STOP The Scroll

I think that most people agree on the fact that it's challenging to produce content for Instagram consistently. And when you're using your precious time and effort to create reels, picture posts and carousels it's absolutely not satisfying when you don't get much reach and engagement.

That's why I'm diving into a topic that every content creator and marketer wants to master: HOW to get people to STOP scrolling and watch 👀 your content. The endless scroll on social media can feel pretty intimidating and it may feel  discouraging 😏 to create content that does not get the attention it deserves. It happens to me too. But we also know that in every challenge there is an opportunity to learn new things to fine tune skills and make improvements that pay off and make it all worth it. I will share some really good tips and strategies to help you grab your audience's attention and keep them engaged. Let's get started!

First, I want to talk about the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words”. It emphasizes the power of photos in conveying information, emotions and stories. While this saying remains true, the impact of video content like Instagram reels as a whole new dimension to storytelling and engagement. Let’s compare the two:

Pictures 🖼️ verus Reels 🎞️

Pictures can deliver a message quickly and are easy to consume at a glance. They're excellent for capturing a single moment or idea. High quality images can be visually appealing and evoke strong emotions and can be open to interpretation, allowing viewers to bring their own meaning and emotion to the content. And posting pictures is efficient, it takes less time to post a picture than shooting and editing an instagram real

Now let's compare pictures to Instagram reels. Instagram reels allows for dynamic storytelling with motion, sound and edits. It can convey more complex ideas and emotions, more comprehensively. And videos can educate, entertain and engage viewers with humor, music, creative visuals- leading to more shareability.

In summary; while static images, hold their own significance and remain valuable. Video content especially in the form of instagram reels offer a more immersive engaging and versatile way to convey information to tell stories and to connect with your audience. That's why in this blog post I would like to focus solely on Instagram reels. While reels have advantages in terms of reach. It is essential to remember that the quality and creativity of your content plays a significant role. Videos enable storytelling in a way that photos can not a well-crafted video can convey a message evoke emotions or tell a story within seconds.

The First Few Seconds

It’s very important to know that capturing viewers' attention in the very first few seconds of an instagram reel is absolutely crucial. Instagram users have notoriously short attention spans. So in the very first few seconds, they will decide whether your content is worth their time or not. And if you fail to captivate them, they'll unfortunately, move on to the next post. They won't even see the end of your video.

The Instagram algorithm picks up if people are engaging with your content or if they're scrolling past it. If your content is getting engaged with it's pushed out to more people increasing its reach. And that's what we want! We want our content to be seen, we want our message to be heard, we want to make a larger impact and reach more people. We're passionate people that love to help others make better decisions. And take better care of themselves. And live a better life.  But we don't necessarily want to dance in our instagram reels and do things that do not feel authentic to us right?!😉

 Let's talk about how to capture viewers attention effectively

4 Strategies To Stop 🛑 The Scroll

1. Start strong. Begin with a visually striking image action or an intriguing question or a surprise element get creative here Don't waste any time introducing yourself or asking how people are doing or saying  “I've not been on instagram for a while, i'm happy to be back”. Don't waste any time here tell them why they're watching this video hook them early.

2. Use hook phrases. A strong hook sets the tone for your reel and encourages viewers to watch the entire video. It should be relevant to your content, intriguing and aligned with your expertise. Here are a few examples:

“The morning routine that changed my life”.

“This will blow your mind”.

“I wish I knew this years ago”.

 3. Quick storytelling. If you're reel tells a story make sure the initial seconds set up the narrative.  In a recent reel you'll see me sniff my armpit followed by my shirt. I don’t understand where the odor is coming from until I discover that my sports bra stinks and this all leads to me sharing about this detergent that takes odors out of athletic fabric. This very short reel performed well, it had good reach and I think it's because the viewer is curious to see what I was going to reveal as the stinky

4.Text overlay. Attention grabbing words and questions at the very beginning of a reel can draw in viewers to watch the entire reel. And don't forget that a lot of people are scrolling through their feed with their sound of so if you are speaking into camera or if you have added a voice over make sure to use captions.

I hope these 4 strategies on capturing attention with Instagram reels are valuable to you. Now let’s put this knowledge into action! When you're creating your next reels, remember to start strong, use engaging hook phrases, tell quick but compelling stories. And don't forget text overlays for those who watch on mute 🔇.

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