How Smart Brands Win on Reels

Most brands make the same mistake when they run ads on Reels. They try to sell before they earn attention.

It’s like walking into a party, grabbing the mic, and pitching your product before anyone even knows your name.

What you’ll learn today:

• Why Reels are different from feed placements

• Why "just resizing" an ad doesn't work anymore

• 3 simple tweaks to make your ads feel native

• How to upgrade one of your existing ads in 24 hours

Why Reels need different creative

Meta is pushing Reels like crazy.

The audience behavior is completely different than in other placements:

• People are in entertainment mode, not shopping mode

• They scroll faster

• They expect real, funny, emotional, or raw content

• They skip anything that looks too polished or "salesy”

If you drop a feed-style ad with slow intros, perfect studio shots, and boring product demos into reels, it dies.

And then you wonder why your Meta performance is down.

Here’s the good news:

You don’t need a brand-new creative team or a $100k production budget.

You need to build content the way Reels users expect.

Here’s how:

We created a system that delivers 30 unique video ads in just 30 days, specifically designed to improve Meta ad performance and scale e-commerce brands. Watch this video to see how we do it.

1. Start with fast motion

The first 3-5 second matters.

If nothing moves on screen immediately, people scroll.

Open your video with motion. Someone walking, unboxing, throwing something, grabbing a product. Anything that catches the eye right away.

2. Cut 2x faster than you think you should

Feed ads can be slow. Reels can’t.

If you’re used to 10-second product demos, shrink them to 5.

Every 2–3 seconds, change the shot, zoom, or angle. Keep the brain engaged.

3. Make it feel native, not "ad like"

High production value looks cool in your feed. It screams "ad" in Reels.

Use handheld footage. Natural lighting, real people, vertical format (always). Talking to the camera like a FaceTime call, not a commercial.

How to Upgrade an Existing Ad

Pick one of your best-performing feed ads.

Now remake it for Reels, using these rules:

• Open with a quick movement

• Chop it down with faster cuts

• Add subtitles (many reels are watched on mute)

• Use looser, less polished footage

You don’t even need a full re-shoot.

Even small edits can make a huge difference in thumb stop rate and ROAS.

Looking for a creative partner to scale your business with performance-driven ads? Apply to work with us here. Our clients include brands like For Wellness, Frido, Scribe, and others. We’ve likely worked with businesses in your niche.