To Reel, or not too real?

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I don’t know about you, but as soon as Instagram released that statement about Reels taking priority on their platform I was like:

📌 Pin it!

My knee-jerk reaction? We don’t need another ******* thing to learn and keep up with. Shit! 🙄

But then I tried it, …. and I actually had a lot of fun doing it, even though I knew my Reel was awful.

So, NOW, I’m thinkin’ whoa, who is this person & what TF happened to Katelyn??! (The introvert). 😂

Introverts: UNITE!

I AM an introvert. I’m an Enneagram 6 with a 9 and 3 wing (that’s Loyalist, Peacemaker, and Achiever, respectively). I’m a Type A, and prefer to operate in the BACKground of operations, rather than the frontlines (ie: I don’t crave, need or love attention from any sort of “crowd”). I’m also heavy on the perfectionistic tendencies; seriously, my closest friends & family members joke about me being OCD. Generally speaking, I’m not a risk-taker and I really like my comfort zone.

So it REALLY surprised me that I didn’t mind being on camera like that. I guess I’m finally just like, who TF cares? 🤪🤣

Video content has been king for a while now, and for many of the early years I was staunchly against doing video for my business because I was insecure about how my voice sounds.

Haven’t heard me speak yet? Imagine something like Daria meets Zoey Deschanel, –but not on purpose. I couldn’t change it to save my life. If I become “aware” of my monotone-ness, and inflect some enthusiasm in my voice, then it just sounds forced & fake. So whatever, it is what it is.

But some cool things about Reels are that:

• it’s short video content that’s MEANT to be really short & fast moving

• you don’t even have to use your own voice

• you can loosen up & be silly, which I love to do –laughing is my fav!

• they give you space to be yourself, show your personality & have fun

• they provide a great way to share quick tips related to your industry

–And I’m doing just that, –well, most of that. I’m also finding new-to-me features each time I make a Reel, so they’re progressively getting better each time I create one. Progress, not perfection!

Are you new to Instagram Reels too?

Here’s a few somewhat hidden features I had trouble figuring out:

And a video for each tip to show you HOW to do it, so you don’t have to go hunting down every unhelpful blog or YouTube post to figure it out like I did.

1. How do you save audio from a Reel that you want to use yourself?

2. How do you record your voice over a video of yourself for original audio?

3. How do you make text show & disappear during your video?

4. How do you slow down the audio so you can do the dubbed voice-over thing?

5. How do you adjust your cover photo?

6. How do you save as a draft & post later?

Tip: share your Reel to your feed to get more eyes on it from your current audience!

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Saving someone else's Audio to use later

Using Saved Audio from someone else’s Reel

Record your voice over your video

Add text that shows/disappears

Slow down the audio for easier voice dubbing

Adjusting your cover photo

Saving your Reel as a Draft to post later

Now go try it out for yourself! And don’t forget to have FUN with this. Once you get used to using it, then you can also worry about being more strategic with what you share. 😉

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