What Instagram's New Reels Guide Means for Small Businesses
Instagram doesn’t often tell us what it wants. Most of the time we’re left guessing, comparing notes in Facebook groups and hoping for the best. So when it published an updated guide to making Reels this week, I read it properly. Here’s what it means if you run a small business.
What does the new Reels guide actually say?
A few things stand out. Reels can now be anywhere from 3 seconds to 3 minutes long, so there’s a lot of room to play with. Instagram also points to its editing tools, and says captions and text overlays should be used together, rather than one replacing the other.
None of that is dramatic, and I think that’s the point. It’s Instagram quietly telling us that clear, watchable videos are what it wants to show people.
How long should a small business Reel be?
The honest answer is: as long as it needs to be, and not a second longer. Having a 3-minute limit doesn’t mean you need to use it.
A quick before-and-after, a 10-second tip or a short look around your workshop can do brilliantly. A longer Reel makes sense when you’re properly showing something, such as a full how-to or a customer story. If you find yourself padding, cut it.
Why captions and text on screen both matter
Lots of people scroll with the sound off, on the bus, in a waiting room or in bed next to someone who’s asleep. If your Reel only makes sense with audio, you lose them.
Text on screen grabs attention in the first second or two. The caption underneath adds the detail, the personality and the nudge to do something. Instagram is now saying you need both, which is a good reminder for anyone who has been skipping one of them.
Instagram's new AI assistant: helpful, but not a replacement
Alongside the guide, Instagram’s Edits app now has an AI assistant that looks at your views, retention, likes and shares, along with trending topics and comments, and suggests what to do next.
I think that’s a useful tool for small business social media in the UK, where most owners don’t have time to dig through stats. But it can only tell you what happened. It can’t tell you how your customers think, or what makes them stop and trust you. That part still needs a human who knows your business.
Five things I'd do this week
First, look at your last five Reels and check whether each one makes sense with the sound off. Second, add text on screen to anything that doesn’t. Third, check your captions say something useful, and not just a string of hashtags. Fourth, cut any Reel that’s longer than it needs to be. Fifth, pick one Reel that did well and make another in the same style.
That’s it. No new tool, no big budget, just a little tidying up of what you’re already doing.
Keeping up without losing your mind
Platforms change something every week, and most of it won’t matter to your business. The skill is knowing which bits do. That’s a big part of what I do as a social media manager for SMEs: I keep an eye on the changes, and tell my clients what they mean in plain English.
If you’d like help with social media management for small businesses, whether that’s Instagram, Facebook or TikTok, I’d love to hear from you. I’m based in Sunderland but I work with businesses all over the UK, and I’ll always keep it friendly and jargon-free.
You can get in touch here: ryan@reachbeyondsocial.co.uk