{"id":7933,"date":"2024-06-19T21:14:39","date_gmt":"2024-06-19T21:14:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tup.kxe.temporary.site\/does-using-capcut-tank-your-instagram-reach\/"},"modified":"2024-06-19T21:14:39","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T21:14:39","slug":"does-using-capcut-tank-your-instagram-reach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/okdesign.ca\/en\/does-using-capcut-tank-your-instagram-reach\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Using CapCut Tank Your Instagram Reach?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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It\u2019s not that there\u2019s anything wrong <\/em>with Instagram\u2019s video editing tools. There\u2019s the green screen effect, you can add text and filters, and the music library is overflowing with Taylor Swift songs.<\/p>\n

But sometimes, only a third-party editing app will get the job done. The question is: if you edit your Reels outside <\/em>of the Instagram app, will your reach and engagement suffer for it? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Here on the Hootsuite Blog, there\u2019s only one way to find out. That\u2019s right, we\u2019re putting our Reels to a real<\/em> test.<\/p>\n

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Bonus:<\/b> Download the free 10-Day Reels Challenge<\/span><\/strong>,<\/span> a daily workbook of creative prompts that will help you get started with Instagram Reels, track your growth, and see results across your entire Instagram profile.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Hypothesis <\/span><\/h2>\n

Instagram doesn\u2019t care if you use third-party tools to edit your Reels<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019ve played around with CapCut or other video-editing apps<\/a>, you might\u2019ve found a tool that works better for your personal creative process or a unique filter that you\u2019re obsessed with.<\/p>\n

As someone who struggles with Reel creation<\/a> in the Instagram app, I\u2019m happy there are other video-editing solutions that don\u2019t make me say, \u201cWhy can\u2019t I do this? Is something wrong with my thumbs?!\u201d (I\u2019m a digital elder at this point, OK?! I lived through Nexopia; show some respect!)<\/p>\n

And according to Instagram, it doesn\u2019t matter where you make your video as long as it doesn\u2019t feature a watermark<\/strong>. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has even said<\/a> that Reels will not be downranked if they\u2019re made in third-party apps like CapCut.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/figure>\n

Image via Reddit<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

But there are folks out there who believe that dabbling in third-party video editing apps will hurt your content more than it helps<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

Skeptical social media managers and creators have reported decreased reach, fewer likes, and fewer followers \u2014 a shadowban<\/a>, in other words \u2014 and decided the culprit is the editing software.<\/p>\n

Hootsuite\u2019s own social experts don\u2019t <\/em>use the Instagram app to edit their videos, so they don\u2019t have any in-app posts to compare performance to. But social marketing specialist Eileen Kwok believes it\u2019s likely<\/em> that your editing tool would have an impact on a post\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, all social apps want you to spend as long as possible on their network,\u201d she says. \u201cPlatforms are aware that users often cross-post. Since TikTok and Instagram are competitors, it makes sense that their algorithms might favor videos that have been filmed or edited with their tools.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anecdotes and gut feelings, though, are not how we solve a mystery around these parts. Away to the feed we go!<\/p>\n

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Create. Schedule. Publish. Engage. Measure. Win.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Methodology<\/span><\/h2>\n

The plan for this big experiment was pretty simple: make some<\/strong> Reels<\/strong><\/a> using Instagram, make some Reels using CapCut, and see which ones perform best.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The trick would be to create videos<\/a> with similar content to make sure we were comparing apples to apples for this experiment.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, my own personal feed is a chaotic mix of career brags, blurry karaoke videos, pics of my toddler and comedy show posters\u2014not exactly consistent fodder for social media science.<\/a><\/p>\n

So I turned to someone with a fanatic following and a near-obsessive commitment to one topic for help: my husband, who runs a pro-wrestling promotion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I asked him for six wrestling videos<\/a> and a peek behind the scenes at his Instagram analytics<\/a>, and he obliged. (Now, this <\/em>is what marriage is all about.)<\/p>\n

He edited three using Instagram\u2019s in-app tools (below)\u2026<\/p>\n

\"editing<\/figure>\n

and three with CapCut (below)\u2026<\/p>\n

\"editing<\/figure>\n

then posted each to the Boom Pro Wrestling Instagram account at the same time each day. <\/p>\n

Then, we sat back to see which body-slam vids brought the most heat.<\/p>\n

Results<\/span><\/h2>\n

Sorry, social media conspiracy theorists: Reels edited with CapCut didn\u2019t see reduced reach.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In fact, the CapCut videos did far better <\/em><\/strong>than content edited directly in Instagram.<\/p>\n

\"instagram<\/figure>\n

Though normally we would use the beautiful scheduling power of Hootsuite<\/a> to post our social content, to truly test the in-app versus not-in-app question, I decided we needed to upload them all natively through Insta for pure data.<\/p>\n

Tragically, that means we couldn\u2019t pull analytics from the very good Hootsuite Analytics<\/a> dashboard and had to use Instagram Insights instead. (But hey, sometimes social media science requires sacrifices.)<\/p>\n

I added up the reach and Reel interactions (likes, shares, comments) from each video to show the performance of Reels edited in CapCut compared to Reels edited in Instagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Editing Tool<\/th>\nAverage Reach<\/th>\nAverage Reel Interactions<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
CapCut<\/td>\n2,712<\/td>\n119<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Instagram<\/td>\n1,672<\/td>\n119<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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As you can see, the CapCut-edited videos did just fine<\/em>. <\/p>\n

While average interactions were about the same for both types of posts, CapCut-edited videos saw almost twice as much reach<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Obviously, this is a small sample size, but the results are dramatic enough to make me say that if CapCut and the Instagram app were in a wrestling match, CapCut would have easily pinned its opponent.<\/p>\n

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We can conclude, then, that Instagram-edited posts don\u2019t<\/em> get a boost in the algorithm.<\/strong> <\/p>\n

That means you\u2019re free to get out there and mix things up (or \u201cfind a new tag-team partner,\u201d if you\u2019d like to continue with the wrestling metaphor).<\/p>\n

What do the results mean?<\/span><\/h2>\n

There are a couple of lessons to learn from this grand, wrestling-themed social media experiment.<\/p>\n

Your editing tools aren\u2019t to blame<\/h3>\n

The big takeaway here is that your editing tools are not necessarily to blame<\/strong> for your post\u2019s bad performance. You don\u2019t have to stick with Instagram\u2019s Reel creation features if they don\u2019t work for you.<\/p>\n

Here are six Instagram Reels editing apps <\/a>to experiment with. Go wild!<\/p>\n

Great content conquers all<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s not a fun \u2018hack,\u2019 I know, but the best way to achieve reach is ultimately to create great content<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Boom Wrestling posts were all fun, lively, dynamic and engaging, so they all did well no matter what tool was used for editing.<\/p>\n

Quality posts will get a boost from the algorithm<\/a>, and if a tool like CapCut can help you make the best Reel possible, then don\u2019t fear it.<\/p>\n

Bonus! Tips for creating better Instagram Reels<\/span><\/h2>\n

If it\u2019s not a shadowban holding you back, I\u2019m sorry to say, it might just be your content.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t stress! That\u2019s a very fixable problem to have, because we\u2019ve got all the hot tips and tricks you need to create better Instagram Reels.<\/p>\n

Make your content look good<\/h3>\n

Visually appealing videos are going to do better<\/strong> than ho-hum ones<\/strong> \u2014 so bring the pizazz.<\/p>\n

Shoot vertically and keep things high-res if possible. Take advantage of editing features and filters to make your content pop.<\/p>\n

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Check out these tips for making short-form videos that wow. <\/a><\/p>\n

Study your stats<\/h3>\n

Analytics are your not-so-secret tool for pleasing your audience.<\/p>\n

Dig into your <\/strong>Instagram metrics<\/strong> <\/a>and you\u2019ll see exactly what kind of content your followers like (or despise).<\/p>\n

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