A path for Reels: Meta’s Reels are now accessible across Facebook and Instagram, but it still trails TikTok and YouTube in time spent. Still, Meta expects positive figures for Reels in the near future.
- In its Q4 report, Meta said Reels will be revenue neutral by the end of the year or early 2024. At present, Reels seems to not generate much revenue despite driving Instagram’s new strategy. In Q3 2022, Reels accounted for only 4.7% and 1.9% of ad impressions on Instagram and Facebook, respectively.
- While that might not look good on paper, a lack of advertisements could be an advantage for Reels in the short term as it looks to attract followers and convert regular Instagram users into Reels viewers. Instagram and Facebook video plays doubled in the last year, per Facebook—a sign that fewer ads are a plus to users.
No smooth sailing for TikTok: Despite maintaining its status as the dominant force in social media and digital video, TikTok’s future is anything but secure. The app is facing political challenges that threaten its very existence in key markets, and competitors are looking to pounce on that weakness.
- At the end of 2022, TikTok was banned from US government devices as concerns about its ties to China reached a fever pitch. Those measures are escalating: Politicians across the aisle have proposed an outright ban on the app, prompting TikTok to open its operations to regulators and reorganize its US business.