New Reels remix offers Instagram engagement boost

Instagram Reels has launched Remix, its clone of TikTok's incredibly popular Duets.

The new Remix update will enable Instagram content producers to jump on the engagement bandwagon and copy what's worked so well over at TikTok.

Instagram Creators

"Now you can create your own reel alongside an existing reel! Whether you're capturing your reaction, responding to fans or bringing your own magic to trends, Remix is another way to collab on Instagram."

Remix allows users to record a video in response to an existing Reel — similar to TikTok's popular Duet feature.

While this sounds a simple enough cloning, Instagram has always been a bit light on with collaboration features; for example, it resisted native regram style features deliberately for many years.

Reels remixes, therefore, represent somewhat of a step change for Instagram, as it plays catchup with TikTok.

Instagrammers can now remix any Instagram Reel, as long as the original creator has enabled Remix access. TikTok, on the other hand, has iterated and experimented with collaborative features for some time.

TikTok

"From Duet to Stitch, voice tools and more, we're always building features that make it easy for our community to engage with and reinvent the creative content that's made and shared on TikTok every day. 

Every video on TikTok has the potential to inspire endless creativity. Original songs are enthusiastically covered, old jokes find new punchlines, and homemade recipes are reviewed by world-famous chefs."

As Reels remixes eventually catch on, it is reasonable to expect Instagram to expand further its collaborative feature set for brands, creators and users alike.

Remix can boost engagement and reach

Remix should help to massage the creativity of Instagram content producers, who will be able to produce content that appeals to a wide audience without having to dream up entirely original ideas.

Brands could also team up with influencers, which could spark a chain reaction of user-generated content (UGC) that predominantly features a brand name.

Brands and marketers could use Remix to jump in on trends or even try and create their own, while also using it as a source of UGC. Combined, this should help to boost engagement and organic reach on Instagram.

An excellent recent example over on TikTok, is Pepsi's TikTok duet campaign #PepsiChallenge.

To date, the campaign has been a phenomenal success and has gained over two billion views – all with Pepsi's branding in the front and centre.

The #PepsiChallenge encourages fans to demonstrate their football skills alongside Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba, Shanice van de Sanden, and Jadon Sancho in a split-screen video.

To duet with one of the featured players, fans have to search for #PepsiChallenge on TikTok and select the player they want to pair with via the @PepsiGlobal TikTok channel.

Aman Matharu, Director of Digital Transformation & Marketing Capability for Global Beverages at PepsiCo

"At Pepsi, entertainment is at the heart of everything we do, and TikTok is the perfect platform for endless entertainment.

It's also great for discovery, so we're bringing the biggest players with the hottest new track to give fans a chance to express themselves with their idols. We can't wait to see the creativity."

Having Messi on your books is admittedly handy. Two billion views would have been a squeeze if you were leading with Rory Delap. But looking beyond that, Pepsi's entire duets campaign mechanic is well thought through and executed seamlessly across paid and unpaid channels.

Hence, while not all brands will see such engagement figures, it gives an idea of Duets' power and how they can be used to boost exposure and organic reach. Brands should look to replicate similar concepts across Instagram now with Remix.

How to Remix on Instagram Reels

It seems that creating a Remix will be pretty straight forward.

• Find a Reel you want to Remix.
• Tap on the three dots on a Reel and click on 'Remix this Reel'.
• The screen will split into two: the original Reel and the new one. Your new recording will appear side-by-side to the original.
• Once you've completed the recording, you can control the original's volume, audio you recorded, and add a voiceover.
• Edit the Remix, and then post.

Only new Reels will have Remix automatically enabled, but you can go back and enable this setting for older Reels.

Instagram Creators

"To enable Remix on your older reels, tap the three-dot menu and hit "Enable Remixing". To remix someone else's reel, ask them to do the same! You can turn off Remix at any time via Settings, for all reels, or the three-dot menu for the individual reel."