As it continues to build on the short-form video trend, Meta is adding new ways for users to remix content in Reels on Instagramwhile also adding the ability to create Reels from your existing videos within Creator Studio.
First, on IG, as shown in this example, posted by lindsey betSome Instagram users are now notified of a new ‘Photo Remix’ option when posting static images to the app.
As Instagram explains, Remix for Photos allows users to create Reels based on the content of their feed post, which they can then download themselves, within their own clips. Which means people can reuse your content however they want, but you can turn the option off in your settings if you’d rather that doesn’t happen.
This is how it looks in practice:
It’s another way to react to content in the app, which has become a popular use case on TikTok, as the platform’s participatory nature essentially builds on meme trends by allowing users to provide their own takes. , instead of just consuming the latest content. .
Instagram now also allows users to remix any video they watch in the app, providing more inspiration for Reels content, and now that Reels contributes 20% of all time spent on the app, it makes sense that Instagram leans into the trend where it can and adds more options for Reels engagement.
In terms of branding, this could be particularly useful for inviting grabs for new products or brand announcements, and users can share a quick response via Reels clips. That could also lead to criticizing brand ads through the same process, but getting your audience to engage with your posts could be a good way to increase reach and engagement.
On another front, Meta has also added the ability to create reels in Creator Studioblending your existing videos into shorter clips.
As you can see in this example, posted by a Facebook marketing expert blacksmith husband (and shared by matthew navarra), Meta notifies Creator Studio users of its new process for trimming your existing videos into Reels clips.
The process guides you through the editing process to create Reels and Stories clips, using the best parts of your existing video uploads.
It’s another way that Meta helps brands and creators merge with Reels content, which aligns with broader usage trends, while also giving Meta even more Reels content to show to consumers. people, while continuing to look for new ways to duplicate in short. -Video trend form.
In fact, a new strategic description from Meta has outlined how it plans to make Reels an even higher priority on Facebook, due to how short-form video has become such a transformative trend in the social media space.
According to Facebook App Manager Tom Alison:
“The current short-form public video genre opens up new ways for people to create and discover content. While Facebook’s discovery engine is designed to support many different formats (text, photos, video, and eventually Metaverse experiences), our biggest gap today is around short-form video, and we’re focused on integrating Reels at Home, Watch, In Feed. Recommendations and Groups.”
So more Reels, in more places, because Facebook essentially fears that if it doesn’t align with changing consumer trends, it will quickly lose relevance and, as a result, user engagement.
Which is already happening. Various reports have suggested that people are now spending more time on TikTok than on the Facebook app, while the very nature of TikTok’s short-form, fast-scrolling clips is actually altering a user’s attention span and changing the way in which people consume content.
In this sense, Facebook already feels pretty old-fashioned, so now it’s working to catch up with TikTok once again, by displaying more Reels, more often, in more places within the app.
These new updates align with that broader trend and will help guide users towards the same.
Of course, there is also the possibility that Meta will change tactics at some point and stop prioritizing Reels, as it has done in the past with other video content. But again, the usual nature of short-form video feels more permanent, in many ways, changing the way users interact.
It’s definitely worth more brands looking to experiment with Reels, if nothing else, and these updates bring more capability on this front.
