Facebook has just announced the porting of Reels from Instagram to Facebook for all users, regardless of their country. If the stories are visible on computer, for the moment Meta has chosen 100% mobile with availability on iOS and Android.
A response to TikTok
Good ideas always end up landing on the biggest social network in the world. Like Stories, once a unique feature of the Snapchat application which ended up on Instagram and then Facebook, Meta wanted to capture the freshness of the content offered by TikTok.
Launch of Truth Social, Donald Trump’s social network
It was then that in June 2020 Instagram announced the launch of Reels, a video format with codes similar to those of the Chinese application. First available in France, Germany and Brazil, Meta will open it to 50 countries two months later.
Shopping, music library, duets… Meta very quickly brought Reels to make it a mature format, and above all to make it a privileged creative ground at TikTok. Willingness pushed to the reduction of the visibility of videos shared on Instagram addressing a watermark of its competitor.
Now, it is one of the most viewed content on Instagram, enough to motivate Meta to export the Reels to Facebook.
The Reels land on Facebook
Meta’s urge to export Reels from Instagram to Facebook is nothing new. In June 2021, a test presented a dedicated tab alongside that dedicated to stories, and to rooms (audio or video). Earlier, Reels had appeared in the Facebook News Feed of a few Indian users. Today, Mark Zuckerberg announces the end of the tests and formalizes the arrival of Reels on Facebook for all users in the world, on iOS and Android.
In the interface of the mobile application, the videos will have several dedicated spaces. Reels will be available in a carousel in the newsfeed, upstream in a tab next to stories, and in a selection available on Pages and creator profiles. Facebook will also offer them in groups. Finally, everything that could have been identified during the preliminary tests is used.
Integration of Reels in the Facebook interface. Image: Meta.
Meta doesn’t arrive with its hands in its pockets, however. Creators will be able to access monetization tools for their content. Since June, Instagram has already been working to broadcast spots between content and pass on part of the profits to creators. On Facebook, same project, supplemented by advertising stickers with moderate discretion. Also, stars, a kind of “virtual gift” offered by users to creators, will soon be available. These functions are only available for the United States, Canada and Mexico. Meta announces a larger extension in the following weeks.
Facebook launches new formats to monetize Reels. Image: Meta.
The arrival of the Reels on Facebook was only a matter of weeks or months. However, it remains to be ensured that the success of these videos on TikTok and Instagram will receive the same echo.