Tailoring Successful Reel Techniques to Your Niche

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:05]:
I am your host, Shannon McKinstrie. Welcome to Good Content, the podcast where I remove the never ending content creation guesswork and overwhelm so that you can actually enjoy being on social media again and growing your business with what has always worked. Good content. Well, hey, friend. Welcome to another episode of good content. I actually didn't have a plan for today, so we're just gonna scroll a little bit and see what we find, because I know everyone is saying their reach is down. The reach is down. But here's the thing.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:34]:
And their views are down. Here's the thing. There's tons of reels going viral right now, so not everyone's reach is down. So we're gonna figure out what's working right now so you can figure out how to then tailor what's working to your niche. That's what I do in the Reels Lab for my students. And actually, I got a DM this morning from one of my Reels Lab students. Her reel got over 1 million views overnight.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:52]:
And again, if you've listened to other episodes, her reel was simple, shareable, specific what I'm always preaching. Simple messaging, specific messaging. So they know exactly like, they know what they're looking at. They know what the pain point is, what the reel itself is showcasing, solving, and they know if it's for them or not. And then shareable again, it's. It's a reel that makes them want to send it to their friends and family or the group chat. Right? The group chat hero, as I like to say. So let's just dive in.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:17]:
Let's have some fun, because social media should be fun, guys. Now, again, when it comes to - I actually did a live yesterday with my dear friend Brenna. Go watch it. She is brilliant. Messaging is her thing. And what I always tell people is a lot of times people will maybe come into the Reels Lab or they'll start using hooks and templates, and they kind of... They're like, why isn't this working? I'm like, because you don't know your messaging yet. You might think you know your people, but you don't know your people until you really talk to them and listen, right? So I think one of the main things that I talked about last week was the no gatekeeping, right? So here we go.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:48]:
Here's a reel. Again, I'm going to save it and it'll be in the show notes. If you're watching on YouTube, you can see it. At the top is a hook. This is b roll with text overlay it's about five, six second, maybe an eight second reel. At the top, it says "secure sounds like" and underneath and smaller text.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:03]:
Guys, I really want you to start observing what's working, but not only that, what text are they using? What placement is the text? What fonts are they using? That stuff comes into play, right? And I always tell people, simple black and white, guys, our brains, when it's like bright red, pink, sometimes it's hard for us to read. So that's another quick tip for you to take and run with. Do classic font that is easy to read. I have people dm me. Sometimes they're like, Shannon, I couldn't read your last reel. I, you know, I'm a little older or visually impaired. You got to remember that stuff. Okay, so let's.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:33]:
Let's break this reel down word by word. Secure sounds like great word, right? Secure. And you can see her handle is Anxious Hearts Guide. So, obviously, her account is about anxiety. Okay, secure sounds like, I can't talk right now, but I'm excited to call you when I'm done working. Next. I've been feeling nervous about bringing something up, but I know it's important to have hard conversations. Next.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:56]:
You don't have to get everything perfect for me to love you. I see your efforts, and I appreciate them so much. Last. Thank you for listening. I know that was heavy. I love that you're open to hearing this stuff. Okay. The caption, her hook says, I had no idea I was contributing to the problem.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:12]:
Wow, that is a good hook. Storytelling at its finest. Please remember that Instagram is a storytelling app. Always has been, always will be. At the end of the day, that's how we connect. We remember stories 20 times more than statements. She goes, at my most anxious. I couldn't understand why my partner didn't want to work on the relationship with me.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:30]:
So what she's showing is these are secure ways to start a conversation or end a conversation with your partner that will help someone with anxiety get through those tough conversations. So, again, even though that hook is only three words, so specific and so clear, secure sounds like. And, you know, under it, you're going to see some quick takeaways. I tell this to the therapists, the coaches, parent coaches, everything. We want to know what to say. I had a group training this morning with a group of dieticians. I told them how we want you to tell us what to eat. And as far as coaches and mentors and therapists and things like that, we want you to tell us what to say.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:07]:
So the more for your, what's going well in your niche right now, if you're in that type of niche, tell us what to say. What should the email say? What should the sign off say? How do I start that conversation? What's the prompt for coaches people in what I do? What's the hook? What's the verbal hook? Tell us what to do. So that's, I think, the takeaway for today because again, I wanted to scroll until I found something that I want to talk about. That's it. Tell us what to do. Tell us what to say. Tell us what to eat. Tell us what to buy.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:34]:
Right? What do I make? I was talking to the writing coach that's helping me write my book. Crazy, right? What. What is life? I was telling her, you know, about my four h's, right? Heard helpful humor and happening the helpful. Again, we overthink it. We want to save the world with every helpful post, right? Do you see how, like, this didn't save the world, but it sure did help a lot of people, and a lot of people saved it and shared it. Actually, when viral had over 66,000 likes and I told my writing coach this, I was like, okay, it's almost like when you're walking around, let's say you're at Disney World, or let's say you're in a touristy part of town and you have seen everywhere on Instagram this viral place to get creeps, whatever it is, you see someone walking around it with the crepe or the coffee cup that says the name of the place you're trying to find, you can't find it. What are you going to do? Well, if you're like me, you'll just go and be like, where'd you get that? Please help me. Right? And they're gonna go, oh, take a left here.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:23]:
Da da da da. End of story. That's all a helpful piece of content does. Give them a direction. Tell them what to do. Tell them where to go. Okay. So there you go.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:31]:
That is. I want to keep this one short and sweet. All right, another one. Now, again, we can talk relatable. This is another one. Me trying to get my friend to stay an extra 15 minutes when they had to leave 20 minutes ago because I really enjoyed their time. And if someone jumped me up going, hold on here. Let me tell you something.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:46]:
Let me tell you something, all right? Let me tell you something. That audio is hilarious. So again, 900,000 likes, you guys, and all it is is them acting out and being like, no, no, don't leave. Write scenarios in your life when something kind of funny happens and you find yourself doing it. Write it down. I have a whole folder saved or, like, funny in Google Docs. Sorry. Not a folder of, like, silly scenarios that come up with my husband and I that I will eventually turn into reals when the right audio comes.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:12]:
So that's another thing I would suggest when it comes to educational, especially to start scrolling and see what's working. And I just showed you guys that one. Let me go to one more. And especially with the relatable funny, those are typically based on scenarios that happen a lot for you or your ideal client, and you just got to brainstorm them. Another fun hack is go to TikTok and, like, type in your niche and then humor and see what people are saying. Again, don't steal. Right. Okay.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:33]:
And then here's an empathy heard one, because I want to give you. So there was the relatable, the educational. Now we'll go on to heard. I'm just going to read it to you guys and we'll wrap this up. Okay. Just like, kind of a chill audio. It matches the vibe. The video is someone pouring wine.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:46]:
It's just two wine glasses, 22,000 likes, 11,000 views. Katie Wish is the creator. It says cheers to the friendships that choose to pour into your cup before asking you to pour into theirs. Oh, that makes me want to cry. The friend that genuinely wants good things for you, even when they're still waiting for them in their own life. Friends that don't pretend to cry, don't protect jealousy or envy, only authentic support and encouragement. The ones who truly want everything for you that you want for yourself. Friends that care.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:12]:
And it goes on and on. Oh, my God. I'm gonna send this to my best friends right now. Sending it to two of my friend group chats. Okay, so this kind of friendship is the caption. So again, our eyes read the screen, then we work our way down. Our eyes are brought back up. So there you go.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:27]:
That's heard the one before. It was funny, relatable, and then, of course, helpful. And you know what else? This is kind of an interesting one that's gone. Probably not viral viral, but it's gotten a lot of traction. I want my kids to come take groceries and toilet paper out of my cabinets when they are 22. I want them to stop for dinner when it is their favorite meal. Age 34. Oh, my gosh, another herd.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:49]:
I want them to know I'm one call away. They are forever my kids, not temporary assignments. Oh, my gosh. Beautiful. So, again, simple b roll. Simple text on top. But again, if you were to try to mimic this, don't reinvent the real. Do the b roll and put the text, maybe use the same font, the same type of text, right in the center ish middle.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:08]:
There you go. Okay, so that's what's working right now. Simple. Tell us what to say. Tell me what to buy. Tell me what to do. Tell me how I want to help me feel something and then something make me laugh. That is it, guys.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:20]:
The four hs, I talk about them a lot, but one more. Let's do one more. Um, and then this is a favorite, I say, for today. I do remember this. This is, again, this is a great way to demo something if you're able to show something like you're a chiropractor or mindset or fitness. Right. It says pov. When you remember that, softening will help regulate your nervous system in seconds.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:40]:
I'm obsessed with this because we want instant gratification within seconds is the key term right here for the word and the nervous system. We know what that is in softening. Guess what it does when we see softening. What the heck is softening, girl? And then we watch it, and we watch her physically drop her shoulders and open her mouth and soften her face. It will be in the show notes. So brilliant, you guys. This is what's working right now. We don't want a masterclass.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:05]:
We want something simple, short. This is all, if you've listened to this podcast from the beginning, I've said all these things, but I just wanted to make sure, you know, this is why I'm constantly observing, because what if all of a sudden something else is working, something different is working. I will make sure to report back. But those are some hooks for you to kind of hack and ask yourself what you can do today. What's something that you can tell them to do, say bye, et cetera. Something super simple and relatable to make them laugh and or what's something that they need to hear that will make them feel comforted? Right? Remember comfort accounts? I've talked about that, too. So this was a really off the cuff podcast. But again, I just want to kind of revisit what's working.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:38]:
And just so you know, one more thing, my talk to camera reels are what's converting the most followers right now. I didn't talk about that a lot. So next week, I will be sure to focus solely on talk to camera and how to get confident on camera and how to start your reel. That'll be a really, really good one. So until then, I will talk to you next week. I love you, friend. Have a great one. Happy creating.