How to Create Viral Reels From Everyday Video Clips

I just wrapped a workshop for consignment shop owners and I have a big win to share that will help you crush your next piece of content and finally get out of 200 view jail. Fun fact: your next viral video is already sitting on your phone, just waiting for the right hook. You already know that storytelling and human connection are key elements for creating good content, but today we’ll go a step further and I’ll break down the viral reel one consignment store owner created in my workshop. She shared a simple reel that landed perfectly with her audience using a three week old video clip she found in her camera roll and a touching human moment.

In this episode we’ll be covering:

• A peek into my weekend workshop with an amazing group of women and how they finally broke out of 200 view jail.
• The storytelling potential I envisioned for this group of consignment shop owners.
• A viral reel case study: how we turned a B-roll reel about a postman into viral success by adding more context and emotional appeal.
• What it means to close the loop when we create a piece of content, and why it’s important!
• If you’re wondering how to get access to all the great trending audio sounds you hear on Instagram, I have the quick fix you need to start using those sounds asap!

Featured content in this episode:

• Chic_and_unique_burlington: Our postman…

Recommended episodes:

• Episode 94: You Want Your Content to Fit Your Life, Not Become Your Life
• Episode 95: Building Real Community with Stories and Shared Moments
• Episode 96: Boost Retention Rates and Create Memorable Content that Feels Human
• Episode 100: Use Identity Driven Content to Connect and Engage with Your Audience
• Episode 101: Double Your Views on Instagram with the RISE Formula

If you use the send a message option above, be sure to include your email address if you would like a reply! (Please allow 3-5 business days for a response)

Join me in the Reels Lab!

Love this conversation? Make sure to follow and subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Connect with me on Instagram!

Transcript

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:05]:
I am your host, Shannon McKinstrie. Welcome to Good Content, the podcast where I remove the never ending content creation guesswork and overwhelm so that you can actually enjoy being on social media again and growing your business with what has always worked. good content. All right, so this is a first. We are doing the podcast from the airport because I've been traveling and We are here in Pensacola. We just got done with a trip. I was here for a speaking engagement, doing a workshop. So just so you know, it is 7:15 in the morning, but you already know I can't get on the plane until I've had my little mimosa. So anyway, we're about to fly back home, but we just spent the last 3 days.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:43]:
I led a full day on Saturday for consignment shop owners. So, um, a lot of people who resell everything from children's clothes to home decor to luxury handbags. And what's cool is like for them, I was like, you guys have it an upper hand. And of course they're like, yeah, yeah, right. Like, no, you do. You have a brick and mortar, you have plenty of stuff, you have products every single day coming in your door that people are excited to see, like a treasure hunt. And you get to tell the story. And you're, of course, you're doing this, you know, amazing thing for the environment with sustainability, et cetera.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:11]:
So I had the best time. It was about, I want to say like 20 to 30 women. It was fun. The girls and my husband came with me. They had a blast at the resort. And yeah, it was just the best 3 days. But what I want to talk about, cause I want to keep this podcast short and sweet. Is the biggest breakthrough we had, which was what I always tell y'all.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:29]:
Your next viral video is already on your phone. It's on there and I have proof. So the full day Saturday, half of it was stories. So I did an Instagram stories presentation and then we did implementation. Then we did reels masterclass/training and then helping them edit. And then we spent the rest of the day editing and creating the reels. Most of them got their reels and stories up that day, which was so, so, so exciting, which is again, just a really good reminder that sometimes like You know, in business you're kind of alone and they're all consignment store owners and a lot of them are consignment shop owners in very rural small towns. So I help them with their bio and all this stuff.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:01]:
So this is just a reminder that if you're really struggling, like get in a room and get in an in-person training because the fact that I was able to take their phone, show them what buttons to push, because it is a lot, right? And it was just funny. Every person's phone I picked up, their interface was different because some had Droids, some had different versions of Instagram, right? So, um, just wanted to say that, but We had one of the attendees yesterday, by, I believe yesterday, let's go see what it is. But when I saw them again the next day near the pool, one of them came up to me. She goes, Shannon, did you hear? I'm like, what? She's like, the reel about the postman is over 30,000 views. I'm having trouble finding it, but I will make sure it's in the show notes for you guys to see. So she shows me this video and she wrote, I gave them a bunch of hooks to use. She shows me this video. It's of a postman comes into their consignment shop and there's about 6 or 7.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:47]:
Oh gosh. 6, 7. My daughter's wigging out. 6 to 7 shipments to go out. Now, what she originally had on screen was like, you know, she had the curiosity there, right? The loop we want to close with our brains with hooks. But she said, you know, wait till you see our postman's face when he sees all our shipments today. Well, I was like, but why? What's the context? Like, it's still missing a piece. Is this a big deal? Is this not a big deal? Is this right? What is it? So I go, well, what's the story? And she goes, well, He gets really excited when we have things to ship out because we're a small consignment store in a smaller town. She goes, yeah, and that was like a pretty big deal that we had like this many and one was going to Sweden.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:25]:
And she goes, oh, and he gives us a gold star every time we have a shipment out. I'm like, excuse me, that's the cutest thing I've ever heard. So I go, why don't we tell that story? That's what people want to know because we all love something to rally around, right? So I added the text, she added the text, it literally said something along the lines of, and it's a very sweet six second video. But this is the thing, it's a human moment. It's a human moment. And that is what goes crazy. We know that. So, and again, instead of telling us what you do all the time and telling us about your boutique, your products, your service, your candles, whatever it is, show us, show us the excitement and the heart behind your business.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:04]:
That is what's going to make us share it, come in with a quickness. So my daughter Camden, my 12 year old, to save the day, she found the video. It says, our postman gives us a gold star when we have shipments going out, and this may be our favorite reaction yet. And you let it wait, because again, what does our brain want to do? It wants to close the loop, and you wait for his reaction, and there it is. Look. And she said there was like, one was going out to Sweden, which is crazy. So, hold on. It's a women's consignment boutique in Burlington, Wisconsin.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:30]:
Chic and Unique Burlington. She's at 31,000 views. Her views before, 49 views, 350 views. You know, that typical 200 view jail that especially smaller businesses are in. Telling a simple story. And guess what? She shared another reel this morning. This and no one rushing me. Oh my gosh, she used my hook.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:48]:
I love it. She used my hook that I gave them. I said, because it should. this and no one rushing me, guys, is perfect for anything where you think about the video as the main context, right? The video is the star. What is the this? The this in this one is her at the resort with her consignment store community people, besties. I told them they could use it for their antique shop, their thrift store, whatever it is, show it and just say this and no one rushing me, right? Showing all the products that people get to You know, comb through and hunt. You guys, 38,000 views, and I'm sure it brought in followers. I'm hoping I'll find out from her. If anything, it's helped the algorithm know that people are engaged with her content, and now she has a full plan.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:24]:
I gave them so many hooks. I gave them, you know, I broke down the 4H method. They're all so excited, and it just goes to show that video was already on her camera roll from 3 ish weeks ago. I think she said 2 to 3 weeks ago. There you go. Your next viral video is already on your phone, even if it is some silly B-roll of you walking, of whatever. You keep listening to this podcast, following my hooks on Instagram, and I promise you, I promise you, those hooks that I share over some generic B-roll can go crazy, right? There's so many types of ways to create a short-form video, Reel, TikTok, YouTube Short, etc. Either text first, like I do a lot of, which is the B-roll is kind of just like boring, mundane, and then the text is really strong, whether it's a thought provoking opinion or it's a hot take or it's a tip, it's a hack, or it's something inspiring, a story, or something like her video where a lot of the video, the context, the story was in the video, and then she had to put text on top to say what was actually happening.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:19]:
Because again, when I saw that video first of the postman going, oh wow, I don't know what he's wowing— what is he wowed about? Is he surprised? Is this too little of shipments? Is this a lot of shipments? Why? What is the story? We told it. Done. And then she can take that, reuse it again, do things like rich in life because our postman gives us a gold star every time, et cetera. So instead of getting too far deep into it, I don't want to give you too much, but I just want you to scroll your Instagram. Now, of course, a lot of you might be like, yeah, Shannon, I have a lot of videos on my camera roll like that, but they're of my kids or of this. Who cares? That's fine too. But also obviously better if you can show something like that in your store, in your workplace, while you're on an event, whatever it is. But use the B-roll you have, use the content you already have.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:57]:
Chloe's agreeing, guys. So I'm sorry for the background noise. I'm sorry for, um, the fact that we're recording in this airport, but I just wanted to get that out because this is such an important lesson for all of you. It's not I always say it, but it's not that deep. And every single person there who put a reel up broke out of 200 view jail yesterday. Another girl messaged me this morning, she's at like 2,000 views when normally she's at 50 views because she put we put a bunch of clips that were already on her phone, little tiny clips of her consignment boutique. We put 5 together, made them each about like 1-ish second each, put it to some fun music. On top said, if you're looking for the best consignment store in, put the city state, you're looking at it, or this is it, something like that.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:35]:
She's it's the first video she's had that's broken out of that 1,000 view. It's already on your phone. Follow the hooks I tell you. Create an experience. Invite them into your world. Let them see what it's like, what it's like to shop with you, what it's like to work with you, what are the behind-the-scenes moments, what is your humor, what is your heart. That's it, guys. That is it.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:53]:
We are back to human connection. I'm so freaking excited about it. And this, these women, all the content that they created and the results they're getting is proof of it. So that was the biggest takeaway, I think, for them. Another quick takeaway, a little hack for you. They were all excited to know this. All of them didn't have music because they're listed as retail. So if you change your business category in your profile to entrepreneur, you get all the Instagram music back.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:16]:
No, you won't get in trouble. Obviously you can't. Abuse trending audios and use them for ads and things like that. But yeah, that was a little hack that they also loved. Okay, love you guys. We got to get on this plane. You guys are the best. Go crush it.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:27]:
Look in your camera roll, grab some hooks, and let's do this thing. Hi guys. Good luck with your, what's it called? Your content. Bye.