Instagram, the popular photo and video sharing app owned by Meta, has announced some improvements to its Reels. These new features are aimed at helping creators express their creativity, connect with their audience, and earn a living.
“We strive to make Instagram a home for creators like you to express your creativity, connect with your audience and earn a living. Today we’re announcing improvements to Reels — to empower you to do what you do best,” the company announced in a blog post.
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The company has firstly added a new “trends” section to help creators discover fresh content ideas. This dedicated destination allows creators to see the top trending songs and hashtags on Reels, as well as how many times the audio has been used.
Secondly, Instagram has made it easier to edit Reels by bringing together video clips, audio, stickers, and text on a unified editing screen. It makes it easier to align and time elements of your reel to the right moments in a more visual way, says the company.
Thirdly, Reels Insights has been improved with two new metrics: total watch time and average watch time. These metrics help creators better understand how their content is performing and where viewers are being engaged.
“Total watch time captures the total amount of time your reel was played, including any time spent replaying the reel. Average watch time captures the average amount of time spent playing your reel, calculated by dividing watch time with the number of total plays,” explains the company. The platform is also adding a new way to see how reels are contributing to creator’s growth.
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Lastly, Instagram is expanding the Gifts feature on Reels to more countries and adding a new feature that allows creators to recognise their supporters by tapping the heart icon next to their name. It will be available in more countries including Australia, Canada, France, Mexico, New Zealand and the UK, in the coming weeks.
