Information in this blog post was obtained from Social Media Examiner, Pretty Little Marketer, and HubSpot.

Have you ever had a content block, where you can not think of anything new or unique? Well, you are not alone. It is hard to stay up-to-date on all the newest trends, stay ahead of the competitors, and satisfy your target market. What if I told you that you don't actually have to do all this? There are several ways for you to hone in on your reels without minimizing your time: maximizing content. Maximizing content can take form in several different ways, but for simplicity, we will look at five tips that will help you begin to maximize.

Reuse Previous Content

What if I told you there was a way to reuse your content without being repetitive? According to The Pretty Little Marketer, turning a post or reel that covers several topics can be made into a series. This allows you to get the maximum content from each post. By doing this you are not only getting more content but also satisfying your target audience by giving them more information and details to help them understand topics better. PLM also explains in one of her posts that you can look at the flip side of a topic you have already covered in your reels. Say you made a reel about the damages of fast fashion on the environment. Why not make another about the positives of sustainable fashion?

Use Reels To Create Ads

Yes, Reels can be a great place to relate to your audience and have some fun, but are you utilizing them to the best ability? why not use Reels as a direct advertisement tool as well? Using Reels on both Facebook and Instagram can maximize your marketing helping you to gain more profit while also gaining more interaction with your target audience. According to an article from the Social Media Examiner, the ideal length of a Reel to capture the attention of your audience is 15 seconds on both Instagram and Facebook. Your goal is to create precise content that does not drag, thus keeping your target audience engaged and interested.

Boost Your Reels

Not only can you make Reels in order to gain interaction with your target audience, but you can boost your Reels so that your content and advertisements reach more people. With Instagram, this is simple, as you can just press the boost button (this may cost more money) and your post will be boosted, but this is not an option with Facebook. Another great tip from the Social Media Examiner is that in order to boost Facebook ads, you must create new Reels, are promote existing reels from Instagram onto your Facebook. Although this is not as simple as pressing a "boost" button, in the long run, your ads will be maximized, and the effort will heap rewards in the form of an increase in interaction.

Post During Peak Viewing Times

Although the content itself is very important, timing also has a lot to do with one's engagement. According to HubSpot's about optimizing the timing in 2022 social media posts, they have broken down the best times to post on each social media platform throughout this year. For Instagram, the best time to post is Tuesdays between 11 a.m. and 2 P.M. CDT, and Wednesdays between 11-2. This is the time in which optimal engagement will occur for your posts.

Avoid Shadow Banning

Shadow banning is real and can be very frustrating. How can you maximize your reel content if no one can see it? A blog by Hubspot Academy gives an easy way to prevent shadow banning. The best way to prevent shadow-banning is to post authentic content and to be mindful of Instagram and Facebook rules and regulations. Although we want to see results quickly, taking your time to post true and helpful content that is unique may help you maximize your reels in the long run. If you jump in and get swept up in the trends and begin to copy the content, it may backfire and cause you to be farther behind than further ahead.

Resources

Coleman, B. (2021, Sept. 21). When Is the Best Time to Post on Instagram in 2022? HubSpot. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/instagram-best-time-post.

Forsey, C. (2021, July 15). Instagram Shadowban Is Real: How to Test for & Prevent It. HubSpot. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/instagram-shadowban.

Pretty Little Marketer. (2022). https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf52A45jV_N/.

Sonnenberg, A. (2022, Sept. 12). How to Create Reels Ads for Facebook and Instagram. Social Media Examiner. https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-create-reels-ads-for-facebook-and-instagram/.