Instagram Reels Templates: Create Better Content, Faster
Finally, a new feature from Instagram that makes our lives easier. If you’ve been intimidated by Reels, the new Instagram Reels templates will be your new bffs.
With Instagram’s significant shift towards short-form video, Reels are now a primary focus of most marketers’ Instagram strategies. An Instagram survey revealed that 91% of users watch videos weekly, so it’s no surprise to see more and more companies ramping up their video content creation.
The main thing stopping most creators and businesses from creating a mountainous pile of Reels is the time it takes to create each one.
Lucky for us, Instagram recently released several Reels updates, including a new Reels Templates feature, making it much quicker to create Reels.
Bonus: Download the free 10-Day Reels Challenge, a daily workbook of creative prompts that will help you get started with Instagram Reels, track your growth, and see results across your entire Instagram profile.
What are Instagram Reels templates?
Instagram Reels templates allow you to create a Reel using pre-set music and clip durations from existing Reels. You can use templates from any Reels that have music and at least three clips.
The beauty of Instagram Reels templates is that they eliminate some of the most time-consuming steps of creating Reels: selecting music and editing clips together to match the music. This means that you can spend less time editing and jump in earlier on trends!
Without Reels templates, if you want to re-use another Reel’s music and timings, you’d have to guess and adjust each clip length yourself manually.
How to use Instagram Reels templates
It’s super easy to get started with Instagram Reels templates. We’ll walk you through it.
1. Find a template
There are two different ways to find templates for Instagram Reels:
- Visit the Reels tab, tap on the camera, then switch from Reel to Templates
- While watching any Reel in your feed, look for ones that have a “Use template” button
Pro tip: As you’re scrolling through your Instagram feed, if you come across a template that you like, save the Reel so that you can use it later as a template.
2. Add clips to the template
Once you’ve selected your template, tap Use template. You’ll be brought to a screen where you can select your own photos or videos from your camera roll to insert into the placeholders.
Tap on the placeholders or Add media. Then, select photos or clips in the order you wish them to appear in the Reel.
If you wish to change a clip, tap on the individual placeholder and select a different clip.
Once you’ve selected your clips, tap Next.
3. Adjust clips
When using a template, you can’t change the length of each clip. However, you can change which portion of the clip is shown. To do that, tap a clip and move the white box to your desired portion of the clip.
When you’re happy with each clip’s alignment, tap Next.
4. Edit and upload!
At this step, you can add text, stickers, filters, or drawings to your Reel.
Once you tap Next, you’ll have the usual options before publishing a Reel: adding a cover, caption, location, tags, and other settings. Then hit Next to publish!
5 Tips for making better Reels
From picking the right audio to the right time to post, there are many things you can do to help your Instagram Reels succeed. We’ve curated five tips to level up your Reels below.
Use trending music or templates
The advantage of using trending music is that it can help your Instagram Reels achieve better engagement and exposure through the music track’s page.
The same principle can also be applied to Instagram Reels templates. By using trending ones, you’re more likely to engage viewers (who are familiar with the template).
Repurpose existing content
Creating content can take up serious time. But Instagram Reel Templates make it easy to re-use existing content, such as your Instagram Stories clips. All you need to do is find the right template and insert your Stories as video clips into the template.
Experiment and use analytics to see what works
Want to know why some of your Reels perform better than others? The answers lie within your Instagram Reels Insights.
In addition to looking at the number of likes, comments, saves, and shares, you can also compare reach and plays across individual Reels. We recommend experimenting with different templates, lengths, and audio options and seeing what works for your audience.
Once you identify your top-performing Reels, keep producing more of the same type.
Use the right specs and posting times
Two more ways to give your Instagram Reels the best chance to succeed: use the right creative specs and best posting times.
This guide explains how to identify the best times to post Instagram Reels. Psst: Hootsuite provides recommendations for the best time to based on your past posts. You can see the suggestions within the Composer when scheduling an Instagram Reel.
Optimize your Reel’s hashtags
You’ve put in the work choosing the right content, template, music, and time to post. The last step? Optimizing your caption and hashtags.
We know how much time it can take to research hashtags. So, we put together a list of 150+ hashtags for fitness, travel, food, fashion and more.
Frequently asked questions about Instagram Reels templates
Why do some Reels not have the “Use template” option?
A Reel must have music and at least three clips edited together within the Instagram app to be used as a template.
How do I create my own Instagram Reel template?
Once you publish a Reel, it will automatically be turned into a Reels template as long as your Reel meets the criteria above (contains music and three or more clips that were edited together in Instagram). Your account must also be public.
Why can’t I see the templates tab?
As with most new features, Instagram is rolling it out gradually to users. If you don’t see it yet, you should get access soon! In the meantime, make sure to keep your Instagram app up-to-date.
Take the pressure off real-time posting with Reels scheduling from Hootsuite. Schedule, post, and see what’s working and what’s not with easy-to-use analytics that help you activate viral mode.
Save time and stress less with easy Reels scheduling and performance monitoring from Hootsuite. Trust us, it’s reely easy.