Since Facebook launched its one-stop shop for creative content creators called Reels, time spent on its platform has grown more than 24%. This is likely due to the AI-powered content recommendations that are powered by TikTok, another social media giant with a penchant for artificially intelligent content recommendations.
Instagram appears to be seeing a lot of traction with its new video feature Reels, which is likely helping to increase engagement on the platform. The short-form videos are apparently being well-liked and shared, and it looks like Instagram may have found another way to keep its users engaged.
What is interesting about these statistics is that they show the re-sharing of content on platforms, such as Reels, is gaining momentum. This indicates that people are starting to see the value in sharing content and connecting with others who share similar interests. As more and more people participate in this trend, it will likely continue to grow and help promote quality content across various platforms.
One of the most intriguing ways that Facebook is using artificial intelligence (AI) on its platform is by introducing Reels – a feature which recommends videos to users. According to Li, while Reels currently only has an impact on Facebook proper, he anticipates it will have a much larger impact in the future as AI-driven recommendations that don’t come from direct connections continue to increase engagement among users.
“Reels are actually cannibalizing some revenue from Stories and feed-based posts, since they’re accounting for some of the time users would’ve spent engaging with that content.” This could bode poorly for Instagram’s future monetization plans as Reels are structurally different than other content types on the platform. However, product work is being done to figure out proper monetization strategies for Reels which should ultimately be in the company’s favor.
According to Vice President of Publisher Products for Facebook, Halsey Minor, the company does not have line of sight to getting Reels to monetization parity with Feed or Stories per time because of those structural differences. However, because it is driving incremental growth, they are confident that they will eventually become a key contributor to monetization.
