"Should I do reels?" is the wrong question. The right one: what job does each format do in moving a stranger from discovering you to booking you — and is every job covered this month?
Reels: the reach engine
Short-form video is how platforms introduce you to people who don't follow you — no other organic format compares. For experts it does double duty: distribution plus familiarity, because voice and face build the "I feel like I know them" effect that precedes every hire. Four reels a month is the sustainable dose: talking-head insights, quick frameworks, myth-busts. Thirty to sixty seconds, one idea each.
Carousels: the depth engine
Carousels are where a warm prospect binges your thinking — swipe-by-swipe frameworks, step-by-steps, teardown breakdowns. They earn saves and shares (the algorithm's favorite signals) and they're re-read the night before someone books a call. Where reels introduce, carousels convince.
Statics: the rhythm keeper
Quote cards, single-point insights, proof snapshots. Lighter to produce, they keep the weekly rhythm alive between heavier pieces and give strong one-liners a home. In the standard month: four reels, and twelve carousels-and-statics split by energy.
The hook decides everything
Across all formats, the first line or first second does most of the work. Lead with the tension, not the setup: "Most coaches undercharge for the wrong reason" beats "Let's talk about pricing." Write ten hooks per piece, keep one — it's the highest-ROI writing habit in content.
One idea, three formats
A single strong idea becomes a reel (the claim), a carousel (the framework), and a static (the takeaway quote) — spread across the month so each hits a different audience slice. This repurposing discipline is exactly how a done-for-you engine produces sixteen finished pieces from four real ideas: the thinking is the scarce input, not the production.