Travel Advisors: Do Your Reels Need Branded Covers?
Let’s clear something up right away: adding a branded cover to your Reels won’t magically boost your reach. But you know what it will do?
Make your Instagram feed look polished, intentional, and make it so much easier for people to find topics of interest when they look at your grid.
So... Do Reels Covers Even Matter?
Short answer: yes.
Long answer: They make your content easier to binge. They help your feed feel clean and on-brand. And they make it way easier for someone to scroll and spot the Reels they actually care about.
It’s like putting little neon signs on your best stuff.
What Not to Do (Trust Us on This One)
Now that you know what works… let’s talk about what to skip:
🚫 Just a random selfie or travel photo
Yes, you’re adorable. Yes, the beach is stunning. But if there’s no text on the cover, no one knows what the Reel is about at a glance. People scroll fast—don’t make them guess.
🚫 A freeze frame from the video
Instagram will let you pick a frame from your Reel as a cover. Don’t fall for it. It always ends up being the worst mid-blink, blurry, awkward face moment. Plus, it doesn’t tell anyone what the Reel is about.
🚫 Overcomplicated designs
You don’t need glitter, gradients, and five fonts. Clean and clear wins every time. If someone can’t read it in 2 seconds, it’s too much.
How to Create Effective Reels Covers
Here’s the lowdown, no design degree required:
🎨 Stick to your style
Use your colors, fonts, maybe a tiny logo in the corner if that’s your thing. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just consistent enough that someone recognizes it as your brand.
🧠 Keep the text short and punchy
Your cover should say what the video’s about in a few bold words. Not a full sentence. Not a paragraph. Think:
“Honeymoon Planning Mistakes”
“Best Cruise Routes”
“Italy Versus Greece”
Big. Bold. Easy to read even if someone’s half-asleep scrolling.
Design for the 4:5 ratio
Your cover is technically a vertical rectangle, but what shows in your grid is a 4:5 ratio or 1080 by 1340. So while your cover will be 1080 by 1920, you’ll want to keep all of the text centered in the middle so things don’t get cut off.
Batch them ahead of time
Set up a few go-to templates in Canva (or wherever you design). Swap out the text and boom—you’ve got branded covers without reinventing the wheel every time.
Bottom line? Custom Reels covers make your profile easier to navigate, your content easier to find, and your brand easier to remember. And when it looks good, people are way more likely to stick around and binge-watch what you’ve got.
So go ahead and start adding those covers. Your future followers will thank you.
