Ever since its launch in 2012, Instagram has been a great success. This photo and video sharing social networking app have seen a steady rise in popularity, thanks to its intuitive features. Today a billion people worldwide use Instagram every month. With more than 500 million people accessing Instagram stories every day, you can imagine the reach of this mobile app. Talking of numbers, around 200 million Instagram users visit at least one business profile daily. In less than a decade, the platform has gained an enormous following, no wonder brands pay Instagram influencers between $100 and $2,085 per post.
The recent launch of the Reels feature on Instagram has further added to the popularity of the platform. The new feature allows users to create small videos from the existing photos on Instagram. It is an app similar to the Chinese video-making platform TikTok. In the mobile app development arena, every entrepreneur wants to build an app like Instagram Reels to offer highly personalized user experiences.
However, to truly leverage the power of Reels like features, you need to understand how exactly the app engages its target audience. In addition to this, you need clear answers to questions such as what is Reels. What is the technology that powers the app? Who is the target audience? In this article, we will answer all these questions for you and give you a roadmap of creating an app with Instagram Reels like features.
What’s Instagram Reels?
Instagram Reels is a mobile app within the platform that enables users to create small videos and share them with friends and other users. The intuitive app has been designed to record and edit small videos of 15 seconds each with audio effects. Users can share Reels with their followers on the Feed. It’s a fun thing that can enhance your abilities as an influencer on the Instagram platform.
People with a public account can make the videos available to Instagram communities around the world by using new space in Explore. Developing an app like Instagram is an expensive proposition given the kind of resources and infrastructure required for the work. Add to this, the cost of developing an app like Instagram Reels, and your overall development cost soars.
So, the question arises, how to develop an app like Reels cost-effectively. The answer to this question is not simple; you first need to understand the functionalities of Reels and then identify the right resources and technology required to do so.
Creating Reels
The process of creating personalized Reels on Instagram is pretty simple and allows users to come up with professional videos in no time. All you have to do is select Reels at the bottom of the Instagram camera and use the creative editing tools to create Reels. The navigation of the app is seamless and gives you the freedom to be as creative as you want to be.
The app also offers a host of features to help you personalize your Reels videos. These features include:
- Audio: This feature of the app allows you to search for songs from the Instagram music library. You can also use your own original audio by simply recording a reel with it. Sharing a reel with original audio, your audio makes it proprietary, and if you have a public account, people can create reels with your audio by selecting “Use Audio” from your reel. Incorporating such a feature in your Reels like app, you can reach out to your target audience in a better way. It improves the credibility factor of your business and eventually enhances your overall operations.
- AR Effects: Leverage the power of augmented reality to give personalized user experiences. Instagram Reels also has this feature that allows you to select one of the many effects in our effect gallery, created both by Instagram and creators all over the world, to record multiple clips with different effects.
- Timer and Countdown: With this feature, you can set the timer to record any of your clips hands-free. By pressing record, you’ll see a 3-2-1 countdown, before recording begins for the amount of time you selected. It gives your videos a more professional look and feel.
- Align: By using the Align like feature in your mobile app, you can line up objects from your previous clip before recording your next. Reels leverages this feature to create seamless transitions for moments like outfit changes or adding new friends. However, to create such a feature in your mobile app, you need to hire an android application development company or iOS app development company who has a proven track record of delivering such features.
- Speed: With a Speed like a feature on your mobile app, you can easily speed up or slow down part of the video or audio you selected. This not only helps you to make slow-motion videos but also enables you to deliver unmatched user experiences.
How to create an app – Reels like features?
The development of any mobile app calls for a lot of planning and preparatory work. If you want to develop a mobile app with features like the Instagram Reels, you will have to:
1. Conduct market research to define your target audience and its preferences
No doubt the features of Instagram Reels are great and may entice you to create your own app that matches its versatility; you need to have a good understanding of your target audience to come up with such an app. To do so, you will have to prepare a comprehensive market research strategy. Define your target audience and accordingly make a plan to identify their needs.
2. Evaluate competitive photo-sharing apps
Apart from Instagram and TikTok, there are hosts of photo-sharing apps in the market. These include Dubsmash, Triller, Mitron and Funimate, etc. Before you start making your own photo-sharing app with Reels like features, you need to have a deep understanding of what these competitors are offering to the masses. Evaluate each app and find out what more you can add to the existing features.
3. Finalize your unique and outstanding app concept
Now that you have got a good understanding of all your major competitors, it’s time to come up with a unique app idea. List down the features that you want to offer to your target audience and then make a development plan. Make sure that in the final layout of features you are able to offer something unique that becomes your selling point.
4. Define your further strategy in terms of your goals
The biggest fear of an app developer or development company is seeing the uninstall rate go up. Before making a strategy to sell your app, you need to have a comprehensive plan to keep the uninstall rate in check. Have a proper incentive plan that helps you to keep the target audience engaged.
5. Come up with a well-defined project and budget
The development cost of your app is the most important aspect that can affect the final outcome. Incorporating Reels-like features in your app will obviously cost you a lot of money.
Some development companies will charge in the range of $20000 to $30000 to develop and market such an app for you.
To keep this staggering cost under check, you need to have a well-defined project and budget. While hiring the services of an onshore developer will prove to be an expensive proposition, hiring the app development services of an offshore vendor can save you a lot of money.
6. Create a timeline of achieving the desired results
Whether you do the development on your own or outsource the project to a specialized service provider, getting the desired results within the stipulated time frame is the key to achieve success. So, it makes a lot of business sense to have a comprehensive timeline of app development.
7. Identify the right tools and technologies for the project
The technology and software that you use for your Reels like app can be a big factor in its success. Ideally, you should go for open-source platforms to minimize the cost. When you hire offshore dedicated app developers, you get the dual advantage of cost-effective resources and access to the best open source technologies. This is because your offshore developers are adept at utilizing the most cost-effective technologies.
8. Prepare your marketing and PR strategy
While your Reels like photo-sharing app is under development, you should simultaneously create a customized marketing and PR strategy. Having a marketing plan in place before the launch of your app gives you the leeway to create awareness among your target audience.
9. Build communication channels with your users
Once you have launched your app in the market, the next big challenge is to engage the users in a positive manner. While creating a buzz with a proper marketing strategy will give you a great install rate, building reliable communication channels with your target audience will keep the uninstall rate under check. Leverage the communication channels to get instant feedback from users.
Choosing the right mobile app development company
While you can take care of the planning part and other marketing work for yourself, you will have to fall back on the mobile app development services to get your Reels like app developed. In fact, choosing the right app development company is the most crucial part of developing an app with Reel like features. You need a service provider who can give you:
- Intuitive user-navigation
- Clear designs (UX/UI)
- Eye-catching graphics and visual element (e.g logo)
- Personalized feed
- Well-functioning application
To get everything spot-on for your application development strategy, you need dedicated mobile app developers who work exclusively for you. They should have the right mix of expertise and experience, a proven track record of delivering customized app development services to the businesses across the board. The best way to get access to such resources is to hire Indian mobile app developers. India being the hub of English-speaking app development talent can give your easy access to the desired skill sets. By choosing India as your mobile app development outsourcing partner, you can get your Instagram Reels like an app within a quick turnaround time.
Conclusion
To create a mobile app with Instagram Reels like features, you have to understand the functionalities offered by the app, how they work to engage your target audience, and make a comprehensive strategy. You can easily take care of the planning part with the suggestions provided in this write-up. To take care of the development process, it is best to hire dedicated mobile app developers from India. For free consultation on mobile app development, write to us today at info@suntecindia.com.
