The Makings of a Reel

ALISHA WILKINS: Okay!

So welcome to today's
sort of social media training.

This actually came about
because of a staff assistant.

She wanted to join in
on a brainstorming session

of how I do this kind of stuff,
and I said, "Okay!"

So I thought, let's just have
everybody come in and see

kind of how I go about finding sounds,
making Reels.

I have two topics today
that I kind of have on my mind.

And there's two ways that I approach this.

So I either approach it with,

I have this subject
that I need to make a Reel on.

So today it's either,

"How to Ditch the Holiday Debt,"
or today's actually National Milk Day.

Or, I just scroll,

and I find a trending sound
that could work for us.

So those are kind of
the two mindsets that I'm in.

I don't have anything planned here,

so this is going to be
as raw as it possibly could be.

Just showing the process.

I really hope
that my algorithm keeps my Reels

that come up on my screen appropriate, ha!

But, yeah, I'm just going to go ahead
and share my phone screen,

so you guys can see...

And it might seem a little boring
for you to sit here and watch me scroll,

but when I--when people say,
"How do I--how do you get ideas?"

And I'm like, "I scroll."

That's literally it.
So, if everybody--

You can see my phone, right?

You see, "Early Bird Discount?"
'Kay.

So what I'm going to do is
I'm going to go to Reels,

and I'm going to listen...

Can you guys hear my phone?

No? 'Kay. I'm gonna stop that.

Let's...

Try it one more time.

I didn't check a box.

Share sound...

There we go.

There we go.

Now, can you hear it?
[Seems Like Forever by Cecily]

Perfect.
[Worst Comes to Worst by Dilated Peoples]

So, like I said, I'm just--

I have those two topics in mind.

I have Milk Day or Ditch Holiday Debt,
and I'm just going to scroll.

And it might be kind of boring,
but this kind of how I go about it.

So you see on the bottom-left,

there's that arrow
that says it's trending.

So I kind of look at that
sometimes too, like,

"Okay, is this a trending sound
I could use?"

[Worst Comes to Worst
by Dilated Peoples resumes]

[???]

[music restarts]

[No One's Ready by Austin Millz]

[Roslyn by Bon Iver]

Here's one of my favorite
Reel influencers.

If you're looking for it.

[I'll Be Around by Austin Millz]

>> I have to tell you a secret.

ALISHA: Okay.

So this one would be fun to do
"How to Ditch Holiday Debt."

>> I have to tell you a secret.

ALISHA: So I would just click
on the bottom-right...

And it shows us all the audio.

This one's kind of a--

>> 'Kay, bye!

ALISHA: It's been used a lot.
So if I don't know,

I would just save it at the top-right.

Just bookmark it
and [s???] come back to it if I ca--[???]

[simple piano version of "Heart and Soul"
by Frank Loesser and Hoagy Carmichael]

[drums]

[Worst Comes to Worst by Dilated Peoples]

This is now the second time
I've heard this sound,

So I'm like,
"Okay. Well maybe,

we need to look at it," but it--
[???]

[Planetarium from La La Land]

>> --you're ever sad,
just goes snowboarding.

You'll quickly realize
that your physical health

is in much worse con-

[Riptide (ambient cover)
by Pop Goes Ambient]

[???]

>> I wanna post a Reel today,
but I don't have much time.

So, here's what I'm working on.

ALISHA: Okay. This would be fun
if you're like,

[an agent?] out in the field.

Or if you're cooking something
for a project.

Or [???]

[As It Was by Harry Styles]

>> I'm okay!

No I'm not.

ALISHA: That would be good
for holiday debt.

So I'm just going to do that one.

Um, so then I'd hit the camera icon.

This might be kind of delayed,
because we got a weird--

So, at this point I would film it.

So, I don't know how it's going to work
with me sharing my screen,

but we're going to try it out.

So.

I'm gonna actually get some props.

Wait, I don't even have any invoices
or bills up here.

I have no paper.

This is where the beauty
of working from home is, is I can--

And usually, I would try to film this
with like a plain background,

so not the stuff behind me.

But today, since I'm connected
with my phone, I can't move.

So then I would film it—let's see.

I would click the timer
so I don't have to...

Alright.

Here we go...

Let's try this.

You guys are gonna see
how funny I look.

I don't know
if the sound's gonna go or not, but.

ALISHA: It didn't work.

Use audio.

There it goes.

>> I'm okay!

No I'm not.

ALISHA: 'Kay.

[countdown jingle]

>> I'm okay!

No I'm not.

ALISHA: Ugh!
See, I messed up. But!

[chuckles]
>> I'm okay!

ALISHA: Oh, Woo!

That was...really embarrassing
to have you guys all watch

I would probably do that like,
seven times.

'Kay?

I'm gonna just, uh...

turn it off.

The sound.

So once you get your lip syncing there,

if you're doing a lip sync,
then I would just add like, the caption.

So it'd be like,

[slowly]
"When your credit cards come due."

Oh my goodness.

"...your holiday spending
credit cards come due."

And then I put my tip in the caption.

So I'm gonna just save that one as a draft
and keep going and see if I can find--

[American Beauty by Thomas Newman]

>> [laughing]
This is wha--

[???]

>> Uhh, can this be a thing?
ALISHA: Trying to find things you don't have to listen to.

>> [crickets chirping]

ALISHA: Heh. That's a funny one.
I haven't seen that one for a while.

Just crickets, and you sitting.
You wouldn't have to lip sync it.

>> That's a great question!

I've been wondering that myself.

[slow piano]

>> Probably when you're not looking,
you'll find someone!

Who reeds the same books
or listens to the same music

or likes to--

[herewego by jinsang]

>> I feel like that's actually--

[cheering]

This would be one
that you don't want to...

[???] ...Maybe if I wasn't gonna...pour out like, a glass of milk...applying milk for all the...National Milk Day.

[ringing ping, hip-hop beat]

[flowing piano]

This is a super popular, like,
aesthetic sound.

That if you wanted, you can use template,

and just add in media from your own.

So like...

I could go to videos,
and let's say I was like,

"I'm gonna..."

We'll just add some cute pictures
of my baby [???]

Then it makes it for you.

So you can see it's loading.
[flowing piano]

[flowing piano]

So if you had a variety of clips
from an event

or like a feel,
or like--if you we're like--

[music stops]

Um...

If you had stuff from a garden,

like B-roll, kind of, you know.
Or of a sunset, you could do that.

You can also put images in here.

So, I'll just go to my images.

And we'll just put this one
of my cutie baby in.

[piano resumes]

[piano continues]
So then--Oh, that's a video.

[piano continues]

[piano stops]
We want a picture.

But these are all--

There we go. We'll do that one.
[piano resumes]

So then it just has the picture
for that long.

So if you didn't have a bunch of [B-roll?]

Okay!

So then what I would do at that point,
once I've kind of found my sound,

I would come over to drafts...

and I would just edit the Reel.

I'd edit the cover.

There's two ways you can do covers.

You can--err, I guess
there's multiple ways you can do covers.

You can either use of still shot

from the actual video
by dragging it here on the bottom.

You can add from the camera roll.

So it would be like,

let's add this cute picture
of myself as the cover.

And then over here, it'll show
what would look like on your grid,

if you have, like,
a way you want it cropped.

Another way that I found
that I really like

is actually to go back
and act like you're gonna make a Story.

And take a selfie or, like,
use your prop or whatever.

So it's like,

Meh, I can't do this one-handed.

Boop! And then just like,

So that would be my cover photo.

And then say like,

"How to ditch holiday debt."

And then save that to my camera roll.

So when I go back in
and I'm editing the cover...

>> --kay!

ALISHA: I have basically the same thing,
but I ha--

I can control my facial expressions
a little bit better, [chuckles]

than when I'm, like, doing it live.

So then I could go and change

to what it would look like
on my profile grid.

So!

I know that was a little bit crazy.

But that's kind of where I start
when I'm looking for Reels,

is it honestly starts with scrolling
with kind of an idea in mind.

Or by noticing a trend.

A huge trend
that is up-and-coming is gonna be...

There's--I've noticed Reel--
I should say this:

I've noticed Reel trends start on TikTok.

So if they're popular on TikTok,

then about a week-and-a-half later,
they're popular on Instagram.

So let me see if I can find an example.

And I kind of said this before,

but the best way to know
is by scrolling.

By setting aside time
to scroll and not--

not just jumping on,
"I'm gonna make a Reel,"

and then getting off.

So, spending time in the app,
learning things.

[flowing piano]

So, let me see if I can find one.
[???]

>> This day--
ALISHA: He's also really good.

If you're looking for somebody
to follow for ideas.

[???]

>> This day is bananas. B-A--

[Every Second by Mina Okabe]

>> Do you feel awesome?
>> Yeah

>> You're going to want one of these.
ALISHA: This is a--[???]

>> What does it help with?

>> Everything.

[???]

[???]

>> My life is good.
[ALISHA chuckles]

Really good.

ALISHA: That would be a really funny one for like, [I'm becoming a?] master gardener,

or, "I joined 4-H,"

Or, "I learned how to can chicken."

Y'know,

[imitating Reel] My life is good.
Really good.

This's one of my favorite movies.

>> --I understand, but I'm not s--

ALISHA: Let's see.

[Jazzy barotone sax]

This is an easy one, too.

And then you, blink, blink!

When somebody [said something dumb?]

Like...

I never...

I never acid test my tomatoes!

Or, I...

[Something that I?]

I dunno, something health-wise.

[Dream by The Pied Pipers]

[Riptide (ambient cover)
by Pop Goes Ambient]

>> This is a dream

that I have had since lunch
and I am not giving up--

ALISHA: Office quotes
tend to be really trendy right now.

I'm a huge Office nerd.

I've probably watched it
ten times at least.

It's probably--anyway.

[???]

[???]

Cute little, [???]

>> [overlapping] Don't do it.
Don't do it. Do not do it.

ALISHA: [???] This...about

[???]

>> I don't know if y'all know
but we gon win.

[???]

[???]

This is-- This is an easy video format
that's popular.

Is just like a little--
You can make this in Canva.

Just a little text box
over a video as it like, plays.

So maybe it's a tour of your office.

Maybe it's a pretty B-roll of,

like a garden

or a scenic area in your county,
that kind of thing.

Here's an ad for me.

Stop trying to tell me what to do.

I don't listen.

This is a.

I don't love I don't.

Like that you.

See? It's really beyond words.

What do you do around here?

Like what
would you say? That you're anyway.

So that's kind of really, it's about
scrolling and learning and then being

okay about looking a little ridiculous
like I did for you guys.

It probably so I made this.

Just to give you

context, I made this real
for my own personal business last night,

and it took me probably
six takes to get this right.

I promised other people

that I'd be on my worst behavior,
so I promised my.

Stuff. Anyway. I promised.

But as you do it more,
you get better at it.

So I'm going to start my screen

right here.

Yeah.

Was that helpful?

I don't know, to kind of see where I go.

It's about learning what works for you.

It's about getting in and exploring
and figuring out what your audience needs.

Spending time on social media,
looking at your followers.

What are they posting about?

Looking at your messages, seeing
what are they about,

and then using that
to fit to your content?

2023 is going to be about vulnerability
and authenticity in social media.

The Instagram content report
also says that people are going

to be looking for brands that

race like sustainability.

So showing how your brand,

can promote
those kind of things like that.

People are very concerned
about the environment.

They're concerned about upcycling clothes,
especially the younger generation.

Like the Gen Z kind of population.

Another thing to think about is
and I kind of explain this

to somebody that reels are like the,

the spine or the back of a book.

So if you're in a book store,
you have all these books to look at.

Reels are kind of
like what captures people's attention

and bring them in.

But then if they open your book
or if they open to your profile

and they don't immediately
know what you're about

or have no desire to follow you,
they're going to put your book backs.

Like, that was a really great start.

And the back of the book
or your reel was awesome,

but they're not following through.

So reels aren't necessarily decor,

successful, unless your other

grid stuff immediately promotes
what you're wanting them to get out of it.

So, I'm glad Kylie,

it is super
hard to know where to start with reels.

Like, what do I even do?

There are reels you can do
that are just about tips and just put like

a little background music behind it.

And those are also really,
really good to do.

If you have like a specific thing

you want to share
and you can't find a sound or a

something to

match with it.

So for instance, if I was doing,

the ditch holiday debt reel as just like

a little video, I would just film it

all on my phone and then just kind of
make sure I add the captions,

see if I can find an example.

This might be better with an example.

I haven't done one of these
for extension for a while.

I'm just thinking off the top of my head,
one that I've done.

Or another for, again,
a different brand that I help with.

And see if I can find one.

Actually.

So this is one that Sheridan did.

I took a bigger clip
and I turned it into this.

So you could do something like this
and just pair it with some audio.

Is a plastic dome.

This should just go right down over
whatever system you're using.

And this will help to.

Keep moisture and.

Humidity on your phone.

Or you could do something.

Let's see.

Like this is one.

Are you planning to ten for the summer?

But I'm not sure if you should use a water
that.

Can just a
she filmed it and then I just put a.

Little vlog system on the on the bottom.

To make it.

A little bit more entertaining to go.

Anyway, level of,

that I'm not sure.

My name is Shannon. I work for you.

Okay.

Well, are there any questions about that?

Anything that you guys are struggling
with?

I wanted this to be more of just

come with me while I make a real.

Without.

Having to lip sync ten times
in front of everybody.

Because my husband makes fun of me enough.

I don't need everybody else
to make fun of me. So,

Okay, okay.

Well,

I will record this.

I watch reels at work to get ideas.

Jason.

I watch it on us.

You extensions
profile to get ideas for that.

Or if I need to switch, like sometimes
other profiles, I'll get different

videos just.

And then if I like the sound, I send
a message to extension so I can make it.

Just make sure that you're
not on your phone when people come in.

Clearly, if you're like front office
staff, like it needs to be

when you're not.

And then if somebody does come in,

you answer the phone,
obviously put your phone down, but

it helps.

So anyway, I hope

you guys have a great day
and I will send out this recording later.

So thanks.