- Instagram reels versus stories.
Which is better?
Which is easier?
What's gonna work best for you?
Let's break it all down in this video.
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My name is Jerry Potter.
Yes, it rhymes with The Boy Wizard.
And in this video, we are breaking down
the difference between Instagram stories
and Instagram reels.
So let's start off by talking about
how they are the same, okay?
First, they're pretty much
almost exclusively consumed on mobile.
They are vertical video,
so not like this wide screen one
that you're watching on YouTube.
They're mostly video content,
and they're super easy for people to just kind of swipe,
or flick through,
and watch a bunch of them in a row.
So let's break down the differences
between the reels and the stories, okay?
First difference is the length.
Instagram reels can be up to 90 seconds
as of this recording,
they may extend that in the future.
That's certainly what TikTok's done,
and their videos can now be 10 minutes,
so I would expect Instagram to follow that.
So Instagram reels: 90 seconds.
Meanwhile, Instagram stories can be 15 seconds clips,
but you can record four in a row for a total of 60 seconds.
So the short version is 90 seconds versus 60 seconds
is the difference between the two.
Next up, and I think this is the most important difference
to know is the lifetime.
So Instagram reels theoretically live on forever, right?
Unless you go in and delete them,
or archive them,
they're always gonna be available to watch.
Meanwhile, Instagram stories auto delete after 24 hours,
they're gone.
Next up, is how they can be shared.
So an Instagram reel,
when you put it up,
can be also shared to your Instagram story
or to your feed.
Meanwhile, other people can share your Instagram reel
to their Instagram story.
So lots more shareability there.
And, of course, you can DM an Instagram reel to anybody.
Meanwhile, on the story side,
the only sharing you can do with a story is DMs
if it's public,
or you can also share a story
if somebody tags you in it
to your own story,
but otherwise, we can't just go share stories wildly.
Now here's another big difference
that I think is important to know is the reach.
So Instagram stories will rarely be seen
by anybody except those that are following you.
Meanwhile, Instagram reels get shown to people
who aren't following you all the time.
When somebody opens Instagram reels in the Instagram app,
the feed is mostly people they aren't following.
So reels are a great opportunity to reach people
who are not already following you.
Next up is their content tools available to you.
So, in Instagram stories,
you actually have way more stickers
and different things that you can add.
But on Instagram reels,
you have better editing tools,
which is really, really great
to make your reels really pop and stand out.
Another one to know with the content,
stories can have links,
reels cannot.
And finally, when it comes to usage,
reels are about entertainment,
or really interesting content,
potentially for strangers.
Meanwhile, stories are more about keeping up
with your active current audience
and kind of showing them what you're up to
and different things that you want them to see.
So which one is gonna bring you
the best return on your investment?
Well, I think anyone who is focusing on Instagram
should at least be putting up some reels.
It is one of the only chances
for you to reach people who are not following you.
It's way more effective than hashtags.
And again, outside of hashtags,
it's very unlikely anyone who's not following you
that is gonna see your content,
unless you are putting up Instagram reels.
While, generally, your feed posts
and your Instagram stories
only reach even a portion of the people
who are following you,
I've had Instagram reels that have reached four times
as many people as everyone who is following me.
So reels, again, are amazing way to reach new people,
but stories tend to be quicker and easier to create
and a great way to keep up with your current people.
But a lot of people have been saying,
"Oh, you just go all in on reels.
You gotta be reaching new people
and growing all the time."
But, as of this recording,
only 20% of the time that Instagram users spend in Instagram
is actually spent in reels.
So that means 80% of the time they are watching stories,
they are browsing feed posts,
they are ding friends, and family,
and whoever else.
And so, if you only focus on reels,
you're gonna miss a huge part of your audience
that's already following you,
and you're gonna have a hard time nurturing your audience
because when people watch reels,
like they may hear of you,
they may or may not ever hit follow.
So just because reels can be powerful,
don't forget the rest of Instagram.
Now you wanna learn more about how to use each of them,
I've linked to a tutorial about how to use Instagram stories
and how to use Instagram reels on the screen right now.
Or if it doesn't show up on your device,
make sure to check the description of this video
for the links there.
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