Here's Why Your Beauty Brand Needs to Focus on Instagram Reels

In the 2010s, Instagram was the power behind the throne for beauty brands, giving them a major boost in the direct-to-consumer game. Legends like Glossier, Anastasia Beverly Hills, and Frank Body benefited considerably by being early adopters of the platform.

Instagram has since changed quite a bit and incorporated plenty of new features, Reels being one of them. Initially, IG users needed clarification about Reels, feeling like videos would negatively take away from Instagram’s identity as a picture-only social platform. However, Reels have become an intregral part of the social media app since that time.

So all of this being said, let’s take a look at why your beauty brand needs to take advantage of Instagram Reels.

1. Wide Audience Reach

According to DigiVizer, influencers and fashion and makeup brands have noticed they get way more views and engagement when they share Reels. Reportedly, one Instagram creator gained over 2,800 new followers in just a month by posting Reels daily. The views come from the enormous numbers of people spending a lot of time online on their phones, browsing, shopping, reading, and interacting with other people and brands.

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers conducted a survey showing that, at 51%, mobile media time in the U.S. has considerably surpassed desktop time at 41%. The ratio now stands at 2:1. So create engaging Reels and showcase all your makeup products creatively, being assured that you will reach a broader audience that includes potential customers who may not follow or know your brand yet.

2. Viral Potential

It’s entertaining to realize that you don’t have to have the best video production skills to go viral on the internet. Some of the most viral videos were blurry, shaky, and shot using phones. A viral makeup Reel can rapidly increase brand visibility and attract new followers as people attempt to recreate it using your products to ‘prove’ legitimacy. Usually, the more people buy your makeup to try and replicate the look, the better it is for you, even if some give negative reviews.

The algorithm doesn’t read what people say about the Reel to propel it into viability; the video needs to engage with many people commenting, liking, and especially sharing. Make sure the audio is just right, too; that’ll make it easier for people to use it to recreate your Reel.

3. Build Brand Personality

Did you know that The Business Journal reports over 335,000 businesses registered in Kentucky alone? However, many of the businesses are doing the same thing. It’s easy to get swallowed up and not stand out uniquely in this market. Well, unless you begin to focus on Reels. Reels are a genius way to refine and showcase your makeup brand’s unique personality, values, and distinctive style.

Some of the most admirable beauty brands have managed to create and sustain unique personalities online, serving their business interests by making them unforgettable, relatable, and desirable. See the likes of Fenty Beauty with their ‘Breaking the mold’ personality and iDentity, Glossier with ‘A people-powered beauty ecosystem,’ and UOMA Beauty with ‘Our race is human, our people are free, our language is color.’

4. Stay Ahead of the Competition

Yes, embracing new features and trends on social media platforms takes a lot of work for a business. But you have to try. The earlier, the better, so you can give yourself some lead time to learn and make a mark on the new feature before everyone else joins in to compete for space. Vogue Business reminisces the day Instagram unleashed Reels. Gabby Murray decided to rock an Ivory Ella T-shirt in her first IG Reel.

According to her agency, within 24 hours of posting the video, it racked up a jaw-dropping 17 million views. While on TikTok, where she had shared the same video earlier, she only had 2.1 million views. Lion Spirit Media states that 96% (at least) of beauty brands have social media accounts. So get ahead of the competition and start focusing on posting Reels consistently.

Don’t worry about video equipment or sophisticated production issues. Just start! Posting consistently tells the IG algorithm you’re serious about content creation, and it will begin to propel your videos, increasing your views and brand exposure.