In this article you will learn everything you need to know about real Instagram.
If you’ve never explored Instagram’s latest and hottest feature, Instagram Reels, now might be the perfect time to give it a try.
Launched in the summer of 2020, Instagram Reels was the answer to Instagram’s biggest competitor, TikTok, which has over 1 billion monthly active users.
With TikTok’s impressive spike in popularity, Instagram needed to shift gears, find ways to bring in users, increase the amount of time people spend in the app daily, and establish itself as a video entertainment platform. And that’s how Instagram Reels was born!
What is a real Instagram?
Similar to TikTok, Instagram Reelsalso called Reels is a new Instagram feature and allows users to create 15, 30 or 60 second videos, add music, creative effects and play with fun tools (filters or others).
You can find them on the Reels tab, which is the middle button at the bottom of your screen. This significant change to the app encourages users to browse and share Instagram reals more often.
You’ll discover popular and trending Instagram Reels on the Explore page, in addition to Reels from accounts you already follow, which you can also see in your Instagram feed.
Although Instagram’s algorithm remains a mystery, Instagram’s reals are quite similar to TikTok.
This means that it is heavily influenced by who you follow, your location, and the content you usually interact with.
Let’s see how to use reals on Instagram :
- To access reals via the Reals tab, press the middle button of your application Instagram (cinema icon)
- You can access Instagram reals through the Instagram home screen. Open the app on your phone, then tap on the plus sign ‘+’ present in the top right corner and then scroll down to the Reels tab.
To view different Insta reals, you can simply swipe up. Like a classic Instagram post, you can like, comment and share a real Instagram.
If you are wondering how to make real Or how to post real ones on Instagramfollow the step-by-step guide covered in this section.
- Open the Instagram app
- Press the “+” button then Reel
- You are now on the screen for creating a real Insta
The following steps consist of creating your reality simply.
You will have access to different options when creating your real one.
Here are the options available to you:
- Adding music
- Changing the duration of the Insta real
- Changing the playback speed of your real
- Adding effects
- Skin softening (via retouching)
- Changing the video structure (composition)
- Adding a timer

Once everything is ready, press the record button to capture the clips or upload a video from your phone gallery. Press and hold the “Play” button, you can record and stop multiple times depending on your content format and needs.
To watch, cut out and delete any of your recorded clips, press the back arrow to the right of the record button.
Now tap on the individual clips. To cut it out, press on the scissors.
Once you are finished recording and editing your realyou can use the draw and text tool to add captions, or you can also add multiple Instagram stickers.
Note that if your video has voiceover or dialogue, be sure to add captions (subtitles) to your videos. Adding a legend allows you to better understand reality.
Additionally, even if the sound is turned off on users’ phones, they understand the message just by reading the subtitles.
Finally, edit the cover photo with a thumbnail of the video, or you can add it from the camera gallery.
You can add music to your real (and even your favorite part of it) by tapping the musical note icon.
You then go and head to the Instagram music library.
Choose your favorite song and that’s it!
By clicking on the time icon (below music), you will be able to choose the duration of your real. By default the duration of a real is 15 seconds. You can extend it to 30 seconds and 60 seconds (professional account only).
The next step consists of choose your real playback speed.
Indeed, some creative videos are played in accelerated fashion, for example.
To do this, click on the speed icon below the time.
To choose between different reading options:
- 0.3x (slow motion)
- 0.5x (slow motion)
- 1x (normal)
- 2x (accelerated)
- x3 (accelerated)
The next step is to choose an effect.
By clicking on the effects icon (below speed), you can choose from tons (yes really) of pre-recorded effects on Instagram.
Select the one you like to move on to the next step.
This real Instagram option allows you to soften the skin features on your real videos.
Practical if you complexify your skin.
Like the previous steps, to add a timer to your real one, click on the chrono icon on the left and choose the duration of the timer then tap on “Schedule timer”.
The final step is to publish your creation.
Let’s see how you can post your real with your friends:
- Look at your real one and if you are satisfied with the result, press the Preview button then Next to go to the Share page.
- Edit the cover photo of the real with a video thumbnail, or add a cover photo of the real via a pre-saved photo (alternative)
- Identify the people present in reality
- Write an Instagram caption
You now have two options: you can directly publish the real Instagram or save it as a draft to post when your followers are most active on Instagram. This way your reel can get maximum range.
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Why Real Instagrams Matter?
Whether for a personal or professional Instagram account, creating real content on Instagram has become key to a digital marketing strategy.
Let’s see some interesting facts about Insta reals that make it an important channel for content creators.
Real Instagrams are not ephemeral
Instagram already had a place to create short videos, and that’s in Insta Stories. The only problem is that Stories disappear after 24 hours unless saved as a Featured Story.
One of the main advantages of Instagram posts is that they provide interesting permanent content like a traditional post.
The real ones have a separate section on the hashtag page
Instagram is intensely promoting its new features to its users. This is why Instagram created a separate section on the hashtags page to promote it
Sometimes you may want to watch real ones on a specific topic. And you can do this by tapping on the insta hashtag at the bottom of the video, and you will be taken to other posts with the same hashtag.
You can also do this with a specific sound you like. Just tap on the real’s audio, which will take you to other reals that have used the same audio.
This is a great opportunity for any user who wants to get their content out to a wider audience.
Instagram is all about video
Indeed, the CPO of Instagram recently communicated on the vision of the American company. Vision tends to highlight videos more than photos on Instagram.
For content creators, this means that by creating a real rather than a classic post, you potentially reach a wider audience. Which can be interesting for growing your community.
Add multiple links in your Instagram bio
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What is the format of Insta reals?
THE Instagram real format is the same as that of Instagram stories, namely 9:16 or 1080px/1920px.
How long does a real last?
A real can last between 15 and 30 seconds for a personal account and 15 to 60 seconds for a professional Instagram account.
You can choose the duration of an Insta real directly when creating it by clicking on “Duration” on the left of the screen.
A real one made you laugh a lot and you want to send it to one of your friends. Here’s how to share it, it’s very simple:
- Go to the reality in question
- Click on the little paper airplane on the right
- Select the recipient and it’s done!
Differences between real Instagram vs Tiktok
Although Insta reals are almost like TikTok, there are specific differences that make these two formats different from each other.
Here are 3 interesting facts:
- Fundamentally speaking, Real and Tiktok are very similar in terms of a social tool for users. Both platforms allow you to share short, creative videos.
- However, Instagram Reels and TikTok differ significantly in their identity, i.e. Reels is part of the Instagram ecosystem, it is “only” a feature. Tiktok, on the other hand, has based its entire platform on this principle.
- The last notable difference is the video time limit they offer. The maximum time limit for Instagram Reels is 60 seconds, but the time limit for TikToks can be up to 3 minutes.
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