What should brands keep in mind while creating content for Reels?

Meta recently launched its #MadeOnReels initiative in India to cater to the larger creator ecosystem. We ask experts to share their learnings on the effective use of reel-based content that brands could learn from. 

As Meta brings its new #MadeOnReels initiative by catering to the larger creator ecosystem, it's important to note how reels can drive brands' marketing objectives. 

Brands like Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk, Meesho, Maruti Nexa, Amazon Prime Video, Navi, Snitch, and Tanishq worked with the platform earlier this year to understand the effect of Reels Ads and the results derived that reels can drive conversions and ad recall with the correct message for each brand’s business outcomes. 

But the question is, what should brands keep in mind when creating this short-form content? 

Keeping creators at the forefront 

Rajdeepak Das, Chief Creative Officer and CEO, Leo Burnett, South Asia believes that the most important thing to keep in mind is that brands need to de-learn a lot of things that they know about advertising and focus on the creators.

“We have to start living in the world of reels created by these creators. We should think about why they come to the platform, what works on the platform and how it works.”

He also mentioned that the best thing about this medium is there is no formula for what works and that each new trend brings something exciting to the creator forefront.

Freedom to Create

A report by Redseer Strategy Consultants projected the marketing spend on influencers to be worth $2.8-3.5 billion in 2028, from the current level of $0.35-0.4 billion. Leveraging the power of influencers and creators for brand marketing rather than the other way around can work well, according to Aseem Sharma, Director, Head of Growth, Navi.

He noted that rather than placing too much of the brand’s USP throughout the reel videos, playing on the engagement that the influencer can bring for users could be the way to go forward. 

Adding to this, Ram Suresh Akella, Executive Director Marketing at Maruti Suzuki India Limited said that brands should give creators more freedom in building the marketing narrative.

He continued, “When it comes to creators, I think the basic reason why brands go to creators and create content is that the creators have a certain following and a certain genre in which they do and they can speak in that language to their audience and you get the message.”

Also Read: #MadeOnReels: The new creator-integrated program by Meta for brands & advertisers

Akella thinks that focusing on too many brand-specific guidelines would not serve the purpose of engaging the audience.

Citing Meesho’s collaboration with creator, Mayur Jamani for Valentine's Day, Soumitra Choubey, Associate Director, Brand Marketing, Meesho said making him a part of the strategy process has worked effectively for the brand.   

“Mayur Jamani came up with a song for our campaign which was running during Valentine’s Day and he had this great concept of making songs out of comments that people are saying. This created a beautiful piece of sound by landing the brand message and Valentine's message, which is very difficult to do otherwise.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Meesho @meeshoapp (@meeshoapp)

Choubey also believes that brands should focus on digital-first campaigns that entertain them as a consumer as well. 

A report titled ‘Getting Young India Right’ shows that 60% of young India’s purchase decisions are influenced by short video and social media followed by online platforms and television. Since influencers have tried and tested methods on what entertains and sells for an average user, letting an influencer take charge can provide better results.

However, Aseem Sharma advises on giving the process some time since long-term effort will lead to better impact. “It has to be a longer process. You cannot push one reel today to create a brand for you. Working with a variety of influencers over a longer period to reach different TG can help the brand get positioned across segments.”