Are you ready to start creating reels? YAY! Posting reels is the quickest way to grow on Instagram. In this video, I’ll walk you through how to create a reel from start to finish. I’ll demonstrate how to navigate the reels interface and use all of the tools found in the Instagram app. Let’s get started!

In this simple tutorial for beginners, I will walk you through how to create a reel in the Instagram app. If you’re someone who needs to be shown the most important features of how to create a reel, how to film your reel content, how to edit and post your reel – that’s what we’re talking about today!

Create Your Reel

Step one in how to create a reel is to navigate to the reels editor. Swipe over on your screen and select “reel” at the bottom. Alternatively, visit your profile and tap the plus sign in the top right corner. Select “reel” and then tap “camera” to begin filming your reel. Swipe up from the bottom to see your camera gallery and insert pre-recorded videos into your reel. You have the option to tap or tap and hold to film your reel as needed. To begin again, tap the “X” in the top left corner and select “start over.”

Instagram Filming Tools

At the top middle of the screen, tap the clock symbol to set a timer to begin filming. Choose between a 3 or 10-second countdown, and use the sliding bar on the screen to adjust how long your reel will record.

Back on the reels filming screen, tap the “15” on the left side of the screen to adjust the length of your reel. I keep this number set at “90” so that I have as much time as possible to film my reel.

Before filming your reel, apply any filter you want to use. You cannot add a filter after filming has begun. Now, you’re ready to film your reel!

Select Your Audio

Once you have filmed your reel content, use the music symbol on the left side of your screen to search for and select your audio. Any audio with an upward right arrow next to the artist’s name is considered trending and will boost the overall performance of your reel.

More Filming Tools

Return to the reels filming screen and look for the drop-down arrow on the left side of your screen. Tap this arrow to see an expanded list of filming options. Normally, I do not use any of these features, however, I want to draw your attention to “Gesture Control.” With Gesture Control, you can begin and end filming by raising your hand in front of the camera. 

Once all of your reel content is filmed or uploaded, tap “Next” on the right side of your screen. Here, you can trim your footage, add text boxes, and make edits to your reel content.

Add Text Boxes

At any point, tap the screen to pause your reel while you edit. In the upper right-hand corner, tap the “Aa” symbol to add text boxes to your reel. 

Add & Edit Audio

Tap “edit reel” on the bottom of your screen to trim your footage, edit the timing of your text boxes, or edit the timing of your music. Use two fingers to zoom in or out on your edit screen. Tap your audio and drag the sliding white bar to choose which part of the sound will play during your reel. Tap and select the audio in your editing interface so that the yellow box appears around it. Drag the sides of the yellow box to choose at what point in your reel the audio will begin & end playing.

Edit Your Video Footage

Tap on a video clip to select it. A yellow box will appear. Drag the sides of the yellow box to trim the beginning or end of the clip. At the bottom, tap split to split that clip at any point. Tap outside of the yellow box to finish selecting that clip.

At the bottom of your screen, tap reorder to change the order in which your clips will play.

Edit Text Boxes

Finally, tap on the purple bubble at the bottom to edit one of your text boxes at a time. Like trimming your audio or video clips, drag the yellow sides of the box to choose when your text boxes will appear and disappear during your reel.

Save Your Progress

When you’ve finished your edits, tap the downward arrow at the top right side of your screen. Save your progress to your camera roll, even if you cannot save the audio with it. Instagram may lose your draft, so saving your progress to your phone is important. You can always add the audio back in later. I take the extra step of adding my reels videos to a specific folder in my camera roll so that I can easily access them later.

Audio Settings

Next to the save to camera roll button, there is a music button. Tap that symbol and select “controls” to adjust your audio levels. For face-to-camera (talking head) reels, I set my selected Instagram audio level to 5-10 and set my camera audio to 100 so that I can be easily heard in the video.

Closed Captions

Back at the top right side of your reels editing screen, tap the sticker button (square smiley face) to bring up the sticker options. Here, you can select closed captions if you are speaking in the video. It will transcribe your audio which makes your content accessible and consumable by all kinds of users on the app. At the bottom of the screen, tap on the different letter styles to select how your captions will appear on your video.

After completing your edits, tap the blue “Next” button. Here, you’ll finalize all of the details like cover photo, caption, and upload settings. 

Add & Edit Your Cover Photo

Tap “Edit cover,” here, you can scroll across your reel and choose a screengrab from your reel to be the thumbnail image that appears on your profile. Alternatively, you can tap “Add from camera roll” to upload a photo from your camera roll. Once your image has been selected, tap “Profile grid” in the upper right-hand corner. Use your finger to drag the image and choose how it will appear on your profile grid. Also, you can use two fingers to zoom in and out if needed. 

Below your reel preview, use the space to write your caption.

Advanced Settings

You can see below that there are options such as tag people, tag products, and adding a message button. In the “Add topics” section, you can tap and select any topics that apply to your reel topic to boost your reach a little bit.

Another setting that is important to look at is your Advanced Settings. Here, you’ll see options such as allowing your reel to be a template, allowing gifts on your reels, or scheduling. I do not recommend using the Instagram app to schedule your content as it can cause glitches. We prefer to manually post our reels. 

Accessibility 

Under “Accessibility” you can turn on “show captions.” If you did not add captions to the reel itself, you can toggle this on to autogenerate captions that will appear below your reel. I recommend using one or the other (but not both).

Data Usage

At the bottom of this list, under “Data usage,” I recommend toggling ON this option so that your reel uploads at the highest quality. That means, if you’re not connected to Wi-Fi, your reel will upload at the highest possible quality based on your data. It will take more data to upload it, but the quality will be better on your final reel.

Save Your Draft

Once you’re finished with your reel settings, tap “Save Draft” in the bottom left corner, or, share your reel if you’re ready to post. If you save your draft, go back to your reel editing screen, and tap the preview button in the bottom left corner. Here, you can see all of your reels drafts. Once finished, you’ve officially learned how to create a reel!

Free Reels Class

If you have any questions about this tutorial, drop a comment! We’d love to help in any way we can. If you haven’t already, check out my FREE reels class. The class will give you an idea of how to be strategic with the reels you create specifically to grow your business reach and gain more customers through Instagram. It’s about one hour long and full of educational content that I could not get into in this tutorial.

If you’re new around here, follow me on Instagram! There, I share daily business advice and help you grow your visibility online and grow a business that you love. I’ll see you in next week’s video!