Short-form video on social media is here to stay! According to Sprout Social, “Reels see an average reach rate of 30.81%. That’s double the reach rate of other content formats.”
Instagram Reels are a fun and engaging way to communicate with your audience and celebrate all the amazing stories happening within your school. Have you tried creating Reels for your school? Maybe you’ve tried them, but you want to post more frequently and confidently.
To help you get a better handle on Reels, today’s blog will show you five categories that work for schools. This framework will help you be more strategic and intentional with your Reels content creation. Remember: You can post Reels on both Instagram AND Facebook.
But please note – I can’t take credit for compiling these! Alice Seuffert, the Director of Communications for Mahtomedi Public Schools in Minnesota, shared these categories in a webinar for #SocialSchool4EDU. At the end of this blog, you’ll find a handy checklist that Alice created to help you plan, create, and post Reels for your school.
Category #1: Informational / Awareness
This category of Reels videos answers the question, “Did you know?”
- “Did you know we offer XYZ program at our school?”
- “Did you know our students have XYZ opportunity within our district?”
- “Did you know how to use this new feature at our school?”
It’s all about telling a story, through the video and in your caption! Check out these examples:
Dancing Moose Montessori, Utah
Batesville School District, Arkansas
Springfield Public Schools, Missouri
Mahtomedi Public Schools, Minnesota
Mahtomedi Public Schools, Minnesota
Mahtomedi Public Schools, Minnesota
Troy City School District, New York
Category #2: Take Action / Promotion
Have you ever been asked to create a graphic, share an event, or make an announcement on social media? Of course you have! It’s important that you prioritize celebration over information within your social media content, but you CAN still make announcements.
Reels make boring announcements fun and exciting. You’ll get a LOT more views on a short-form video than you’d get with a static flyer posted online!
Check out how these schools turned announcements into Reels:
Jessieville School District, Arkansas
New Braunfels Independent School District, Texas
New Auburn School District, Wisconsin
Higley Unified School District, Arizona
Category #3: Connection / Spotlight
Speaking of celebration, one of the most effective ways to inject energy into your social media content is to spotlight students and staff members. Telling stories about a single student or staff member will earn positive engagement and cast your school in a positive light.
Remember, you can use the caption, text on screen, AND photo/video content to tell the full story. Here are some excellent examples to inspire you:
Mahtomedi Public Schools, Minnesota
Claremore Public Schools, Oklahoma
Springfield Public Schools, Missouri
St. Francis Preparatory School, New York
Category #4: Event Recap
This category is pretty straightforward. Take photo and/or video footage from an event and turn it into an event recap Reel for your school pages.
Here’s a fun pro tip: When you (and your staff / student contributors) capture photos at an event, make sure the Live Mode option is selected, on the smartphone. Those live photos come into Reels as short videos, creating dynamic movement when edited together.
You’ll see what I mean in the first example, below!
New Auburn School District, Wisconsin
Troy City School District, New York
Mahtomedi Public Schools, Minnesota
Claremore Public Schools, Oklahoma
Mahtomedi Public Schools, Minnesota
Category #5: Joy/Fun
When you scroll Reels and TikTok, you will see a lot of trends that come up over and over again. This could be a trending skit, joke, audio, or dance. Did you know that you can adapt these trends to work for your school?
Hopping on a trend will leverage the algorithm in your favor, pushing your content out to more people. Plus, people are delighted when brands can adapt a trend in clever ways!
Check out these examples of Fall 2024 trends that schools adapted:
Claremore Public Schools, Oklahoma
Pearland Independent School District, Texas
School District of Onalaska, Wisconsin
Ready to Create Amazing Reels?
I hope you’ve been inspired to try out all of these Instagram Reels categories! If you want to keep this article in a handy format, download this free PDF now. You’ll get a digestible checklist that includes all the steps for planning and creating great Reels for Instagram and Facebook.
