Instagram Reels was launched in the August of the last year. However, is such a short period of time, it has still gained a lot of popularity and success. Now, Instagram’s parent company Facebook has integrated Reels on its original platform. Hence, Facebook allows Indian users to use Reels on its platform. And here’s all that you need to know. For past few years, there has been a constant rise in the usage of short video platforms. It started in 2013 with Twitter’s Vine that allowed creation and sharing of 6 seconds long video. Although, the platform was disabled in 2017, the trend only grew bigger. There came Musical.ly and TikTok that made the trend of short videos grow like a wild fire. Hence now, many social media platforms are trying to make space for similar technology integrations or extensions for their main app.
Just like that, Facebook-owned photo sharing social media application Instagram launched its own version of short video platform called Instagram Reels. In the countries where Instagram Reels were released, Instagram saw an increase in its usage.
It was especially well-received in India. And looking at this great response, now the Facebook is launching a new feature for its Indian users.
And here’s all you need to know about it!
Now Indian Users can use Reels on Facebook
If you have been active on Instagram in past few months, you must be aware of the Instagram Reels. This feature uses TikTok-like technology to enable the creation, sharing and viewing of short videos.
Now, after the success launch of Instagram Reels, Facebook, Inc. has once again jumped onto the short video bandwagon. It has launched short form videos—Facebook Reels—on its main platform. This announcement was made by the company itself the last week.
Although Facebook also said that short video creators will also be able to recommend their Instagram Reels on Facebook. However, such option hasn’t really been spotted yet. Thus, we conclude that it is still working on this one.
Facebook Reels is only available in India currently
It is important to note that Facebook Reels has been released only in India currently. As announced by Facebook, the feature has been under testing for past one year. Furthermore, the company also said that soon this feature will be available for other countries as well.
It is also worth noting that India has a very large user base for such video apps. Indians love to engage with short videos be it creating, sharing, or watching one. In fact, the country also saw development of many similar domestic platforms like Snack Video. And this trend continues to go on.
This pattern was well caught on by the business industry in India. Many companies having a customer-base in India also sorted to Instagram Reels for marketing purposes.
However, TikTok had been the most popularly used short video platform until the Indian government imposed a ban on a number of Chinese apps, including TikTok. This left a huge gap in the Indian market. Since then, many big to small video software startups have been trying to fill the gap. And now, Facebook has also entered the competition.
Facebook Reels—where to find and how to use?
The company rebranded its TikTok-like feature as ‘Reels’ and first launched it on its photo sharing platform as Instagram Reels. The newly launched Facebook Reels is similar to Instagram Reels. However, unlike Instagram, Facebook doesn’t have a specific section dedicated for Reels.
Using this feature, now Indian video content creators can create and upload short videos on Facebook as Reels.
With the steps given below, you can also access Facebook Reels in India:
- Open your Facebook mobile app.
- Scroll down your Facebook Feed.
There, you will find a section that enlists various short videos. It will be labelled as Short Videos.
- To watch Facebook Reels, simply click on the desired video in the Short Videos section.
- If you want to create a reel yourself, simply click on the Create option that you will find on the top right of the Short Videos section.
After this, camera will open up within the app. There, you can record whatever video you like. Moreover, you will find options to add music, filters, and more edits to it. However, the video can only be upto 15 seconds long.
- Start marking you video
- Finish up editing
- Post it and share it with your audience
And this way, Indian Facebook users will be able to access Facebook Reels.
Wrapping up
The rise of short videos has greatly influenced the digital entertainment market. A vast majority of population enjoys engaging with short videos. India is one of such countries which love to engage with such content. Hence, after the ban of TikTok by the Indian state, many in the video software business industry have been keen on capturing the market. Facebook has long joined the race with the launch of Instagram Reels. And it has taken another step further into this domain by launching Facebook Reels in India. And the feature went live just the last week! Interested to find out how well Indians will receive Facebook Reels?
Well then, stick with our blog to stay updated on what happens next.
