Meta Adds New Features for Facebook Reels, Including Longer Clips and Memories Integration

Meta has announced some new updates for Facebook Reels, together with an expanded size restrict, Memories integration and new trending Reels templates.

First off, on Reels size – your Facebook Reels can now be as much as 90 seconds lengthy, an extra 30 seconds on the earlier restrict.

Which considerably rails towards the ‘short’ aspect of ‘short form’ video, however then once more, each app has been regularly increasing the size of their short-form choices, with a view to maximize utilization and engagement.

For context, on TikTok, now you can add movies up to 10 minutes long, whereas YouTube Shorts will be 60 seconds max.

Meta’s additionally integrating Memories into the combo, with a brand new choice to ‘Share as Reel’ out of your Memories immediate.

Which looks as if a intelligent transfer. Tens of millions of Facebook customers share their Memories within the app each day, and by including Reels as a distribution choice, it may very well be a simple method to get extra folks participating with the format, and testing Reels within the app.

Meta’s additionally including ‘Grooves’, which can robotically align your video with the beat of the music you select.

TikTok has several similar options on this entrance, offering a simple method to make synched video clips, which will be each extra participating and higher wanting.

And at last, Meta’s increasing its Reels templates choice to Facebook, which makes it simpler to copy trending video kinds and codecs.

Reels templates are already available on IG, with this new variation additionally highlighting particular, trending clips, which provides you with extra methods to faucet into the most recent kinds.

Whereas it might be a direct reproduction of TikTok, Reels has been large for Meta, with Reels views throughout Facebook and Instagram greater than doubling during the last yr, and reshares of Reels additionally doubling, throughout each Facebook and Instagram, during the last six months.

Brief-form video is the format of the second, and it is smart for Meta to double down on that the place it might probably, whereas it might additionally, finally, depart Meta well-placed to fill the void left by TikTok within the case of a ban of the app.

That’s what’s occurred in India, the place each Instagram and YouTube have gained significant traction within the wake of the TikTok ban in that nation.

The identical might occur once more, which might then make Meta’s Reels replicant strategy look much more savvy, versus lazy improvement technique.

The brand new Facebook Reels instruments are being rolled out to all customers from at this time.