Meta launches Facebook reels globally
After initially launching to U.S. users last September, Meta is now rolling out Facebook Reels to over 150 countries globally to capitalise on the popularity of short-form video content.
Facebook Reels, which is part of Meta’s response to the threat of TikTok, allows creators to share short-form video content on Facebook or cross-post Reels from Instagram to help them reach a broader audience. Having initially launched in the US, the feature will now be rolling out globally.
In addition to the roll out, the company is also introducing more creative tools and new ways for creators to make money from their Reels, via advertising and Stars. Many of these features are available already through Facebook Reels in the US and a couple of other markets, and through Instagram Reels in more than 50 countries.
Facebook Reels users will be able to ‘remix’ other videos i.e. duet them and upload clips or ‘Reels’ up to 60 seconds in length. They’ll also be able to save drafts and new video clipping tools are also due to be added in the coming months that: ‘will enable creators who publish live or long-form recorded videos to test different formats’.
The company will also be adding more monetisation to Facebook Reels. Tests of Facebook Reels overlay ads will be expanding to Reels creators in the US, Canada and Mexico and Meta has said that by mid-March this test will expand to most of the 50+ countries where in-stream ads are already available. At present, in-stream ads only run on Facebook videos, not Reels, so these new Overlay Ads are Facebooks’ first attempt to enable creators to monetise their publicly shared Reels with ads.
There will be two initial formats: banner ads that appear as semi-transparent overlays at the bottom of a Facebook Reel or static sticker ads, which creators can place anywhere within a Reel. It is understood that Meta will follow the same revenue share it currently uses for in-stream ads which is 55% to creators and 45% to Facebook. Tests of the Stars virtual tipping mechanic that is already offered on Facebook Live will also be added to Reels in the coming weeks.
To give brands more control over where their ads appear, there will be brand suitability controls rolled out in all the markets where Facebook Reels banner and sticker ads are available. Controls include blocklists, delivery reports, inventory filters and publisher lists.
Finally, there will be more places for Reels to be discovered. Users will be able to share Reels to Facebook Stories, view reels within the Facebook Watch tab (which will soon house Reels creation tools) and Reels will be showcased at the top of users’ Feeds.
Meta’s CFO noted in the latest set of results that the company expected: ‘continued headwinds from both increased competition for people's time and a shift of engagement within our apps towards video surfaces like Reels, which monetize at lower rates than Feed and Stories.’ Meta is now attempting to address this by both making Reels available in more countries, to combat competition for people’s time from rivals like TikTok and also increasing the monetisation of Reels as consumers shift towards this format to offset revenues lost from the higher monetising formats Feed and Stories.
