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It's not that there's anything wrong with Instagram's video editing tools. There's the green screen effect, you can add text and filters, and the music library is full of Taylor Swift songs.
But sometimes only a third-party editing app can do the job. The question is: If you edit your Reels outside of the Instagram app, will your reach and engagement suffer?
Here on the Hootsuite blog, there's only one way to find out: by putting our Reels to the test.
Bonus: Download the free 10-day Reels Challenge, a daily workbook with creative inspiration to help you get started with Instagram Reels, track your growth, and show results across your entire Instagram profile.
hypothesis
Instagram doesn't care if you use third-party tools to edit your reels
If you've played around with CapCut or other video editing apps, you may have found a tool that better suits your personal creative process or a unique filter that you're obsessed with.
As someone who struggles with Reel creation in the Instagram app, I'm glad there are other video editing solutions that don't make me say, “Why can't I do that? Is there something wrong with my thumbs?!” (I'm a digital elder now, OK?! I lived through Nexopia; show some respect!)
And according to Instagram, it doesn't matter where you make your video as long as it doesn't have a watermarkInstagram CEO Adam Mosseri has even said that Reels won't be downgraded if they're created in third-party apps like CapCut.
Image via Reddit
But there are people out there who believe that messing around with third-party video editing apps does more harm than good to your content.
Skeptical social media managers and creators reported reduced reach, fewer likes and fewer followers – in other words, a shadowban – and concluded that the editing software was to blame.
Hootsuite's social media experts don't use the Instagram app to edit their videos, so they don't have any in-app posts to compare performance to, but social marketing specialist Eileen Kwok believes your editing tool could likely have an impact on a post's performance.
“Ultimately, all social apps want you to spend as much time on their network as possible,” she says. “Platforms are aware that users cross-post frequently. Since TikTok and Instagram are competitors, it makes sense that their algorithms would favor videos filmed or edited using their tools.”
However, anecdotes and gut feelings are not the way we solve a mystery in these parts. On to the feed!
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methodology
The plan for this grand experiment was quite simple: make a few roll Create some Reels with CapCut using Instagram and see which ones work best.
The trick is to create videos with similar content to ensure we are comparing apples to apples for this experiment.
Unfortunately, my personal feed is a chaotic mix of career boasts, blurry karaoke videos, pictures of my toddler, and comedy show posters—not exactly consistent fodder for social media science.
So I turned to someone with a fanatical following and a near-obsessive commitment to a topic for help: my husband, who runs a wrestling promotion.
I asked him for six wrestling videos and a behind-the-scenes look at his Instagram analytics, and he obliged. (That's what marriage is all about.)
He edited three using Instagram's in-app tools (below)…
and three with CapCut (below)…
Each post was then posted to the Boom Pro Wrestling Instagram account at the same time every day.
Then we sat back to see which body slam videos were the hottest.
Results
Sorry, social media conspiracy theorists: There was no reduction in range for rolls processed with CapCut.
Actually, the CapCut videos were much better than content edited directly in Instagram.
While we would normally use Hootsuite's wonderful scheduling features to publish our social content, I decided we needed to upload it all natively through Insta to get pure data and really test the in-app versus non-in-app question.
Tragically, that meant we couldn't pull analytics from the very good Hootsuite Analytics dashboard and had to use Instagram Insights instead. (But hey, sometimes social media science requires sacrifice.)
I added up the reach and reel interactions (likes, shares, comments) of each video to show the performance of reels edited in CapCut compared to reels edited in Instagram.
| Editing tool | Average reach | Average role interactions |
|---|---|---|
| CapCut | 2,712 | 119 |
| 1,672 | 119 |
As you can see, the videos edited with CapCut have produced good results.
While the average interactions for both types of posts were roughly the same, the videos edited by CapCut achieved almost twice as much.
Of course, this is a small sample, but the results are so dramatic that I can say that if CapCut and the Instagram app were in a wrestling match, CapCut would have easily defeated its opponent.
We can therefore conclude that posts edited by Instagram do not receive a boost in the algorithm.
That means you can go ahead and mix things up (or “find a new tag team partner” if you want to stick with the wrestling metaphor).
What do the results mean?
There are some lessons we can learn from this major social media experiment in wrestling.
Your editing tools are not to blame
The big insight here is that Your editing tools are not necessarily to blame for your post's poor performance. You don't have to stick with Instagram's Reel creation features if they don't work for you.
Here are six Instagram Reels editing apps for you to experiment with. Let your creativity flow!
Great content conquers all
I know this is not a fun “hack”, but the best way to achieve reach is ultimately Create great content.
The Boom Wrestling posts were all fun, lively, dynamic and engaging, so they all resonated well regardless of the tool used to edit them.
High-quality posts are enhanced by the algorithm and if a tool like CapCut can help you create the best reel possible, then have no fear.
Bonus! Tips for creating better Instagram Reels
If it isn't a shadowban holding you back, I'm afraid it might just be your content.
But don't stress! This problem is easily fixed because we have all the essential tips and tricks you need to create better Instagram Reels.
Make your content look good
Visually appealing videos will be better received as boring – so bring some momentum into the matter.
Shoot vertically and in high resolution if possible. Use editing features and filters to make your content stand out.
Check out these tips for creating impressive short videos.
Study your statistics
Analytics is your not-so-secret tool to keep your audience happy.
Browse your Instagram metrics and you'll see exactly what kind of content your followers like (or hate).
Go to Analytics on your Hootsuite dashboard to get a detailed breakdown of performance stats like plays, likes, comments, reach, engagement rate, and more.
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Add people to your Instagram Reels
We did a little experiment (do we ever sleep?!) that showed Roles with people tend to perform much better than those without.
And if people like a video, the algorithm will like it too.
As fun as animations or product shots can be, get some faces in there to really increase your reach.
Add trendy music
The right song can take your already great video to the top.
The algorithm tends to Popular Sound clips a boost. So if you find a popular song that would be the right soundtrack for your video, add it there for optimal reach.
Fashion account @styleisstyle shared her casual-cool outfit to the tune of a popular Strawberry Guy song… along with 226,000 other Instagrammers.
Offer value
Good looks and good sound are only part of the equation for a successful reel. You have to offer something valuable also for your viewers.
Is it something educational, something entertaining or something inspirational? Will you delight them with humor, give them exclusive access or provoke them with the promise of a surprising twist?
Self-promotion gets boring quickly. Great Reels make followers feel like they got something out of the interaction…like having a front-row seat to the most dramatic twist in Boom Pro Wrestling history.
Post at the right time
Even if you've created the most beautiful reel ever, if you post it while your followers are all fast asleep, your reach and engagement will be underwhelming.
Plan your reels in advance With Hootsuite, you can publish your content exactly when it will have the greatest impact.
What's more, Hootsuite's scheduling tool even suggests the best times to post, meaning you can spend less time calculating and more time filming fun behind-the-scenes videos with your colleagues.
That's it for this time! But if this experiment leaves you wanting to explore even more on social media, check out the rest of our Hootsuite experiments here.
Start building your Instagram presence with Hootsuite. Schedule and publish posts directly to Instagram, engage with your audience, measure performance, and manage all your other social media profiles – all from one simple dashboard. Try it free today.
Save time and stress with easy Reels planning and performance monitoring from Hootsuite. Trust us, it's really easy.
Create your very own Auto Publish News/Blog Site and Earn Passive Income in Just 4 Easy Steps
