Social media giant Facebook is now embracing short-form video content with the launch of Reels.
After the successful launch of Reels on Instagram, its mother company, Facebook, is looking to join the likes of TikTok with short-form video content incorporated into their platform.
Launched on Wednesday, September 29, Facebook is bringing the content that has exploded on Instagram and TikTok to their platform.
Available on iOS and Android in the US, creators can add music, audio, effects, and extra features to quick video content to be posted across Instagram and Facebook.
With Reels, creators can access a variety of creative video editing tools, like music from the Facebook music library, your own filmed audio, and added audio. There are also augmented reality effects to take advantage of, a timer and countdown to help your filming, you can alter the speed of your recording and stitch together multiple clips for use.
What is Reels?
This was in the cards for a while now, after TikTok exploded in popularity in 2019 and went from strength to strength as the entertainment platform of lockdown.
Instagram quickly implemented the idea of a channel of short-form content after seeing that a lot of their influencers were using TikTok and its video format to showcase their products quickly and in entertaining ways. It was only a matter of time before Facebook, which owns Instagram, followed suit.
Payday?
However, a welcome addition that took even TikTok a long time to implement, and is still developing, is the idea of a creators fund.
Facebook has vowed to dedicate $1 billion to creators in 2022, which now includes a creator Reels Play “bonus”. The bonus will pay “eligible” creators based on the performance of their reels, and it will be available on both Facebook and Instagram, allowing influencers to gain payment from the two audiences.
However, the Reels Play bonus will initially be invite-only, and will only be available in the US for now, with plans to expand globally.
