I finally bit the bullet and started doing Instagram reels. I did them in June… and I’m continuing my experiment through the summer…
Why? Three reasons:
- Reels really are the best way right now to get reach on IG, hands down. (Duh. I know. Everyone knows that. They are basically the “idea pin” of IG. 🤣)
- I’m already recording videos for my Pinterest Idea Pins. So I want to repurpose that video on IG, too… so I can get more use out of the content I’m creating.
- I teach people how to repurpose reels to Pinterest! And before I was creating my own reels, I was already putting reels on Pinterest for a few clients. And it’s working really well. So it lit a fire in me to do this for my own brand, too.
(BTW, I’ve been repurposing my IG stories on Pinterest for a while. <<< Click to read more about that… It’s my favorite way to use my IG content on Pinterest.)
Anyway… the reason I’m writing this post is…
I made a decision. I’m not doing trending sounds on Instagram. 😲
I feel like this is sort of sacrilegious on Instagram, but they just aren’t for me.
But… My reasons for not doing trending sounds on Instagram?
They’re probably not what you think. 🙃
I actually don’t mind lip-syncing.
And I don’t feel dumb “performing” along with the audio.
(In fact, in high school I was quite the musical theater star. My roles included Jan in Grease; Bonnie in Anything Goes; Robin in Godspell; Morgan Le Fay in Camelot… But I digress… )
So then why am I not doing them…?
Here are the actual three reasons why I’m NOT going to do trending sounds:
1. I don’t want to.
It just doesn’t feel fun to me. I know others like creating them. I don’t. And things need to be fun. Full stop. (Now, if there was actual singing involved… that might be fun. 😂)
2. I don’t think they really help position us as experts.
So I want to repurpose that video on IG, too… so I can get more use out of the content I’m creating.
3. It’s not 100% kosher to repurpose those sounds to Pinterest.
And if I’m going to spend time on reels, I want to be able to repurpose them. (I’m not a lawyer, but I think I’d be on shaky ground using the trending audio from IG on Pinterest.)
That third reason is really the one that made the decision for me. Using content on multiple platforms is what keeps me sane – and visible. So I don’t want to create anything that won’t repurpose well – or translate.
(And occasionally one of the reels a client makes with a “trending sounds” still makes sense if I strip the audio off – but usually it doesn’t. So we can’t repurpose it… which is totally okay. But it doesn’t fit into my plan for MY content.)
… Okay that’s all for this quick post… a confession of sorts.
A line drawn in the sand.
I’m not doing trending sounds on Instagram.
For now, anyway. 😉
Oh one last thing… If you need the 411 on how to effectively repurpose your IG reels (or other IG content) onto Pinterest, this blog post is the one where you’ll find allllllll the details!
