41. Reels 101 For Business: Everything You Need to Know to Start Growing Your Brand on Instagram (part 1)
If you’re not creating Instagram Reels for your business yet, you’re leaving money—and clients—on the table. Do you feel Reels might be the secret sauce to growing your business, but you’re unsure where to start? This episode is for you! I’m breaking down why Reels should be central to your Instagram marketing strategy and sharing an easy-to-follow method to help you get started today.
Plus, you’ll hear a real-life story about stepping out of my comfort zone during my biggest speaking engagement to date—and how that ties into your journey as a business owner.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
[02:30] The Power of Reels: Why Instagram Reels are the most effective content format for reaching new audiences.
[06:15] Boosting Brand Visibility: How Reels help you get in front of people who don’t yet follow your brand.
[08:25] The Triple E Formula: Create educational, entertaining, and emotional content that connects with your ideal audience.
[12:15] How the Algorithm Works: Demystifying how Instagram sorts and prioritizes content—and what that means for your Reels strategy.
[17:40] Reels vs. Paid Ads: Why organic content can be just as impactful as paid ads.
[21:10] Building Confidence on Camera: Overcome your fears and start showing up authentically for your audience.
[25:30] Reel Success Stories: A behind-the-scenes look at how my Reels strategy helped grow my business by 84% in a year—without spending a dime on ads.
[28:45] Next Steps for You: Simple, actionable tips to start creating scroll-stopping Reels today.
Key Takeaways:
Maximize Reach: Instagram Reels have the highest reach rate of any content type on the platform, offering a prime opportunity to get your brand in front of new audiences.
Boost Engagement: Reels naturally drive higher interaction rates, leading to more likes, comments, saves, and shares, which further amplifies your content's visibility.
Create Shareable Content: Utilize the Triple E Formula—Educational, Entertaining, Emotional—to craft Reels that resonate with viewers and encourage them to share with their networks.
Consistency is Key: Aim to post at least three Reels per week to build momentum, gather data, and enhance your presence on Instagram.
⏭️Don’t Miss This: Next week, you’ll learn the seven viral Reel ideas and formulas you can swipe for your business—so make sure you subscribe to Strut It!
Links mentioned in this episode:
JOIN HOT REELS: The 12-Month Instagram Content Lab
An intimate, strategy-packed mentorship for established business owners ready to create killer content that stops the scroll, grows your following and attracts your dreamboat clients (even if you have no idea what to post and feel like you’re always throwing spaghetti at the wall!)
FREE guide to Monetize Your IG: Seven Simple and Proven Ways to Finally Make Money on Instagram
Apply for your FREE Instagram Breakthrough Call with Elizabeth
Quote
"Stepping out of your comfort zone isn’t a problem—it’s proof that you’re playing big in your business."
S3 Ep41 Transcript: Reels 101 For Business: Everything You Need to Know to Start Growing Your Brand on Instagram (part 1)
00:00
Whether you're in the habit of posting Reels each week for your business, or it's been on the back burner of your marketing list, today's episode is for you. I'm gonna break down exactly why Reels need to be a central part of your Instagram marketing strategy, and I'm gonna teach you a really simple and effective way to start using Reels today to boost your brand visibility, attract more of those dreamboat customers, and ultimately boost your bottom line. Are you ready? Let's do it.
00:32
Welcome to Strut It, a podcast about creating bold visibility on social media with zero apologies. I'm Elizabeth Marberry, your host and Instagram marketing coach. I help small business owners get seen on Instagram and monetize their offers so they can make more money doing their sole led work. If you're tired of spinning your wheels on Instagram and you're seeking simple, proven Instagram marketing strategies that actually work, you're in the right place.
01:01
Let's dive in.
01:09
Welcome back to the show. It's Elizabeth Marberry. And each week, my goal is to simplify Instagram so you can really start to use this free tool to work for your business. And I'm thrilled to announce that today is actually part one of a three-part mini series that we're releasing all about how to use Instagram Reels to grow your business. So you're finding yourself in part one, and then part two and three will be dropping in the next couple of weeks.
01:37
If you are already leveraging Reels in your business, this is gonna be super helpful. If you're new to Reels, you feel like, oh my gosh, maybe I missed the boat here. You absolutely didn't, I got you, and we are going to get you up to speed so you can really feel confident in using this platform to grow your business. Before we get into the goods, I wanna share that I recently returned from my big speaking engagement in Las Vegas where I spoke at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
02:04
for a conference called the Wedding MBA, which is a conference which attracts over 6,000 wedding professionals from all over the world. It was the biggest stage I ever spoke on. I got to present in my Zona Genius, which is Instagram marketing, of course. And I wanna share just a quick little story with you. And if you follow me on Instagram and you watch my stories, you may have heard me talk about this, but I just wanna share this quick little tidbit, which is...
02:31
The day of my speech, I didn't speak until around 3.30 in the afternoon. So that day I was really mindful of my energy of making sure I got plenty of sleep the night before, lots of water. I had hair and makeup come to my hotel room in Vegas, which was incredible. I had my hair done, my makeup done, I had my dress, I was rocking it. And I had this moment in the hotel room where I was totally by myself before I went over to the convention center.
03:00
where I seriously felt like I was gonna throw up. Like I was so nervous. And I wanna pull the curtain back and share this with you because I think sometimes when we see people on a big stage or we see people that we deem as, oh wow, they look so successful or they look so confident, sometimes we have a story going in our minds of it must be easier for them or they just must be a natural at this or whatever story we tell ourselves. I know I do it all the time.
03:29
And when I was in my hotel room by myself, I seriously had this moment of, oh my gosh, what am I doing? Like, who am I to do this? Who am I to speak on the stage? Like, what if I mess up? What if people judge me? What if I totally forget everything? Like, I had this little spiral moment. I got into my Uber and I was on my way over to the convention center. I called my husband and thank goodness he was there and he was there to just ground me and be like, you've got this.
03:59
you were made to do this, like, let's go. And just talking to him really helped me. And then what was really interesting is that when I walked into the convention center and I started to see all the participants and attendees and other speakers, I immediately felt more at ease. And my presentation went so well. Was it perfect? No, but...
04:24
I showed up as my authentic self. I served, I felt very well prepared with my slides and my talking points. And I was really trying to engage the audience so it didn't feel like I was just speaking at them for 30 minutes. And I felt like that went really well. And it's kind of one of those things where, and I can relate to this as a former professional dancer, is you do all your rehearsals, you practice, you practice, you practice.
04:53
you get on stage and it's kind of this blur, but it's like a euphoric blur. I just loved being up there. I loved serving and it went by so quickly. I got off the stage. I got so much positive feedback, which I was very, very grateful for. Made lots of wonderful connections and everything. But I did want to share that piece with you of I felt like I was going to barf. I had a moment of imposter syndrome. I...
05:20
doubted myself, all of my shadows came up. I share this with you because I want you to know that when you start to step out of your comfort zone in your business, in your life as a leader, you are going to bump up against all of those shadows, all those pieces of your innermost self that are gonna say, is this safe? This doesn't feel safe, this is scary.
05:42
And this is actually a biological thing. Our nervous systems go into fight or flight when we try new things, because our bodies are designed to keep us safe and small and protected. So every time you really step out of your comfort zone, you're gonna feel that sensation in your body of, I don't know if I should do this. And I just wanna say that that feeling is not a problem. Can we please normalize it and actually invite that feeling in? Because when you are in
06:11
that space when you are playing in that space, that means that you are living your best life. You are living into your fullest potential. And I want that for you. And I know that you're that person because you're listening to this podcast. So if you ever start to notice that fear bubble up and maybe for you, it's like the first time you go to record a reel and you're about to speak on camera and you feel all those uncomfortable sensations. Welcome to the club. This is how we grow and evolve.
06:40
within ourselves and it's how we serve our people. So keep showing up. Okay, so let's get into part one of this three-part mini-series on Reels. Today is really like Reels 101 for business. I wanna lay a groundwork of really everything you need to know to start growing your brand on Instagram with Reels. And let's talk about like why Reels even matter. So here's the deal. Instagram Reels have the highest reach of any content type.
07:09
Different studies have different stats around this, but the reach percentage is around 30 to 37% compared to other posts like carousels or images. And here's another wild stat that I found. 694,000 reels are sent via DM every minute. Almost 700,000 reels are sent every minute via DM. So that's a massive opportunity for your content.
07:38
to get shared and seen by new people, new potential customers of your product or service. Instagram users are spending about 50% of their time watching Reels, with 140 billion Reels played daily across Instagram and Facebook. So in this episode, we're gonna cover why Reels really outperform other content and how the Instagram algorithm works so you can really understand.
08:05
how to create content that's gonna get in front of your ideal people. And I'm gonna be teaching you the key elements to craft a reel that gets more shares, saves, and sales. So you already can feel into why reels are a game changer for businesses in terms of reaching new people. They are significantly higher than other forms of content on the app. And Instagram actively prioritizes reels in the feed and on the explore page.
08:35
They're the most engaging content on the platform right now. Now I did an episode a few weeks ago that carousel posts are starting to be shown on the Reels tab, which is fantastic. But even with that new data, Reels are still getting the most reach above carousel posts. So three reasons why Reels works so well for businesses and brands. Number one is boosting your brand visibility.
09:04
Because reels are shown to people who don't already follow you yet, they're the best way to get your brand in front of new people, okay? So that's where when someone comes to me and says, Elizabeth, I want to grow my following for my company, my first question is, are you using reels and are you using them strategically? The second reason why reels work so well for business is engagement.
09:31
engagement is so important on Instagram. And that's really tied into how the algorithm works. And we're gonna dive into that in a little bit. But I wanna highlight that Reels naturally drive higher engagement rates. So engagement meaning like likes, comments, saves, shares, which boost their reach even further.
09:56
And the reason for this is the format. So reels are short form video format. And video is a perfect vehicle to entertain customers, educate them, invoke emotion in our potential clients. And that is done so well through video. Not to say that a static image, a photo can't do that. A photo absolutely can. But as we all know, a video is like a photo that's come to life.
10:26
And so Reels are such a beautiful opportunity to show the three dimensional aspect of your brand, your personality, your mission, your values, and really start to serve your people today. The third reason why Reels work for business is conversion. So Reels are a fantastic way when you strategically with a strong call to action, CTA, Reels can really move the people who are just watching your videos and just binging on your content.
10:56
directly into your paid offers or directly into some sort of a freebie or a lead magnet so you can build your email list or even into a direct message conversation because we know that sales come from conversations. So if you can get into conversation with a prospect in your DMs, that can be really effective as well.
11:19
So knowing that the users spend about half their time watching Reels and over 140 billion Reels are played daily, really should get you excited because this is where your audience is hanging out. And if you know anything about marketing, which of course you do, you're here, your business needs to be showing up where your ideal clients are hanging out and that is on Instagram. So let's break down how the Instagram algorithm works for Reels. And it's actually very simple.
11:49
So what does Instagram prioritize? The algorithm really boosts content that keeps people engaged and on the platform longer. Instagram makes money by selling ads on their platform. They want people to be consuming content. The more you are consuming content on their app, the more money Instagram makes. So for Reels, this means focusing on creating shareable content.
12:19
Let's say you create a video and I'm like, oh, this is so good. My business bestie, Leah, would totally benefit from this. I'm gonna share it to her. Every share amplifies your content beyond your followers, right, because if she sees it and she likes it and she's not already following you, she might give you a follow. She might also send it to another business owner or she might share it to her story, which we get in front of hundreds or thousands of possible.
12:47
other people who don't already follow your brand. So shares are one of the best ways to grow your company on Instagram right now is creating share worthy content. Now what is share worthy content? It's that relatable content where you're like, oh my gosh, how did Elizabeth just like crawl inside my brain and know exactly what I'm dealing with right now in my business. Or content that is entertaining, that makes you laugh, like memes, I love using memes for this
13:17
Memes are just funny in and of themselves and you can get really creative with how you position your messaging around using a meme. But that kind of entertaining, make me laugh, teach me something new, make me really feel seen and heard and understood, that kind of content is very share worthy. Saves are awesome too. That signals to the algorithm that your content is valuable enough for that user to want to revisit.
13:46
comments and likes are great for engagement and all of that. So you wanna think about really driving engagement with each of your posts because as your engagement goes up with shares, saves, likes, comments, Instagram will see it as high value content and will push it out to a broader audience, including people who don't already follow you.
14:14
And the algorithm's job is really just to sort content into the right buckets. So let's say Greg is obsessed with Porsche's and he's consuming a lot of car and Porsche content on Instagram. What does Instagram want? Instagram wants Greg to keep spending more time on Instagram. So it's gonna start showing Greg more Porsche content and Porsche related content. So that's why
14:43
depending on what you consume on Instagram, that will determine what starts to show up in your feed. And I'm sure if you're listening to this, you're thinking, okay, this happens to me all the time. I know this happened to me. My feed has been totally taken over by dogs lately. We lost our dog Albert. He passed away a couple of years ago. We still haven't taken the plunge on getting another dog. Two young children is more than enough. Two businesses, two young children, a family.
15:10
I'm good, I don't need more complexity in my life right now, but maybe at some point I'll want a dog. But even with that being said, I love dog videos. I love little puppy videos like these Bernadoodle videos. My husband and I send those back and forth to each other. And so now I go on Instagram and I see all these cute little Bernadoodle videos. And that's because Instagram is trying to just serve me what it thinks I want, okay? So that's what you wanna think about when you're creating your content
15:40
You want to create content that activates your ideal customer. So that way they really want to engage with it. And then they and other people like them, who are your ideal client avatars, will start to see more of your content. And that's how you can really get in front of more people. I hope that makes sense. The other thing I love about this idea of just creating a really compelling, like entertaining piece of content for your brand is that
16:08
you can grow your brand visibility, you can get in front of new people without spending a dime on paid ads. So everything that I'm teaching you in this podcast, in this mini series, in all my programs, it is all organic, meaning no paid ads, and it's powerful. So yes, it's effort to create content, but the payoff can be so major. In fact, when I went all in on our Instagram real strategy for my dance studio business,
16:38
We got over 5,000 new people on our email list. We grew our Instagram to over 50,000 followers, our TikTok to over 40,000 followers, with essentially just repurposing a lot of my Instagram content over to TikTok. And within 12 months, we had an 84% increase in revenue. Now, was it effort creating content every day? Absolutely, but I didn't spend one dime on paid ads to have that 84% increase in revenue. So to me,
17:07
It's a no brainer and once you get over the little hump of the learning curve, you will really start to see that ROI. So what should you be posting in your Instagram wheels? Let's get into what type of content does really well on Instagram and how you can use this formula for your business. So I call it the triple E formula and it's this, educational, entertaining and emotional content.
17:34
So one is educational content. So teach your audience something valuable. Teach them something that is gonna help them. This is where you have to be really clear on your target market research. Like who is your ideal client prospect? What are they struggling with? And what's a small problem they're having today that you can help them solve? You can think about like frequently asked questions that you get as a business owner. I know for both of my businesses, I get a lot of the same kinds of questions.
18:03
kind of FAQ is really great to create content around. That's great educational content. You also can create content that's maybe a step or two ahead of your clients where they're not even thinking about that problem yet, but you're already helping them to think ahead and solve those problems. As you do this, you become known as an expert in your field and people really start to think of you as that go-to expert.
18:32
entertaining content, use humor, use trends, make people laugh or feel connected. And if you feel like you're unclear as to ideas of what would be entertaining content, just go spend five minutes scrolling your reels on Instagram. You're gonna see what I'm talking about in terms of entertaining content that makes you laugh. And then what you can look at is how to reverse engineer what they're doing for your audience. The third E is emotional.
19:01
So if you share a relatable or inspiring story or a motivational story, like why I started my business and how it's changed my life, or maybe you're sharing a really raw and vulnerable struggle that you went through and how you made it out to the other side. People really want to connect with other people. The more transparent and authentic and vulnerable you can be, the better.
19:26
And I know sometimes there's a block there because it feels like, well, this is a business, you know, like I'm not comfortable sharing that or I'm not comfortable sharing this. And that's totally fine. I'll give you an example in my business. I am a mother of two young kids and I don't talk about my kids in my content. I don't share pictures of them. I don't share videos of them. That is a very conscious decision that my husband and I made when I was building this like public brand. So you get to decide what feels
19:56
authentic and what feels aligned for you. There's no one way of doing it. And remember, there's no one way of doing it. For example, if you follow my stories, I'm not sharing every detail of my life. A lot of influencers are like, this is what I had for breakfast and now I'm going to the mill. You know, now I'm going to the post office and I'm doing this and look at my kids, they're doing that and no judgment against that. But that's like not me. That's not my style. I don't feel comfortable sharing like every detail of my life.
20:26
but I still am totally myself in my content. Of course, I choose what I want to share, but everything I share is very authentic, it's very raw, it's very real. So you have to make it make sense for you. It has to feel aligned for you. And bonus points, if it can feel really pleasurable, if it can bring you any kind of joy in creating or expressing, the more you can really tap into that joy.
20:50
the more you're gonna want to start creating more and more content. But just know that in the beginning, it is sticky. It's like learning a new skill. It takes time and practice. But once you start getting those reps in, you will get so much more stronger, you will be more confident, and your content will become more effective. And you may be wondering, okay, this is great. I create entertaining reels, they get lots of shares and saves. How does this really build my business?
21:16
This is the work that we do in Hot Reels, my 12 month Instagram content lab, is you are learning how to become masterful and not only creating reels that are saveable, shareable, that actually perform well, but you are learning how to be strategic as to how to get that content to actually move the needle for your business. Before I learned all this stuff, I would have reels that would go viral for me.
21:44
and they wouldn't really do a lot for my business. And while it's fun to have a video blow up, if it's not building my email list or if it's not getting a new podcast listener or if it's not bringing in a new speaking gig or people into my coaching program, I don't really care, right? Like I'm here to connect with people and build a business. And so that is what I'm so passionate about is because so many creators on Instagram, you'll see they have hundreds of thousands of followers.
22:10
but they have no real strategy as to how I'm gonna convert these people into paying clients. And that is my zone of genius. And that is what I will help you determine in Hot Reels, the 12 month Instagram content lab. The doors are now open for enrollment. We only open them up a couple times a year. So if you want to explore more about that program, go to elizabethmarbury.com slash hot.
22:37
and you can learn more about the program and you can join. Again, it's elizabethmarbury.com slash hot for more information on the Hot Reels Instagram Content Lab. It's a small intimate group container and you're in a room with other ambitious business owners who are trying to understand how Instagram works and how they can use this free tool to grow their business. It's super fun and effective and I would love to see you in there. So let's break down the components of a high performing reel. There's five things.
23:07
One is your hook. The first one to three seconds of your video should stop the scroll. This could be a text overlay, this could be an audio that you're using, a really amazing visual, or ideally all three. I always try to include text, some sort of visual component that really captures the tension, but you need to be able to stop the scroll. We are living in an attention economy, and that is part of what I will teach you in Hot Reels is how to capture attention.
23:37
in a way that doesn't feel clickbaity or yucky or gimmicky or any of that, but really attracts like a magnet, your ideal client to your content. The second component is value. You need to deliver actual value in your video or in your caption. And what is the value? It's exactly what we already talked about. It's the educational piece. It's the entertainment. If you're making me laugh, that's bringing me value. If you're helping me to feel motivated, that's really valuable.
24:05
So use that triple E formula in your content. The third component is a call to action. So you need to tell people what to do with your content. So whether that's follow for more XYZ for small business owners or whatever it is, save this reel if it was helpful or comment guide to start growing your Instagram. You need to think about what is the goal? What is your goal of your content and then have a really clear call to action. The fourth component is
24:35
with a hook at the very top line of your caption, okay? So this is where a lot of us go wrong, is the top line of your caption is prime real estate because when you're scrolling on Reels, you can only see the first like five words of someone's caption, and then you have to click the little dot dot dot to expand their caption and read it. Now most people won't do that, but if you have a really compelling hook at the top line of your caption,
25:03
then people will want to read your caption and go deeper. And of course we want them to do that because the more they spend time with you and you serve them and you help them, that will build that know, like, and trust factor driving them to be one of your customers and clients. And the fifth component is include hashtags at the bottom. You don't need to overthink this. You can include anywhere from seven to 30 hashtags. I recommend that they're really niche and they're very specific to whatever the content.
25:31
is about. So I know today's episode was a lot and your head might be spinning a little, you might feel like, oh my gosh, I'm drinking from a fire hose. So I just want to break down your next steps. Number one, if you're like, I'm so excited to grow my brand on Instagram, but I feel overwhelmed and I need support. I want you to message me about hot reels. You can direct message me on my Instagram at Elizabeth Marbury. M-A-R-B-E-R-R-Y.
26:01
DM me with the word hot and my little robot assistant will send you a link, but then I will follow up with a voice note, I love connecting one to one with my people in the DM. So don't hesitate to reach out to me if you're like, okay, I wanna do this, but I'm feeling a little stuck. The second step is you really just need to decide, do you want to use Reels to grow your business? Do you want to use this platform to grow your business?
26:26
You don't have to. There's lots of other ways to grow your business online. Instagram is so powerful. And to me, it's the most fun I've ever had in marketing my business. But for you, if it's like nails on a chalkboard, maybe this isn't the right step for you. So ask yourself, do you want to use Reels to grow your business? If it's a heck yes, what do you want your Instagram to do for your business in the next 12 months?
26:56
Take a moment and just ask yourself like, okay, I wanna dream big. Like what do I want my Instagram to do for me in the next 12 months? There's a reason why Hot Reels is a 12 month container. This stuff takes time and it's actually more effective and more fun and more sustainable when you give yourself some spaciousness to learn the skills, to practice, to experiment and implement and then you will really start to see those conversions.
27:25
It happens every week in our Hot Reels group and it is the most fun. The third question I want you to ask yourself, who is your dreamboat customer? I'm sure you've already asked yourself this before, but ask yourself again, go deeper. And then what kind of content do you feel called to make? Because maybe your dreamboat customer wants this one thing, but that's not something that you really wanna create content around. So you need to find that middle ground between
27:54
What does your ideal customer want and need? How can you really solve those problems and give them solutions and lead them into the next step, which is your product or service? And what kind of content do you as a creator, as a creatrix want to create? And then that middle ground is really what is the basis and foundation of your Instagram content strategy.
28:21
Lastly, I want you to leave this episode and today or tomorrow, will you go create a reel and post it, even if it's imperfect, even if you're like, okay, I think I got like one or two of the things Elizabeth said today, I want you to take action. You learn by doing, you learn by practicing, don't get stuck in binging on podcast episodes and buying these low ticket courses and never completing them or watching them or implementing them.
28:50
My friend, you learn by doing, so start today, take some action, create a reel and post it. And when you do, I want you to tag me in the comments and say, Elizabeth, I did it. I posted a reel, I'm celebrating myself, this is a huge win and I will be there with you, I will be rooting you on and cheering for you because I know you can do this and I'm here to make it easier and much more effective for your bottom line.
29:19
I hope you got a lot of value out of today's episode. Next week, I'm gonna be sharing with you seven viral real ideas and formulas that you can swipe for your business. So make sure you have subscribed to the show so you do not miss when that drops. As always, if this episode served you, please share it with another business owner who is trying to figure out this beast that is Instagram. I would love to help them as well.
29:47
And of course, if you're curious about jumping into my high touch group mentorship container, Hot Reels, the 12 month Instagram content lab, you can go to elizabethmarberry.com slash hot for more information and the link to join, or you can send me a direct message, hot, H-O-T on Instagram and I will be sure to get back to you ASAP. I'm sending you so much love and support. As you go out, you create and you show up as your real raw self on social media.
30:18
I cannot wait to strut it with you next week. Thank you for listening to Strut It. If you're ready to start leveraging Instagram to grow your business, then you're gonna wanna grab my free Monetize Your IG Guide, where you'll learn seven simple and proven ways to finally make money on Instagram. You can grab your guide at elizabethmarberry.com slash freebies.
30:44
If you've got some incredible value from today's episode, be sure to leave a review and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. And I cannot wait to start it with you again next week.