaired for example)
• Music from a diverse range of genres can be added to a Reel
• Products can be tagged in videos (which is very important from an eCommerce perspective)
• Creative editing tools are available to all social media users
• Reels can be made inside the Instagram app or can be uploaded via other video applications

Creators can do a lot of different things with Reels, however, there are some types of Reels that tend to be more common, all of which could be useful to a brand wanting to collect it as UGC depending on their UGC strategy.

There are challenges, dances, and skits based on trending audio, educational tutorials that provide how-tos or hacks, and before and after videos featuring products just to name a few. 

Trends are a big part of the short-form video world. Often a Reel will go viral and other creators will hop on a trend. This process can be beneficial to brands, especially when a particular product is involved.

Why collect UGC Reels?

Video content is proven to be more effective than stagnant images, and with Meta having announced that Reels take up 20% of all Instagram activity, it’s clear that Reels must have a pretty wide reach amongst the over 1.4 billion Instagram users worldwide.

Short-form video content presents an opportunity for brands to keep up with audiences’ need for a fast-paced content machine that is constantly churning out new content (especially when it comes to engaging with Gen Z consumers).

How can brands collect UGC Reels?

The easiest way to collect reels is via a User Generated Content platform, like Flowbox. If you want to encourage social media users to create Reels content featuring products that you can collect as UGC, there are a few different strategies that you can try.

You could run a competition in which social media users need to feature your products in their Reel in order to win prizes, or you could work with influencers to get them to review your products, for example.  

What is UGC-style filming?

UGC-style filming can be used at events as a form of social media advertising. This is common practice among food & beverage brands. UGC Reels are used in stylish widgets at events, social media advertising, and on web pages. This kind of ‘raw footage’ is crucial for brands that want to build a close-knit community around their brand.

CLUSE and Reels

CLUSE is an example of a brand collecting visually engaging Reels content that shows its products in a dynamic way. These Reels are displayed amongst static images in the gallery on their homepage. The videos add an interactive element, in which the user has to click play to view the snappy video that shows the products in motion.

Videos of products can serve to add further verification of the likeability of a product – seeing the product in motion brings it to life even more than with static content. Take a look at the reel example from CLUSE below:

“One of the most important elements in the decision-making process of buying fashion (accessories) online is to get an idea of how much product would look on you…So, from a customer experience point of view, you could argue that it’s actually a no-brainer to make such content available on your website.

Rudyard Bekker, CEO of CLUSE

More information on how CLUSE has successfully adopted User Generated Content into their marketing strategy can be found in our CLUSE Case Study.         

Maquillalia, Reels, and beauty trends 

A video content promotion campaign can be found on the Maquillalia website. This is a perfect example of how brands can generate more Reels.

Beauty customers are highly driven by trends, and with Beauty video content being abundantly available on social media, it’s no wonder that Maquillalia would take advantage of this in its marketing strategy. 

Their UGC gives their customers precisely what they want it to – a sense of security around the quality of and durability of the makeup they sell.

“We’re good at listening and are very attentive to our customers. If they want to see a certain palette in action because they want to know how it will end up looking, the texture, etc. – we do it. And this is exactly how we’re using the Flowbox tool: to show how well our products work.”

Sara Varo, Marketing Manager at Maquillalia