As popularity of short videos keeps growing in India, Facebook continues to look for ways to push Instagram Reels (its short video offering) to multiple users across its platforms.
Facebook, which launched Reels in India first, has now announced that it is testing the ability for Instagram creators to have their public Reels recommended on Facebook in India.
This would enable Reels creators to share their Reels clips also into the Facebook News Feed and to Facebook Watch, facilitating a potentially huge expansion of Reels exposure.
Facebook is hard-selling Reels in India because TikTok, the leader in the short videos segment world over, is banned in India. It wants to tap into the market left open by TikTok's absence.
Of course, there are plethora of home-grown competitors in India for Reels.
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Who gets to plug Reels on Facebook?
When a creator shares a Reel on Instagram, some will now see a prompt to also have that Reel recommended on Facebook. If they tap “allow”, their Reels feed will show up on the Facebook timeline of their followers. It will also be shown as recommended content to anyone on Facebook based on what may be relevant to them.
Their reels, typically 30-second long videos, will be shown with their Instagram username, not from their Facebook account if they have one.
However, to start off, Facebook is allowing the new feature for a limited set of Instagram creators in the country. Only these handpicked celebrity users can choose to have their Reels recommended on Facebook and only they will have the access to create and watch Reels on Facebook.
Those celebrities are: Pooja Dhingra, Ashish Chanchlani, Masterchef Pankaj Bhadouria, Awez Darbar, Bong Guy and key public figures such as Suresh Raina, Sanjeev Kapoor, Harbhajan Singh among others.
Additionally, Facebook said that it will have its own version of the Reels feature on the main app.
How to create a Reel on Facebook?
Facebook, in a press release, also gave out details on how to activate this feature.
Select Reels at the top of your Facebook News Feed.
From the camera, you can choose to capture video clips with the camera, upload video clips from your camera roll, or both.
With Reels you can inspect, trim, and edit multiple clips together to create a compelling video.
In the camera you’ll see a variety of creative editing tools on the right side of your screen that you can use to create your reel, Facebook said.
Audio and AR effects
Further, you can add audio to your Reels feed. You can also embed song from the Facebook music library for your Reel. You can also use your own original audio by simply recording a Reel with it. You can add audio from the camera before you capture a clip, or you can add audio later after you have captured or uploaded a clip.
AR Effects: Select one of the many effects in the AR library, created by both Facebook, and creators, to record multiple clips with different effects.
Timer and Countdown: Set the timer to record any of your clips hands-free without having to manage the shutter button.
Speed: Choose to speed up or slow down part of the video or your original audio, which helps you stay on a beat or make slow motion videos.
To share Reels, you can select any of the same audience options that are available for News Feed, including Friends, Public, or a custom audience.
