How to Get Your Reels on the Explore Page

After posting 3 Hacks to Get on the Instagram Explore Page, I got quite a few requests to keep talking about tips and tricks to get on the Explore Page. If you read that post, you should already know there are no secret formulas to follow and you don’t need a mass following to get your content on the Explore Page. However, there are some guidelines you can adhere to, so that your chances of landing on the Explore Page increase.

In today’s blog post, we’ll focus on one aspect that I frequently (OK, OK — More like always) teach and preach about: Reels. We’ll discuss how to get your Reels on the Instagram Explore Page, what my best tips are, and a bonus tip — so stay tuned for the end for that!

How the Instagram Explore Page works

Before understanding how to get your Reels on the Instagram Explore Page, we first need to understand how the Explore Page works. In the blog post I just mentioned, 3 Hacks to Get on the Instagram Explore Page, I explained how it works. Definitely check out that blog post for a bit more context, but here’s just a quick refresher course about how this page gets populated with content.

Each user’s Explore Page is crafted over time by Instagram’s algorithm for that user. That means your Explore Page is going to look different from mine, even if we both are in the creative business and wedding industry! That’s because the algorithm is designed specifically so that it shows you, the account owner, what it thinks interests you based on your engagement history.

For example, in addition to content about business and wedding day hacks, since I work in both industries, I also see a lot of baby videos because I love baby videos! If you log into my husband’s, Ira, account you’ll see a lot of ‘fail’ videos because that’s what he interacts with most on Instagram.

Getting your Reels on the Instagram Explore Page

Now that you know how the Explore Page works, let’s talk about what you need to do to increase your chances of landing on the Explore Page.

My biggest piece of advice? Focus on these three pillars when creating your Reels: education, inspiration, and emotion.

In the creative business world, Reels aren’t simply there to make people laugh. While you can certainly include entertaining Reels into your social media marketing strategy once in a while, especially if that’s your personality, our main goal is to turn followers into paying clients. Using Reels is an opportunity to educate and inspire our audience (basically, to provide value to them), and use that to bring them through the sales funnel! 

I also have a course, Followers to Sales Blueprint, all about how to convert your followers into paying clients through the sales funnel strategy I used to hit consistent 5-figure months! If you want to learn in-depth about how to increase engagement on the posts you already make and sell without ever leaving Instagram, you’ll want to check this course out!

Now, on to each pillar of Reels content:

Creating educational Reels

I know education can sound a bit daunting and it might even feel like you need to whip out Google Scholar, but educating your audience is really as simple as thinking about what questions you can answer for your ideal clients! What does that look like?

If you’re a wedding planner, you can think of what you know that engaged couples may not know but can help them plan their wedding. Or, if you’re a brand photographer, you could educate your ideal clients about why it’s so important to have brand photos.

Creating inspirational Reels

Inspirational Reels doesn’t have to be some elaborate Ted Talk-esque video. It’s as simple as demonstrating to your ideal clients what amazing benefits you can offer them, and inspiring them with those benefits. Going back to our wedding planner example, give your audience some wedding hacks or ideas they can add to their vision boards!

Creating Reels that evoke emotion

Lastly, let’s talk about evoking emotion in your Reels. When you create these types of Reels, think about what will make your audience feel touched, cared for, and heard. You want them to think, “Yes, I want to feel like that!”

For example, if you’re a brand photographer, you could share some behind-the-scenes shots with a business owner you helped with a heartwarming personal story about how that business owner transformed during your time together. 

The biggest tip for getting on the Explore Page: be consistent

If you’ve been here for a little while, I might sound like a broken record by now, but I’ll keep saying it: be consistent with what you post.

If you’re a wedding planner, talk about planning weddings — the details, the step-by-step process, ideas, hacks, inspiration, tips and tricks, real weddings, and everything else that falls under that umbrella.

You don’t want to be talking about your cat one day, your house makeover another day, and your business the day after that. While you can definitely share that in your Stories, where you can be a bit more personal and they disappear after 24 hours, you’ll confuse the Instagram algorithm about which audience you want to target.

Post about what you do, how you can help your ideal clients, the solutions you offer them, and lots and lots of value!

Final thoughts about the Instagram Explore Page

I hope that this post helped you start thinking about ways you can brainstorm ideas that will increase your chances of getting your Reels on the Instagram Explore Page. When it really comes down to it, there’s one main theme: provide value and stop overthinking about how to play the algorithm’s “game.”

If you have any other topics about Instagram that you’d like to explore, feel free to DM me on Instagram! I love hearing from you all and finding out which topics interest you the most, so I can continue to help you to step into your role as CEO!