How reels can increase reads
How I have used instagram reels to increase Vocal reads
I am fairly new to Vocal having just posted for the first time 18 days ago. I found Vocal when bored one day and searching to discover where I could post some of my poems with the opportunity to make money while doing so.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my journey on the platform so far and plan to be a member for as long as I can keep thinking of poems to write. However when attempting to share with friends I have yet to find someone familiar with the platform.
I have an entrepreneurial spirit and like to find ways to monetize even my hobbies. While I use my poetry as a vent for anxiety, I love that I now have a place where it's still free to read, but where I can be rewarded for how well it does. Not just through facebook likes and comments.
So when I posted my first poem on Vocal "American Wilderness" I also made a reel for it on instagram here and as a result had it trending as a top story on Vocal afterwards!
Reels are finicky and I am still playing around with instagrams algorithm. I am trying to decide if music or text to speech is better. My most recent poem "Fog" also was a Top Story on Vocal, however the reel I made for it here is text to speech and has not performed as well on instagram even though I believe the product to be better.
Because Instagram is so algorithm dependent it seems that it's better to have some kind of trending music selected with your reel than to have text to speech.
This presents an issue because even though I am sure a reel would perform better to the tune of "My money don't jiggle jiggle" I have a hard time putting socially introspective poetry to that particular tune.
The answer definitely falls somewhere in between. Either way here are some tips that I've learned to create a better product!
1. I download images from unsplash that fit my poems subject matter.
2. I upload them as a reel and put them in the most logical order.
3. I then take my favorite stanza from my poem and add it as text to the reel.
4. I time it one line per image, which is easy to do. One thing I have learned is DO NOT use the highlight feature. It bugs out once your process the reel and doesn't keep up you can see that example in my "American Wilderness" reel. However people like reels for their dynamic content not a static image so I do still use the feature where one word appears at a time. Pay attention to where your words line up on an image, and change their color as necessary. White words on a light image can't be read, same for black words on a dark image.
5. Add static text that stays for the duration of the reel that reads "Check out my poem "xxx" on Vocal. Link in description/bio!". My bio on instagram is linked to my profile on Vocal so I don't have to change it. Even though you can't click a link outside of a bio on instagram I still add the direct link to the description as I have my instagram tied to my facebook where you can click on direct links.
I am sure that you could take all of these ideas and modify them for regular story posts on Vocal as well, so far I have only written poems on here so that's what I have geared mine towards!
I hope you find this interesting, let's discover together! Leave me a comment on ways you have successfully shared your content across social media.
==========
If you enjoyed this please consider reading a poem of mine. Here is "Leaves" which is a poem dedicated to people suffering loss of a loved one.
I am new to this platform and am trying to build a subscriber base, and would be honored if you subscribe as I continue to create more content like this. If you feel like giving away money and want to give me a tip, I'm always grateful!
About the Creator
W. Joe O'Banion
Proud father of two, married to my best friend, and I write to cope with being a human.
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.