Twice this week, we added reels to an underperforming Instagram ad campaign and our results skyrocketed. We saw an almost 400% improvement in performance.
Client one: Our starting lead costs were $4.11. Client sent over a few reels and our lead costs dropped to $1.17 within 24 hours.
Client two: We’d been promoting the offer for a couple of weeks and our clicks were dropping off so that our lead costs were rising. We added reels to the campaign and nearly quadrupled our clicks. Our top-performing ad had a 1.05% click rate. The reel we added was earning 3.64% by the end of the weekend. This small shift dropped our lead costs by 32%.
In honor of these 2 clients, I’m answering 5 common questions about reels and using them in your ad campaign.
Q: Should you be using reels?
A: Yes. You can get more people into your funnel with reels because you can almost always get more clicks on a reel. If you know that your funnel works or that your offer sells, reels can be a game changer.
Q: Do I have to record myself to make a reel? I hate being on camera.
A: No. There are many ways to make a reel with just a collection of images, or videos of things that aren’t really you. You can make reels even if you are camera-shy.
Q: Will every reel you create bring in cheap leads, just because it’s a reel?
A: No. So many reels flop. It’s just that when they win, they win BIG. It takes a little bit of practice and experimentation to figure out which types of reels get results.
To win, your reel has to do two key things:
First: It has to stop the scroll. It has to be so attention grabbing that your pull people out of their mindless social media coma and convince them to watch more than a fraction of a second of your video.
Second: It has to earn the click. Your content in your reel needs to be so compelling that people either click to read the caption on your reel, or better yet, click straight through to your landing page.
Q: Is a “reel” the same thing as a “video”?
A: No. Reels have a different “vibe.” They are usually short and they usually have some sort of text overlay that communicates a message and entices people to click. Sometimes there are several pieces of text in a row that move people toward a conclusion. A lot of people think that animated images/videos will have the same effect as a reel. They do not. In fact, in our tests, animated images actually perform worse than reels and also worse than regular images. What’s the difference?
This is an animated image/video from Amy Porterfield.
This is a reel, also from Amy Porterfield.
One of my clients used a reel similar to Amy’s reel above and got amazing results. This is a great one to start with if you are camera-shy.
Q: Where can I get ideas for reels?
- Scroll Instagram reels and see what you find. Pay close attention to the ads.
- Use the Facebook Ads Library to look up your favorite influencers. (That’s what I did for Amy Porterfield above. You can search for any name of anyone in your own niche who is currently running ads.)
- Follow influencers who are known for their organic reels. My two current favorites are Systems Saved Me and Ruth Soukup