Instagram has started testing its own short video feature called the Instagram Reels in India. The new feature is similar to TikTok and Instagram had been testing it in countries like Brazil, Germany, and France for a while now.
Following the ban on TikTok in India, several home-grown short video apps, including Roposo, Mitron, and Chingari are gaining popularity day by day. This could be the best time for Instagram to roll out the Reels feature in the country.
Instagram Reels testing available now
Instagram Reels was made available starting July 8, 2020. It is integrated within the Instagram app and users can now create 15-second long videos to share them beyond their followers. The new feature also lets users shoot videos, add music from Instagram’s catalogue and apply filters. Users can also add a custom audio for their videos and edit it using the in-app video editor.
Facebook India VP and MD Ajit Mohan said that videos make up a third of all Instagram posts in India and around 45 percent of these videos are of 15 seconds or less. “We also realized that stories are not the only place where they wanted to share these videos as they wanted them to stick on for longer and be distributed beyond their followers,” he said.
How will it work?
Just like IGTV, Instagram users will be able to share Reels in their Feed and find short videos from other creators within a dedicated Reels section on the Explore page. To attract the Indian user base, Instagram has been working with popular content creators and public figures like Radhika Bangia, RJ Abhinav, Gippy Grewal, Ammy Virk, Arjun Kanungo, and more.
Even though Instagram’s Reels feature will be in the testing phase, it is expected to give a hard time to Indian TikTok rivals like Chingari, Moj, Roposo, and others. Instagram could also have leverage over the competition considering most of the TikTok influencers are already on the photo-sharing platform and are in touch with their followers on the app.
At the moment, there is no official public rollout date for Instagram Reels. Monetisation options are also not available but it is expected that Instagram Reels will introduce some sort of monetisation model once the feature is launched in the country.
How to create Instagram Reels
Since Instagram Reels is part of a test at the moment, the feature is not available to all Instagram users in India. To check whether it is available for you, make sure you have the updated version of the Instagram app installed on your phone. Head over to Google Play Store or Apple App Store to check for the updated version.
Once you have updated the app, open the Instagram camera. If you have been chosen as part of the test, you will be able to see the Reels option along with Boomerang, Superzoom, and Hands-free options at the bottom.
Now click on Reels and start making short-videos like you used to do on TikTok. Since Facebook has partnered with prominent music labels, you will see a vast collection of songs to use in your videos.
