How to Batch Content for Instagram Reels
It’s natural for ideas and inspiration about your pet business to come to you in waves. Some days you might be full of ideas for future pet-themed Instagram Reels and other days you might be left empty-handed. One of our favorite ways to take advantage of the natural ebb and flow that is creativity is to build and utilize a content batching process.
To help you get started, we’re going to look at how to batch content for Instagram reels.
Batching is something that can be done for all types of content you create, but today we’re focusing on Instagram Reels. Reels are currently one of the best ways to grow your pet business Instagram account organically. Recently, Instagram demonstrated their internal prioritization of Reels by rolling nearly all of the platform’s existing video content into the Reels umbrella. Before the video post-merger, Instagram Reels received on average 22% more engagement than their video post counterparts.
Why Should You Batch Content for Social Media?
Whether you are currently creating Reels or just starting out, you can benefit from setting up a content batching process now.
Batching your work is the act of grouping like tasks together to complete them. It’s a well-known secret amongst project managers. The goal of batching is to save you time in the long run because you won’t have as much start-up time between tasks.
For example, if you’re cooking dinner, it might make more sense to chop all your vegetables first before you start cooking them. If you don’t (and depending on the size of your kitchen), you might have to get your tools out and put them back away between each vegetable chopping session.
When it comes to social media these tasks are a little different. To create a single social media post, you need to brainstorm or plan out your topic, take photos or videos, edit those photos or videos, write copy, and more. While you can absolutely work in a chronological fashion – planning first, followed by photography, videography and/or writing, and finally publishing – it takes you and your brain time to switch between each new task. This time or “start-up cost” leaves space for you to work more efficiently.
If instead, you did all your brainstorming on one day, photography on another, and writing on a third, then you wouldn’t have to be pulling your camera out every day or moving from room to room to capture the good light. This little bit of extra energy and time builds up and makes you a more efficient small business owner.
Have you ever dreaded getting an area of your home set up for a photo shoot – vacuuming clumps of dog hair, hiding cat toys, fixing weird lighting issues? As an added bonus, batching your content creation will reduce the number of times you have to do all that and hopefully help you dread it less!
How to Batch Content for Instagram Reels
Now that we have established that batching content is a great way to save time, you may be wondering how to batch content for Instagram reels specifically. These short videos are a great place to start incorporating batching into your business!
1. Identify Your Posting Cadence
If you have been posting Reels for a while, then you might already know how often you post or aim to post Instagram Reels. This is also known as your posting cadence or posting frequency.
If not, then this is the place to start. This will determine how much time you need to research other Reels, how many audios to save, and how many Reels to create and schedule. The key is consistency, so if you can only post once a week – great! Pick a day and time each week for your post to go live and stick to it.
2. Watch Other Reels!
An important part of Instagram growth is also engagement, but luckily watching and engaging with other creators’ Reels is also a great way to do Reels research! Not only can you be inspired by what other creators are doing, but you can also find trending audios that you can be a part of.
TIP: If you see an audio on a Reel with an up arrow next to it, that means it’s trending! Click on the audio to see other Reels that are using it. If the total number of Reels using the audio is around 1-2k, jump on it! You found a trending Reel early!
3. Save Audio (or Entire Videos)
If you find an audio clip that you want to use, you can save it for later by clicking on the audio and selecting “Save audio”. You should be able to add it to any Reel that you create later through “Saved Audio”.
Sometimes Instagram can be a little glitchy with Saved Audio though! If you can’t find it through the “Create a Reel” interface, you can find it by going to your profile > the hamburger menu > Saved > Audio.
Don’t forget that you can also create original audio for Instagram Reels too! This can be done through a voice-over or directly through your video clips. If you’re going this route, be sure to plan out your original audio when you’re saving audio clips.
4. Schedule a Filming Day
Once you have your audio planned out – either saved or original – the next step is to create video magic! You’ll want to plan at least a day or two in advance so that you can coordinate with the weather, set up your equipment, and create your shot list. Once you have that day selected, block it off on your calendar to be sure you’ll have enough time!
5. Create a Shot List
Your next step is to put together a shot list for you to reference when film time comes around. You can always take extra shots if inspiration strikes or if your pet does something extra funny or cute, but having a plan will help you be purposeful and efficient, which means more time for snuggles with your main model later.
While you put together your shot list, keep the audio that you saved or planned out previously in mind. Your shot list can be as detailed and specific as you’d like.
As you create your shot list, ask yourself these questions:
- Who is in the shot?
- What is this person or pet doing? Are they responding to the audio?
- What is in the background?
- Is anything else in the shot?
- Is there any background noise?
6. Gather Your Supplies
At a minimum, you’ll need your phone, so make sure it’s fully charged and ready to go. If you need to clean up your filming location, now is also the time to do that!
Other things you might consider:
- Phone stand
- Products to feature
- Props or toys
- Outfits or costumes
- Pets
- Treats for rewards
7. Film Away!
Filming day is here! Today is the day to let you or your pet (or both!) shine in front of the camera. Follow your shot list to get the content that you need. Throughout your recording session, check your video quality to ensure everything is good to go.
If you’re recording to audio, you can do so directly on Instagram with the sound playing. If you use a different recording tool, make sure that it matches the audio before you pack your equipment away!
Don’t forget to record any original audio you have planned during your filming.
8. Edit Your Reels & Save to Drafts
When it comes to editing your Reels, you can do that inside the Instagram app itself. You can edit your Reels completely and save them as a draft just before you would normally hit publish. You can also edit a draft multiple times if you want to change, add, or remove something. The drafts should stay in your Instagram account until you publish them. Drafts will also be deleted if you log out or if the app is uninstalled.
Instagram can sometimes be glitchy, so as a backup to Instagram drafts, we always recommend downloading your edited video to your phone. You can delete it after you post, but this is the best way to ensure you don’t lose your hard work! It’s also best to download without stickers or text, if possible.
If you prefer to use another app like InShot or FilmoraGo, just make sure you have a backup of your edited video in case something happens!
9. Plan or Schedule Your Reels
Once your Reels are ready to go, then it’s time to put together your posting schedule. Certain tools like Buffer and Later will allow you to directly schedule Reels to your Instagram account with a paid subscription.
If that’s not in your budget or interest, then your best bet is to use an editorial calendar tool and reminders to nudge you to manually post your Reel. Remember though that consistency matters, so if you plan to post at 9 AM every Tuesday, try to stick as close to it as possible!
An Example Instagram Reels Batching Schedule
Saturday & Sunday – Watch Reels and save audios that inspire you or are trending.
Monday – Plan your videos and create a shot list.
Tuesday – Setup your equipment and background. Don’t forget the treats!
Wednesday – Film your Reels and clean up your equipment.
Thursday – Edit your Reels and save them as drafts. Also, download the video to your phone as a backup!
Friday – Schedule your Reels or plan out your posting calendar. Reminders help!
Bonus: Instagram Reels Best Practices to Include in Your Content Batching Process
The number one best practice for Instagram Reels is consistency! (Do I need to say it again?) And ironically batching your Instagram Reels content gives you both structure and flexibility to stay consistent. By having a rhythm for every step of the creation process, you also build a bit of a buffer if you have an emergency or important life event come up. It gives you the flexibility to continue your posting cadence and maybe even create a few backup Reels for just-in-case situations.
Through all this planning, there is one other important best practice to remember – to stay relevant. This means that it’s important to stay on top of trending audio, video, and even post topics on Instagram. This will naturally happen as you do your Reel watching research and save audios, but it’s also important to give yourself space to switch around your plans and make “quick” content if it feels right for your brand and business.
When it comes to Instagram strategy, Reels and consistency are two important factors to help your pet business account grow. Now that you have learned how to batch content for Instagram reels, it’s time to try this for yourself. Creating a process that allows you to batch your Instagram Reels content also allows you to stay consistent in your posting and to be more efficient in your work. Whether you turn your newfound “free moments” into pet snuggles or an extra Reel, we wouldn’t judge!
Do you have a process in place for creating Reels? If so, tell us about it in a comment!
About the Author: Jessica Shipman, BlogPaws COO / CMO, has been in the pet industry since 2013, following the launch of her blog, Beagles & Bargains. She’s a skilled marketing strategist with an Ivy League Engineering degree making her a sought-after web developer, too. When not focused on content creation or SEO, she enjoys spending time with her two dogs, Luna and Ralph. Read more…
