Every time you open Instagram, there’s a trending Reel coming up your way. As you scroll through each of them, did you feel the urge to get that particular template or structure for your own Reel? Did you ever think about how to get an abundance of these templates, use them, and carve your own content out of it?
Well, all of these are easily possible by getting your hands on Instagram Reel templates. First introduced in May 2022, the feature offers a shortcut to captivating Reels by replicating clip timings, streamlining your workflow significantly.
Thus to help you work smarter, not harder, we’re sharing all you need to know about Instagram Reels templates to elevate your Instagram presence effortlessly.
What Is An Instagram Reel Template?
Instagram Reel templates are like blueprints that offer a starting point for crafting visually appealing and cohesive videos. They are basically what we can call a pre-designed layout or structure that comes with placeholders, frames, pre-set music, clip durations from existing Reels, and sometimes even suggested animations or effects, allowing users to create content and hop on popular trends and music more easily, without the hassle of editing.
These templates enable Creators to eliminate the time-consuming process of creating Reels and start jumping in on trends earlier. You simply need to select the "Use template" button attached to any video you like and adjust the clip lengths by dropping in your photos and videos in sync with the specific audio track, and you're good to go.
The cherry on top? Well, it's free to use! Take a look below to understand what an Instagram template looks like.
Why Use Instagram Reel Templates?
Well, even though you can be a content genius, whipping up a share-worthy Reel in minutes, the benefits of using Instagram Reel Templates can't be denied. While using templates can significantly streamline your content creation process, there are more advantages for Creators looking to elevate their content:
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Time Efficiency: Templates provide a ready-made structure, eliminating the time needed to design layouts from scratch or adjust clip lengths and transitions. Creators simply need to adjust the videos and photos to the perfect length to align with the audio accordingly. This efficiency allows Creators to focus more on the content or recording more Reel itself rather than the formatting.
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Professional Look: Even for those without extensive design skills, templates offer a professional appearance. Instagram Reel Templates often come with well-thought-out designs, helping you dodge any 1-second mismatch or delay that could reflect badly on your brand, ensuring a visually appealing end product. The transitions are accurate and well-timed, making people want to linger on them more.
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Creative Inspiration And Customization: Templates can serve as a starting point for creative inspiration and allow Creators like you to personalize the ideas on layout, text placement, transitions, and more, making them your own. You can take inspiration from the given template and edit it as per your preference to suit your niche. This will help you produce more innovative and high-quality Reels and be better at gaining visibility on Instagram.
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Increased Platform Visibility: With Instagram consistently pushing new features for Reel Templates, the more you use them, the better your brand’s exposure to potential followers and viewers, as your username is shown on every Reel created with the template. This will give you a chance to virality where you can gain thousands of additional views on your Reel.
While you can surely leverage these benefits, we’ll let you know another one that brings an all-rounder benefit. As Instagram Reel insights allow you to track metrics such as reach, share, overall engagement, and views for your Reels, with the help of Statusbrew analytics, you can easily gauge how using templates has affected your numbers alongside all your other social content.
How To Find And Use Instagram Reel Templates?
Now that you know the benefits of using a suitable Instagram Reel Template, it's time to walk you through the “hows” of finding and using them. It's pretty easy and can be done in 2 ways.
- Finding Templates within the Video Editor
- Finding and repurposing an existing Reel Template
Finding Templates Within The Video Editor
Step 1: Launch Instagram on your iPhone or Android device and tap the Reels icon on the bottom part of the screen beside the + icon.
Step 2: Click the Camera icon located in the top right corner.
Step 3: At the bottom of the screen, press Templates and choose from the recommendations and trending templates, and tap on “Use Template”.
Step 4: At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see placeholders along with the duration for each clip. Click on each placeholder and add a photo or video from your phone that you’d like to use.
Step 5: Once completed, hit “Next”, where you’ll see a preview of your Reel along with editing options. If you are good to go, tap “Next” again.
Step 6: You can select a cover by tapping “Edit cover” and then press the blue Share button, and your Reel will be sent to the Instagram Reels feed.
Finding And Repurposing An Existing Reel Template
Step 1: Launch the Instagram app for iPhone or Android and tap the Reels icon beside the + icon on the bottom of the screen.
Step 2: Scroll through the Reels feed until you’ve spotted a Reel with a "Use template" sticker icon which will appear above the name of the creator.
Step 3: Click on the three dots icon on the right side of the screen and tap on “Use as template”.
Step 4: Similarly, at the bottom of the screen, you’ll see placeholders for your photos or videos, along with the clip duration.
Step 5: Tap on each placeholder, select the photo or video you’d like to use, and tap the Next button.
Step 6: You’ll see a preview of your Reel along with editing options. If it's good to go, tap “Next” again.
Step 7: Select a cover image you want and hit the blue Share button.
Pro Tip: If you want to make templates and make them available to the public, you need to have a public profile, having Reel templates with at least 3 clips with an average of 5 seconds or less per clip, including music.
5 Tips To Amp Up Your Reel Game
Once you learn to find and use Instagram Reel Templates, it's important to know certain tips to amp up your Reel game further for better results. Here are the best ones:
Tip 1: Embrace Trends and Challenges
A new Reel keeps popping up on Instagram every time any trend goes viral. Most of the time, these Reels are dominated by a popular and viral audio track or a transition. Hence it's best for you to stay updated with trending topics, challenges, and viral content on Instagram and keep exploring the Explore Page thoroughly so as not to miss anything and jump on before the trend really takes off. Incorporating these trends can make you one of the trendsetters, which will help you gain better visibility and engagement, attract a wider audience, and boost your reach.
Tip 2: Reuse Old Templates To Create Engaging Content
It's not necessary to discard that Reel that you spent hours editing! You can simply repurpose that effort and use that Template for future content ideas. This approach will not only help you make good use of your old content templates but opens up a new avenue for creating more innovative content for newer audiences. Just focus on creating intriguing hooks to captivate your audience from the start and experiment with various editing techniques, transitions, and effects to make your Reels stand out.
Tip 3: Leverage The Canva Template Library
While you can always get along with Instagram Reel Templates to spice up your Reel game, it's best to leverage the Canva Template library which, is as helpful as Instagram. With thousands of Reel templates as your options, you can experiment a lot with whichever template you might want to use. Canva also lets you filter your search to look for any specific Template that might be clean, elegant, aesthetic, corporate, or minimalist. Creators who want to set trends on Instagram also leverage the Canva Template Library to create one and go trending.
Tip 4: Schedule Your Reels At The Perfect Time
Posting time matters! Yes, even with the Instagram algorithm undergoing a lot of changes lately, posting time is something that will always impact the reach and performance of your content. Hence, it's very important to analyze your audience's active hours and post content accordingly so that they’re more likely to see and engage with it. For instance, in our study, the best time to post on Instagram Reels are the following:
| Day Of The Week | Best Time To Post Reels On Instagram |
|---|---|
| Monday | 5 AM, 9 AM, 9 PM |
| Tuesday | 1 AM, 3 AM, 8 AM |
| Wednesday | 6 AM, 7 AM, 10 PM |
| Thursday | 8 AM, 11 AM, 6 PM |
| Friday | 4 AM, 12 PM, 2 PM |
| Saturday | 10 AM, 6 PM, 7 PM |
| Sunday | 6 AM, 7 AM, 3 PM |
That’s exactly why it’s important to use social media management tools like Statusbrew to analyze all your previous posts and create a heat map to calculate the best time to post on Instagram according to your requirements. Statusbrew calculates your best time to post on Instagram and schedules posts only during peak hours.
Note: All times are expressed in EST, and times marked in asterisks indicate high engagement.
Tip 5: Keep A Tab On Your Analytics to See What Works
To keep up with your content performance, keep checking the overall analytics to gauge what’s working, what isn't, and what needs to be changed. Take a look at the old Reels that you have created using different templates or by repurposing an old one and see which ones seem to drive the most engagement and reach. Pick out the most popular one with the highest engagement, try to understand what appeals to your audience the most, and try to replicate or innovate that.
Reel It Up!
We believe by now you must have a clear hang all about Instagram Reel Templates and might be thinking about leveling up your Instagram Reels Strategy!
Well, in that case, we have you covered with these Statusbrew blog posts:
So, the next time you want to explore, create, or edit the perfect Reel, let these Templates be the catalyst for your Instagram Reel success.
With Statusbrew, you can streamline your social media posting strategy and let us do all the heavy lifting for you by enabling you to schedule, publish, and analyze posts across networks, including Reels. Try out our platform for FREE!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can I create my own Instagram Reel template?
Yes, you can! To create your own Reel, you need to add at least 3 clips with an average duration of 5 seconds on average and save it as a draft after including music. Besides Instagram, you can use video editing tools like Canva or Adobe Spark to get access to a library of Templates and combine them to create your own for a bit of variety.
2. Why do some Reels not have the “Use template” option?
The "Use template" option is available for Reels created using certain template-based features within Instagram's Creator Studio or other design platforms. Reels made without utilizing these specific templates won't offer the "Use template" option as they're not template-based. Besides, Reels without music or Reels that have fewer than three video clips won’t have this option either.
3. Can I save a Reel template to use later?
Unfortunately, Instagram doesn't have a native feature to directly save Reel templates within the app. However, you can save a Reel to your collections so that you can access it later when you’re ready to use the template.
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