As you scroll through your Instagram feed, do you keep seeing reels that seem almost as well-produced as Hollywood blockbusters? And you ask yourself: How do they all do it without years of social media management? With these tips and tricks, you are guaranteed to create wonderful short videos that will attract likes and nice comments.
Your last post on Instagram was way too far in the past and somehow the number of followers is still dwindling? Then it’s high time for a winter hit – preferably in video format! Because let’s be honest: we’re also noticing the changed algorithm on Instagram, which pushes reels and short, fast videos rather than pretty photos of snowy landscapes. So the motto is: Throw on scarves and create wintery reels to take your community into a frosty wonderland. We’ll show you how to turn viewers into followers with the right sounds, the right choice of effects, and wintry scenes.
All beginnings are … cheesy
Hand on heart: How is your attention span? If your attention span is also somewhere around five nanoseconds, the beginning of your own reel is essential to catch people’s attention on Instagram. If the beginning doesn’t click, people will scroll faster than memes from the 2000s. That’s why the formula for success is: get your audience hooked within the first three seconds with lots of Christmas kitsch: start by panning over the pompously decorated Christmas tree or showing the glorious twinkling Christmas lights of your city. Also a snazzy eye-catcher: let the fireplace flicker, show wintry wonderlands, a cosy wellness scenario at Falkensteiner with snowy views, or yourself in cozy-hyggeligen scenes.
Cut by cut to an Insta-hit
Need cool transitions for your 90-second reel on Instagram? Try panning from left to right for your short snippet videos. After all, the power lies in the movement! So when you pan across a wintry landscape, always do it in the same direction. This creates a cool dynamic effect between the individual short videos that you assemble into a longer reel. To bring even more wintery festivity into your reel, add a few magical and sparkling effects to some of the cuts. By the way, you can easily add these between your short videos. To do this, go to Instagram and click on “Edit clips” in the bottom left-hand corner of the reel preview and then on “Transitions”. Here you can choose between light reflexes, soft focus, or other cool transitions that give your winter content the finishing touch.
Let It Snow! Let It Show!
Similar to TikTok, Instagram also likes it when you use so-called trending sounds for your videos. So what would be suitable for your reel? Use winter music, beautiful Christmas carols, or simply contemplative songs that give your video the perfect winter soundtrack. Frank Sinatra’s “Let it Snow, Let It Snow!” is guaranteed to make great background music for your reel. The musical library of trendy Christmas songs is endless with “Jingle Bell Rock”, “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town”, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” or “All I Want for Christmas Is You”. Simply put music over the reel, spread winter magic, and ensure sparkling eyes, ears, follows, likes and shares. Pro-tip: If the music matches the cuts, it becomes even more harmonious.
Winter reel magic
Instagram is pretty good at creating cool effects and transitions practically in the app, but actually, you can certainly do better than that yourself. Here are a few suggestions to add that sparkly something to your winter reels.
1. The flick: This cool effect fits best in a before and after reel. Are you planning to decorate your home for Christmas? Then flick once as a cutaway in front of the camera and create a cool effect between the empty living room and the pompously decorated place. Or flick between the snow-covered winter landscape under a thick scarf and the soothing sauna landscape in a cosy bathrobe.
2. the snow is softly falling: if Mother Holle is actually merciful and presents us with the falling flakes, they are ideal for taking a slow-motion picture. Simply activate the function on Instagram and the snow will gently prance down and give your reel some really high-quality moments in the snow.
Reel: (c) kosmoslandia
Become a shining Christmas star yourself
Instagram likes faces. So dare to be in front of the camera every now and then. And if you ask your community a question at the end of the reel, it helps the interaction and thus the algorithm. It would be exciting to find out whether your followers are more winter or summer types, how they celebrate Christmas, what their favourite biscuits are, or where they spend their winter holidays, wouldn’t it? In the best case, your community will comment diligently and thus give your reel more reach on Instagram. By the way: Make sure that the reel doesn’t look too posed and always shoot the videos in portrait format on your mobile phone camera.
Make it #instagrammable
Reel-Talk: The climate crisis doesn’t stop at your Instagram presence and regularly pushes the save button when it comes to snowfall and low temperatures. Good for the frostbitten, bad for the environment, and winter fans. So when Ms. H’s head pads are once again inadequate and the landscapes remain rather grey-brown, there’s only one thing to do: fake it till you make it. Simply enchant with winter looks! No snow on the road? Throw on warm down jackets and boots anyway, put on cute bonnets and suggest coldness with the rising steam from the punch mug in your hands. After all, winter is the best time of year for OOTD videos (Boomer tutorial: Outfit Of The Day), in which scarves with chic woolen jumpers and thick coats are always an eye-catcher. So always follow the motto: Winter, but make it fashionable!
Reel: (c) fashioninmysoul
With these tips for winter reels, your videos on Instagram are guaranteed to turn into festive hits. So what are you waiting for? Grab your smartphone and become a frosty influencer! Have fun filming and editing.
