After its public release in the United States, facebook reels It is already available in more than 150 countries. The function, which is a key part of the answer of Meta to the threat of TikTok, allows creators to share short-form video content on Facebook or post Reels of Instagram to reach a wider audience. Along with today's global launch, Facebook is also introducing more creative tools and new ways for creators to earn money from their Reels through advertising and, soon, Stars.
While Reels Started as a way to directly combat TikTok with a feature within the Instagram app, Meta soon realized it could mount a more powerful counteroffensive if it also brought Facebook on board. As a result, the company promoted during its Q4 2021 generating benefits to Reels, which is now their “fastest growing content format by far”. The company also said that Reels was the largest contributor to growth on Instagram and that it also "grew very fast" on Facebook.
However, Reels it is currently monetized at a lower rate than other content formats, such as Instagram Feed and Stories; but Meta believes this will change over time.
On this front, the company today is Extending Testing of Facebook Reels Overlay Ads to all Reel Makers in the US, Canada and Mexico. In mid-March, the trial will expand to nearly all of the 50-plus countries where in-stream ads are already available, Meta says.
It is worth noting that the in-stream video ads today it only runs on facebook videos, not on Reels. That means these new overlay ads represent Facebook's first attempt to generate ad revenue directly on Reels.
Creators who participate in ad testing will be able to test two different ad formats: banners and stickers. These are ads that do not interrupt the user as they are placed transparently over the content being played instead of pausing the video to display the ad. Banners appear as a semi-transparent overlay at the bottom of a reel, while stickers are static images that can be placed anywhere within the reel, just like other stickers. Facebook will then choose the ad to display in the frame that best suits the viewer.
During testing, Meta tells us that it will follow the same revenue share with creators that it currently uses for its in-stream ad program, which is 55% creator and 45% Facebook. But this could evolve as testing continues.
Creators who are already part of the existing in-stream ad program will automatically be included in new overlay ad tests by default. (A small group had already been invited to test these overlay ads in recent months.) Others can check your capabilities eligibility and join here.
In addition, Facebook will launch full-screen and immersive ads between Reels in markets around the world in the coming months. These formats had been in testing since October.
However, not all Facebook Reels They will have ads. Meta explains that whether or not ads are included on a reel depends on a variety of factors, ranging from the advertiser's targeting settings to the value of the ad to the viewer. Creators can also opt out of specific ad rounds in Creator Studio if they prefer.
Meanwhile, advertisers will get brand suitability tools, including publisher lists, block lists, inventory filters, and delivery reports for new banner ads and stickers.
In addition to ads, creators will soon be able to monetize their rounds with Stars, the virtual bonus mechanism that is already offered on Facebook in real time. And today, successful creators also receive direct payments. The bonus program Reels Part of Meta's largest $35.000 billion creator pool, Play can earn huge bonuses: Some creators earn as much as $XNUMX a month, the company says. But the long-term viability of creator funds is still up for debate.
Meta has not revealed how much it has paid directly to the creators of Reels since the fund was announced last July.
Beyond the monetization features, Facebook is now also implementing the creative tools that announced last year, including Remix, 60 Second Reels, Draft and Video Clipping.
Remix, which is already available on Instagram, is similar to TikTok's Duets in that it also allows creators to create their own series alongside another publicly shared series (or part of a series) on Facebook. Now, this feature will also be available to Facebook creators.
Reels has been catching up on video length, after TikTok extended its video length to 3 minutes, up from 60 seconds previously, and Instagram's 30 seconds, up from 30 seconds. Now Facebook Reels it will also extend the duration of the videos.
The other features, Drafts and Video Trims, will be available soon. Drafts will allow creators to work on their content and then save it for later publication. The video trimming feature will be rolled out in the coming months to allow video creators who typically post live or long-form content to more easily try Reels as well.
As part of its broader effort to invest in Facebook Reels, the company will also make short videos a bigger part of the overall Facebook experience. Creators in all supported markets, not just the USyou will be able to share your Instagram Reels for recommendation on Facebook.
In the coming weeks, Facebook will allow users to share their videos in Stories, view them within the Facebook Watch tab (soon to also host creation tools), and display them thanks to creation tools at the top of users' news feeds( which are now simply called “Feeds”, in another recent change). In some countries, Facebook may also suggest videos you might like as you scroll through your Feed.
Reels is one of the largest product investments in Meta, which has publicly stated the threat posed by TikTok, which Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has called a major competitor that is growing at "a fairly rapid rate from a very large base."
However, TikTok is not Meta's only challenge. Facebook first announced a decline in daily active users in the fourth quarter, an indication that people just aren't using Facebook as much as they used to. At the same time, Apple's privacy changes and this change will decrease Meta sales by 10 billion dollars this year, limiting its advertising business. Meta understands that for Facebook to continue to be successful, it needs to attract creators and offer users other things to do outside of social networks, such as watching videos, listening to music or shopping, all areas that have also received investment in recent years. .
