Adding a little play into your every day will make life lighter, fuller, and simply more fun. When you were younger, you used to play make-believe, sing along to your favourite songs, and dance like no one was watching - in short, you had a blast! It didn’t matter if you were doing chores, homework, or just wandering about the house, you were a living representation of Mary Poppin’s “Spoon full of sugar” song.  

So, what happened? 

Why aren’t you still bopping along while you work? 

Where’d the fun go? 

The seriousness of adulting and the stigma behind what the working life ought to look like (Hustle, hustle, hustle!) has stifled one too many hard-working entrepreneurs - It’s time to bring a little play to your day! 

Fun, play and innocent bliss look different for everyone, so trying new and creative ways to express your inner child can be a great way to figure out what works for you.  In the content marketing space, there was a big huzzah going on about ‘reels’ and all that they could do for your business. The algorithm seems to like them, they include music, and people smile while consuming this type of content…  so - naturally - I needed to check it out. 

What I found didn’t disappoint! 

Edutainment at its finest! 

By the people, for the people! 

And then it got better - A challenge! Although I didn’t take the full plunge into a 30-day challenge, I did successfully commit to and execute 14 days of reels. As a content strategist who emphasizes realistic and attainable/maintainable goals, this was my foot in the door - a test run, if you will - to see how I liked them from the creator’s side. 

Here are my findings:

A creative outlet.

Creating Reels is FUN! It stimulated creative thought and new perspectives on how you can connect with your ideal clients through performance and play. Even when creating more serious Reels, the process felt playful and exploratory. Interestingly, inspiration came more easily when listening to the various, seemingly unrelated audio clips and I was better able to make deep, emotive connections that I hadn’t thought of in the past. From a psychological perspective, this is unsurprising since sound (like smell) heavily influences memory and brain function. 

Getting dressed up… or not.

You don’t have to get dressed up to make an effective Reel. Market research taught me that there are some extremely effective, informative, and emotive Reels out there with people in their PJs - just sayin’. That said, grandma always says that if you’re going on stage (or in front of the camera), it helps to accentuate your features. Neat fact, after less than a week of doing Reels every day, I was able to go from hot mess momma to bombshell boss babe in less than 5 minutes. Take that for what you will but I’ve impressed myself. 

The learning curve.

Word of warning: there’s a bit of technology involved  - but don’t let that scare you. The learning curve isn’t fast, per se, BUT you can create amazingly resonating Reels with the basics. Besides, learning as you go is part of the adventure! 

If you’re looking to give Reels a try, start simple and use this quick, on-the-fly style process:

1. Pick the audio clip you like (by watching a few reels and tapping the audio link at the bottom and then click the button that says, “use audio” - you can also “save audio” for later use.)
2. Record your video & click “Done” (one, full video that spans the audio - no cuts. You can play with cuts, graphics, and trasitions later but we’re getting to the meat and potatoes with this one.)
3. Write some epic content & “SHARE” (This content will be similar to any other content you’re sharing on social media but remember that only the first few words will be seen on the video so make them count!)

It can be THAT easy. One of mine is just a video of a snail on a beautiful autumn day. Once you get comfortable with showing up in this space you can start amping up your Reels game by looking for some Amazing Instagram Reel Leaders to Follow. Then you can figure out what’s trending, what converts, and what matters most in the process (hint: it’s unanimous - the content is most important).

In conclusion, hopping on the Reels bandwagon is worth it and a fantastic way to inject a little play into your day. However, creating these playful marketing videos is not maintainable without a solid strategy. You can and will easily burn out if you post sporadically and hold yourself to a rhythm that you can’t honestly maintain - hence why I stopped the challenge at 14 days. 

Your content strategy can include a variety of fun elements, like Reels, but it is important to create an honest, customized plan that will keep you consistent in all that you create and share with the world. This provides ample opportunity to efficiently repurpose your content in such a way that keeps things fresh and - more importantly - leaves you with plenty of time to live life fully. 

Expanding your reach without expanding your workday doesn’t have to be hard.

It can be exciting, fun, and worry-free with the right plan to back it up!