Glossary / Instagram

Internet speak

Reel

A reel is a short vertical video on Instagram, up to 3 minutes long, and the format Instagram shows most to people who don't follow you.

Also called: Instagram Reels, reels

By Aulto · Last reviewed

Why post reels?

They're the main way new people find an account on Instagram. Reels appear in the Reels tab, Explore and Feed, for followers and non-followers.

What makes a reel work?

A strong first second, a reason to watch to the end, and something worth sending to a friend. Captions on screen help, since many people watch without sound.

How do you turn views into followers or fans?

Give people a next step: follow for part two, or comment a keyword to get the link in their DMs.

Example

A guitarist posts a 20-second reel of one riff with "Comment TAB for the full tab" and collects 800 comments.

  • Hook

    A hook is the part of a song, or the first seconds of a video, built to grab attention and make people stay.

  • Trending audio

    Trending audio is a sound or song that many reels are using right now, shown with an arrow next to its name on Instagram.

  • Keyword comment

    A keyword comment is a single word you ask people to comment on a post, like SONG or RECIPE, which triggers a reply sent to their DMs.

  • Reach

    Reach is the number of different accounts that saw your content at least once.

  • Auto-reply

    An auto-reply is a message sent automatically in response to a DM, comment or keyword, so people get an answer without waiting for someone to type it.

  • Carousel post

    A carousel post is an Instagram post with several photos or videos that people swipe through, up to 20 in one post.

Turn every click and comment into a fan you can reach

Smart links, pre-saves, bio pages and Reply Drop for Instagram, in one place.

Start free trial