Sookio's Communications Manager, Marisa Crimlis-Brown, writes:
By now, you’ve probably heard the hubbub; Instagram is no longer positioning itself as a photo sharing app, but rather is going all-in on video. Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, recently stated “At Instagram we’re always trying to build new features that help you get the most out of your experience. Right now we’re focused on four key areas: creators, video, shopping and messaging.” He also explicitly said they want to “embrace video more broadly.” In short, best to start incorporating video into your Instagram strategy now. One of the most engaging ways to do that (with serious reach!) is via Reels.
If you use Instagram at all, you’ll be familiar with the plethora of influencers mirroring TikTok trends on Reels from funny dances to sumptuous lifestyle shots set to popular music. The question is, how can this vertical video space be made relevant for businesses? And specifically, why aren’t we seeing more Reels in the arts and culture space?
What are Reels?
Instagram Reels video content is a fun and engaging way to create short-form, vertical video on Instagram. Created to rival TikTok, videos can be up to a minute in length, and you can film them in-app or upload content you’ve previously recorded. You can also use still images to create a video montage.
Editing tools are available if you’d like to shoot your video within Instagram. You can do things like speed up or slow down the recording, add creative video effects and touch up features.
For best results, you’ll want your videos to be filmed vertically, with an aspect ratio of 9:16 or 1,080 pixels x 1,920 pixels.
How can museums use Reels
Museums, arts venues and cultural attractions have a wealth of amazing content at their fingertips, from stunning exhibitions, tantalising gift shops, intriguing creators and fantastic spaces to boast about. With all that at their disposal, it’s a wonder these attractions aren’t doing more with Reels. We get it, time is tight, new platform releases are difficult to keep up with and there’s only so much time in the day. However, here’s why it’s the perfect medium.
videos can be creative and playful while still looking high quality
engagement can be exponentially higher with wider/varied audiences reached
videos can be quick to create, allowing you to create timely and relevant content
Reels can bring seemingly dull content to life.
Brilliant Reels examples
Though the majority of arts venues aren’t yet on the Reels train, we’ve managed to compile a few excellent examples of cultural venues around the world doing Reels brilliantly.