Facebook Reels debuted a little more than a year after Instagram Reels. It sounds anticlimactic because, unfortunately, it is. In light of TikTok’s tremendous and unexpected success, which has already surpassed a billion monthly subscribers, Facebook Reels appear to be a bit too blatant for an attempt to recreate the element responsible for sending TikTok into the stratosphere.
Short-form content, mainly video, directs the flow of modern social media. Across almost all platforms, video is the dominant media type and has the best results of improving engagement, retention, and brand perception. SHORT videos have a particular knack for being viral; just look at popular TikToks and GIFs, and you’ll see what we mean.
REEL(Real) Talk
So, Facebook Reels, just like Instagram Reels, allows users to upload a variety of short-form content, including text, audio, and video clips and features AR effects. Reels can appear on news feeds and groups. Instagram Reels run for a max of up to 60 seconds, with Facebook Reels being limited to only half of that (30 seconds). Y’all feel the hype yet?
It seems most of the facets behind FB Reels are derived from IG Reels. Their functionality and core elements are nearly identical; if it wasn’t for the branding, you could call them ‘Instagram Reels on Facebook.’ Facebook pointed out that they plan to test full-screen and immersive ads between reels, as well as the viability to place both sticker and banner ads. The ads will be highly interactive, allowing for comments, reactions, archiving, and skipping.
Perhaps one significant inclusion with the launch is the introduction of Creator Reels. Though currently in the experimental stages, this function allows the reels of select Instagram creators to be recommended on Facebook, should they choose to do so.
Facebook said:
“With the ability to create Reels on Facebook and have their Instagram Reels suggested to people on Facebook, creators — whether they are just starting out or already have a large following — will have more ways to express themselves, grow their communities and reach new audiences.”
The Wrap
Overall, it’s not a horrible feature. It is new, so we’ll give it the benefit of the doubt in terms of novelty; for folks who want to try something similar to TikTok but don’t want to go and try out the site, there’s definitely opportunity here; otherwise, we highly recommend just going with TikTok. We’re not trying to knock Facebook; it just looks like an inefficient attempt to bring the platform up to speed with the competition.
Besides, Instagram Reels exists; we don’t see a need to have a core-app exclusive version of the feature when Instagram itself is already highly integrated and owned by Facebook anyway. They could have even saved on development expenses by focusing on further optimizing IG Reels and having extended sharing options for Facebook.
In the bigger picture, it’s here, and it’ll likely stay. A good opportunity that it does offer is for those who have been on the platform for a long time but are uncomfortable with the idea of having to go on other platforms to learn and get with newer trends. Similarly, die-hard Facebook followers now have access to a new tool that can potentially aid in their content creation and marketing efforts, all while preserving their identity as a “platform loyalist,” which, in some scenarios, can contribute to building networks with audiences who prefer “exclusive” circles.
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