Facebook Reels have arrived! Meta announced this week that it is launching Reels on Facebook, to capitalise on the popularity of short-form video content and up its battle against the TikTok threat.
After launching in the U.S. last September, Facebook Reels today is becoming globally available in more than 150 countries. The feature, which is a key part of Meta’s response to the increasing popularity of TikTok, allows creators to share short-form video content on Facebook or cross-post Reels from Instagram in order to reach a broader audience. Alongside today’s global rollout, Facebook is also introducing more creative tools and new ways for creators to make money from their Reels through advertising, and soon, Stars.
Facebook Reels will include remix functionality to encourage trend engagement, while creators will also be able to post Facebook Reels up to 60 seconds in length, in line with Instagram’s Reels extension launched last July. Users will also be able to share publicly posted Reels to their Stories, adding even more engagement potential.
In addition to this, Facebook’s also adding Reels drafts, and a new video clipping option “that will make it easier for creators who publish live or long-form, recorded videos to test different formats”.
That last one is important, because like YouTube, Facebook’s looking to use its short-form option as a complementary channel, while also giving creators the opportunity to build community, and maximise their monetisation potential through longer content as well.
As explained by Meta:
“The ‘Storytelling Goes Here’ campaign showcases video content that reflects the diversity of high quality long-form videos we have on Facebook from Creators, Publishers and Originals, and shares what a person may watch and where they might see an in-stream video brand advertisement.”
As noted, YouTube is also moving along the same lines, with the recent addition of a Shorts display within each Channel’s uploads listing.
The core message being that short-form content is great, but long-form is where the money is. And TikTok can’t offer both.
Which is why this is such a critical expansion, and with Facebook usage stalling (in some regions) and video now accounting for almost half of all the time people spend in the app, it also makes sense to lean into Reels and make the most of its TikTok-fueled popularity.
Will you be using Reels on Facebook?
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