US-based multinational technology conglomerate, Meta owned social media platform Facebook is launching its short video feature Reels to more than 150 countries, in a move to expand its fastest-growing content format.
The social media giant, which recently lost a third of its market value after a dismal earnings report, has highlighted Reels as a key priority. The feature enables creators to share short-form video content on Facebook or cross-post Reels from Instagram in order to reach a broader audience.
Meta launched the ‘Reels’ feature on Instagram in 2020 and on Facebook in 2021 as its response to the explosively popular short-video app TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance.
“Reels is already our fastest-growing content format by far, and today we’re making it available to everyone on Facebook globally,” Mr. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta said in a Facebook post.
Alongside global rollout, Facebook is also introducing more creative tools and new ways for creators to make money from their Reels. The company said it is expanding its program to pay creators bonuses to more countries and was testing overlay ads using banners and stickers for creators to earn ad revenue. It would roll out full-screen ads between Reels soon.
In addition to ads, creators will soon be able to monetize their reels with Stars, the virtual tipping mechanism that’s already offered on Facebook Live.
Meta also said it would roll out updates for users to make and see Facebook Reels in new places, such as in its Stories feature, its Watch tab and at the top of the news feed. In some countries, users will also see suggested Reels in their feed.
