One of the biggest reasons why many dog trainers tell me they don’t post Reels is because they don’t want to show their faces on camera, dance, or point at a bunch of blank spaces.
Here’s the thing: there are no rules to making Reels. It’s your own form of self-expression and you can post any videos that make the most sense to you. You can still grow with Reels without ever showing your face.
Here's your chance to GET CREATIVE.
To help you get started, here’s a list of 10 Reel Ideas you can use for your dog training Instagram!
1. Favorite Treats/Toys:
Take a video of your hand holding up different dog training treats or enrichment toys. Pet parents are always looking for new ideas!
2. Favorite Books:
Take a video of you showing off a bunch of different dog training books that you’d recommend to your clients. Give a review, highlight a takeaway, or share a story about how these books have influenced you as a dog trainer/guardian!
3. Enrichment Prepping:
The next time you prep your dog’s food enrichment toys, set your phone down to the side and hit the record button. Position your phone so you can only see what your hands are doing and not your face!
4. Tutorial:
Make a step-by-step tutorial about how to do something like a DIY enrichment activity or homemade treat recipe!
5. Enrichment Activities:
Anytime your dog is doing an enrichment activity, you can take a quick video of them to post as a Reel later!
6. Videos of Your Dog Being a Dog:
Any videos of your dog expressing natural dog behaviors are great to use. This could be sniffing, digging, licking, chewing, etc.
7. On a Decompression Walk
Share the beautiful places you’re exploring with your dog! Get videos of them walking down the trail, sniffing in the grass, or just nature videos. Nature videos are perfect for adding motivational messages!
8. Body Language Breakdown:
Post a video of your dog in a specific situation and discuss the body language in the video. You can either do a voice-over on Instagram or just add text when the “body signal” shows up.
9. Use a GIF
GIFs can be super funny and relatable. You can make one on Canva by using an "Instagram Reel" template and adding a GIF that relates to a topic that a pet parent would understand. You can connect to Giphy on Canva to find the GIFs.
10. Stock Videos:
Don’t be afraid to utilize stock videos in your content strategy! My favorite stock video sites are Pexels and Pixabay. Canva has great options too!
Posting more Reels on Instagram is an excellent strategy for growing your dog training business and you can do it without ever showing your face!
If you want to learn more about making Reels and other types of social media videos, check out my online course Social Videos Unleashed: The Ultimate Guide To Creating Short-Form Videos For Your Dog Training Business
