Your Quick

Guide to Reels
Learn the elements of a successful
Instagram Reel and how to provide value.
Plus content ideas and planning
worksheets to get you started.

MELISSABAILEY.CA
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Let's start
with a little
intro.

Hi, I'm Mel.

Instagram Coach & Content Creator

I'm an entrepreneur, Instagram marketing coach, content creator and mom.

After completing an education in marketing, I went on to work in various marketing roles

for multiple companies before founding my own business within the beauty industry. I
grew my brand using social media to an international level, my products were available
in boutique retailers across Canada, in the US and Australia. My business was featured in
Elle, Brides and EnRoute magazine.

When I had my daughter in 2019 I decided to shut that business down and take a break.
Shortly after I pivoted to Instagram coaching. I love being able to empower other female
entrepreneurs, through tools and education, to grow businesses that create the impact
and income they desire.

I grew my own Instagram community from 2500 to 26K in 4 months, scaled my coaching
business and helped 100+ other entrepreneurs do the same.

I'm here to help you show up to Instagram with confidence and clarity so you can attract
your ideal customers, generate sales and scale your own business.

I love sharing tips and tricks on all things Instagram marketing over on Instagram
@hellomel.lo so make sure you follow along.
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What are Instagram Reels?

Reels are Instagram’s latest video

feature. They are 15, 30 and 60
second multi-clip videos you can set
to audio and music.

You can also add text, effects and

make them fun with transitions.

And they’re taking over as the next

big thing.

So why should you start creating

them?

The simplest answer - using reels as

part of your content strategy for
your business can help to generate
growth, leads, sales and exposure.

Since using reels I grew my audience from 2500 to over 26k! And I'm not the only one.
Many of my students have also seen explosive growth using reels.
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Elements of a
successful reel
Key elements that can help increase your
chances of your reel being a success.
Be original & be you
Make reels your own by putting your
own spin on it and infusing your unique
personality. People can feel when you’re
being authentic and when you’re not.
Know your niche
You’ve got to know who you’re speaking
to and who you’re directing your content
to. When you create content specifically
for your niche you’re going to attract the
right people to your reel.
Provide value
People watch (and then follow) what
adds value to their lives. You want to
engage them and that can be achieved
by entertaining, educating and/or
inspiring them.
Leverage the trends
Choosing the right audio plays a bigger
role than you might think. When you
jump on a trend it makes your video
much more likely to get seen by more
people. Just remember to put your own
spin on a trend.
INSTAGRAM REELS

Providing value
Your reels need to Entertain, Educate and/or Inspire. Mix these up for well-
rounded and diverse content your audience will love - and built the know like
and trust factor. And all of these allow for so much creativity.

Entertain Educate Inspire (or

Make your audience
laugh or feel good.
Distract them from
everyday life and give
them a change to
escape for a few
seconds. This is a chance
to make them feel.
This type of reel is great
for building the like
factor.
motivate)
Teach your audience
something - a diy or a
Evoke emotion from
how to. This type of reel
your audience and offer
allows you to show your
something your
expertise and position
audience may be able to
yourself as an expert in
relate to like a before
your niche. It also gives
and after. Don't be afraid
your audience a quick
to dig deep for these
win because it’s
ones.
something they can
implement themselves
These reels allow your
and see a change or a
audience to know you
result.
better (the know factor).

This type of reel builds

trust.

Structure of a
successful reel
7 steps

Start with a hook

01 This is how you pique your audience’s interest, you want to stop their
scroll by getting their attention within the first 3 seconds. You can do
this through text/a headline, a transition/movement or music.
INSTAGRAM REELS

Give people a reason to stay until the end

02 If you create a longer reel it can be worth it to let your audience know
there’s something in it for them if they continue watch until the end
(the algorithim favours videos watched all the way through).

Introduce the content (aka the value)

03 This is the meat of the reel. Pack it with educational, inspiring or

entertaining content. It needs to make your audience want to go check
out your account, follow you if they don’t already or binge your other
videos.

Infuse transitions

04 Not necessary but they make for a more interesting reel. They do take
some practice but don’t worry they’re not as tricky as they look). And will
keep viewers around longer.

End with a call to action

05 Your audience needs to know what to do next. Whether it’s to follow,

click your link in profile, send the reel to a friend or read the caption. This
will help promote engagement on your reel and profile which
Instagram favours.

Caption as needed

06 If you’re video is self-explanatory you might not need a long caption. If

you can’t fit everything you want to say in your reel, put it in your
caption and make sure your call to action on your reel says “read the
caption for more info”.

Add your hashtags

07 Yes, hashtags work for reels too! They appear in searches and the
explore page so you don’t want to miss out on the opportunity for your
reel to be seen by more people.
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10 content ideas for reels

Use the content ideas below for your next reels. I also suggest going back
through your old content to see how you can repurpose it into reels and look
through the BSC captions to see if something inspires you there.

01: Intro 02: FAQ

Introduce yourself and share 3 fun facts Take a frequently asked question from
about you. your inbox or comments and answer it.

03: Before & after 04: A day in the life

Share where you started vs. where you Take your audience along and show
are now and how you got there. them a typical day in your life.

05: Product spotlight 06: Morning routine

Share a favourite product and how you Take your audience through your
incorporate it into your daily life. morning routine - what you do, what you
eat, what skincare you use.

07: Advice 08: BTS

Give a piece of advice you wish you you'd Take the audience behind the scenes of
been given when you were starting out. your business.

09: Inspiration 10: Hack

Show your Pinterest board or piece Share something you do daily that could
together some images bringing you make someone else's life easier.
inspiration lately.
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Batch creating reels

Batching means carving out time to create multiple reels at once so that
they’re prepped and ready to post ahead of time. And ideally sticking to that
time every week or month (whatever works for you) to get them done.

Research Schedule time

Spend time scrolling through reels to
get inspired and find trends that you can
put your own spin on and cater it to your
niche. Save the sounds and keep note of
your ideas.
Set aside time in your calendar, ideally 1
to 3 hours for 5-7 reels. Timing will
depend on how many reels you want to
make and how complicated you plan on
making them (ie. lots of tricky
transitions, outfit changes, etc.).

Prep Film then edit & always save

Choose your topics, write outlines (what
you'll say or caption). how you want the
clips shot. what props or outfits you need
and any equipment required. Use the
printable planner on the next page.
Do all of your filming first. Add text and
captions after. Remember to always save
your filmed clips as drafts to Instagram
AND to your phone. You don’t want to
risk loosing your hard work.
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Reels Planner

Print this out and use it to outline and prepare for your Reel before filming.
Prefer to plan online? Click here for my Reel Ideas Google spreadsheet.
Just remember to make a copy for yourself before adding your own ideas!

Content pillar:

Reel topic: Value:

(educational, entertaining or inspiring)

Hook/Headline: Call to action:

Audio:

Outline:

Props/equipment: Outfits:
 DISCLAIMER & TERMS OF USE

All documents by Melissa Bailey are intended

for personal use and cannot be redistributed,
resold or traded.

Your download, purchase and/or use of these

products constitutes your agreement to follow
and be bound by these Terms of Use.

MELISSABAILEY.CA