Have you ever watched a Reel on Facebook and just felt that you had to leave a reaction to show your gratitude or support to the creator? Well, if you answered yes, then you might be in luck. Facebook is said to be currently developing ‘Reels Reactions’, providing users with another way to respond to short-form video content.
REEL-y Like It
Based on an example by the exemplary Alessandro Paluzzi, reactions for Reels, as the name suggests, would allow you to essentially assign one of seven emojis to a Reels clip. At present, you’re limited to simply liking or commenting on either Facebook or Instagram Reels – which is about how far you can go in terms of responding. If you’ve gotten used to being able to respond using a wider selection of emoji icons, then it kind of makes sense why you would find merely liking or commenting rather limited.
On the note, we see the logic why Facebook would opt to expand its engagement options by adding more ways for users to interact with Reels posts, which is a bit amusing if you look at it carefully, but also slightly questionable. I mean, would these be necessary for content clips that were designed to deliver maximum context within the shortest possible time? What point is there in being able to reply with various emojis? To showcase emotion perhaps?
While these are valid questions, various experts do note that reactions have become a rather habitual behavior for many. In that context, it would bring Reels more into line with Facebook’s other options, while simultaneously becoming some sort of secondary algorithmic sorting factor that helps highlight to each individual the most relevant clips. This process itself would feed into the entire audience-building and key consumption model that Facebook so fervently wants to maintain and continuously develop.
Nevertheless, especially if you consider the idea behind ultra-short clips, it just really feels a tad bit too much. Emotional complexity and preference aside, with Reels, the main indicator to look at would be if you liked it or not, which would actually be easier for Facebook to measure instead of having to gauge several different ‘relative’ responses. Still, there might be some opportunities here. At least in terms of engagement, adding reactions to Reels does give viewers sort of a new way to consume Reels and related content, adding to overall platform activity and engagement, which might just help facilitate more interest in the app in the long run.
The Wrap
At this point, even if certain additions feel unnecessary, it’s best to have them and not have people use them, rather than not have anything at all. The simplest solution to usage problems would be for people to simply not use them if they don’t want to. This in itself is probably self-contradictory, provided that reactions have been gaining ground as the preferred response method, given that it’s simply more convenient and easier than manually coming up with responses every time. Subscribe to our ‘Bottoms Up!’ Newsletter. Get the latest social media blogs about news, updates, trends, and effective social media strategies to take your business to the highest level from Tristan Ahumada and Jeff Pfitzer.
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