How Instagram Reels Actually Work

Instagram Reels is one of the fastest growing features. Currently, users spend more than 20% of their total time watching them. Meta is doing its best to increase Reels's presence in its products.

In the latest report, the tech giant talks about what algorithms are behind the work of this feature and what ranking system is applied to uploaded videos. As Meta explains, many features are taken into account, but there are four main ones that have the most impact:

• Originality. Your content should be unique, reflect your style, and have a bold approach to making videos. Thus, Instagram encourages creators to come up with authentic materials.
• Retention. What you create should not only attract attention but also keep it. If users watch your video to the end, its retention rate is good. The duration of the material does not matter.
• Loyalty. Some videos make you want to come back more than once. It is a positive signal for the algorithms if users are specifically searching for your videos on Instagram and other Meta platforms.
• Engagement. This category considers user activity in the form of likes, comments, and shares. Moreover, the system takes into account response comments, which makes it difficult for bots to work. At the same time, it allows influencers to use controversial topics that will cause a huge discussion flow.

Analyze your content in terms of these four categories to understand what you need to improve in your approach to creating Reels. Avoid using slideshows and clickbait, don't create artificial interest in your posts, and don't be too aggressive with your CTAs. Accounts that abuse all of this will be banned from using monetization tools.

While some of the points listed are fairly obvious, others provide deep insights into how Reels algorithms work. Was this Meta Report helpful to your business?