The Ultimate Instagram Reels FORMULA For Churches

Today, I'm sharing with you the exact formula I use to publish short-form videos. There are ten items in this formula we need to cover. And I've even put together a free, downloadable checklist for you as well for easy memory. Let's dive in.

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Table of Contents:
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0:00 - Intro
1:03 - #1: The Hook
2:47 - #2: On-Screen Title
3:25 - #3: On-Screen Captions
5:19 - #4: Wide Field of View + Shallow Depth of Field
6:00 - #5: Call-to-Action
8:13 - #6: Watch for Overlapped Elements
8:49 - #7: Caption
8:58 - #8: Hashtags
9:03 - #9: Background Audio
9:17 - #10: Cover Photo

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Show Notes:
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Connect With Brady:
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#ChurchInstagramStrategy #ChurchSocialMediaTips #ChurchSocialMediaPlan

[prochurchtools]

Keeping track of all the checks and balances for your vertical videos can be confusing and takes time to build a good workflow - so I hope this video gives those who need it a leg up on that journey. 🦵🏃‍♂

[MoogsC]

I use block captions because, from comments I’ve read, viewers don’t have the patience to wait for the captions to appear line by line. They like to scan them, especially, I would imagine, the ones who watch with the sound off. I use hooks in the title but also use the reel itself as a hook for the longform caption, where I put the bulk of the information I want to communicate, using scannable bullets. I found this especially helpful with speakers who don’t speak in sound bites or who do more exegesis-style sermons. I took this idea from personal brands and decided to try it with our church account and have been seeing success. I’ve been experimenting with reels for awhile and am glad to say that, with the above two exceptions, we’ve been hitting all the points in your video. Thank you so much for the way you support churches with their online efforts and help us put out quality content.

[dianevanhoozer]

Friendly reminder that Premier Pro can now do captions automatically! You can even edit the words themselves or the way that they look. Super Helpful!

[johnravi]

Hi Brady,

It was a great share! We have recently set up an Instagram account for our Church. Some other members are managing it. I had a few suggestions and we are all sharing ideas as to what should we post and how often should we do it. I think this will be a great resource for all of us. I will share this with other members and I hope they find value in it and will be able to use these tips to improve the current strategy. Thanks a lot, for sharing, it was a great watch!

[graceunitedmethodistchurch]

This is so helpful! Our Sunday livestreams recently started getting copyright muted on Facebook so we've been trying to figure out other ways of using video on Facebook and Instagram. Now we're going to edit the sermons into reels and encourage folks to check out our YouTube channel for the full service.

[gothopemn]

Brady Shearer, so appreciate all your wisdom!

[stevefogg]

SO good Brady, I've passed this onto my whole comms team to apply!

[glcordon]

I saw that you needed one e like to get to 667 so I had to. Great content!

[beckydouglas-henry]

Premiere Pro now has a caption function that does it automatically for you and it is great!

[grahamfortin]

Still can't believe you went to Vanguard, I just graduated from Vanguard a couple months ago!

[chrishirschy]

How do you apply step for to sermon videos already recorded horizontally? I've found some turtoirials online for how to turn horizontal videos into vertical videos, but they require cropping. Is this just a neccearry evil of using sermon footage for reels?

It would be super helpful for you to make a video with a veritory of ways to turn sermon videos into horizontal videos. With different price and usability options.

[gracepointechurchptc]

Is it better to use Stories or Reels or both? New video topic. Thank you

[MissionaryFilms]

Great video! Also If you are using premiere they now include transcription service of your videos for free!

[amandahertzler]

Just curious, why do you recommend keeping the captions short?

[JonathanRichey]

What if the audience is the church? Based on the current sermon series our church is going through, I find it difficult to find where the topics intersect culture. Is it possible to do an entire video on just finding the right hook with plenty of examples? The examples you gave seem to work best for topical preaching, but our church tends to preach line by line through a passage in the Bible. For example, our next sermon is titled I Am Poor out of Mark 10:17-31 with the goal of learning more and more about our identity in Christ. I have watched the sermon twice but still not sure how someone outside the church would find this relevant.

[ajmason]

Black tee is crisp. What is the blank of that tee?

[gillianmilton]

Do you think it's necessary to grow a page or channel if you are a small/medium church who is using social media just to connect & disciple people in their local area? It feels like going viral and having a whole lot of TikTok followers doesn't really impact out local area. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

[wffpgmedia]

I've always enjoyed your helpful tips for churches to navigate the wide world of online media options for connecting with people. I have no problem with your advice here BUT I am totally lost as to how to create these videos in either FB. IG or (Lord save me, ) Tik Tok. How to use any software to create these short videos as outlined by you. Can you get past the philosophy of what we're supposed to do to the "How To" part.