Reels on Instagram are now 60 seconds long.

Instagram has introduced several tools to assist independent artists to make a living in the last year, including Instagram Shop and Shopping in Reels. Instagram has released new Insights for Reels and Live to its Professional Dashboard, giving businesses and developers crucial information about the reach of their content.

These resources can help Reels catch up to TikTok, which already provides detailed analytics to its users. As Instagram and TikTok compete for attention, it can only be a good thing for influencers and small companies who rely on these platforms to augment their income.

Update to Instagram Reels

Instagram recently announced that the Reels length limit for all users will be increased from 30 seconds to 60 seconds in an entirely unexpected upgrade.

After increasing Reels from 15 to 30 seconds last September, Instagram has been experimenting with lengthier Reels for some time. And, given that TikTok now allows users to upload longer videos of up to 3 minutes in length, and YouTube Shorts may be up to 60 seconds long, it was only a matter of time before Instagram followed suit.

It's especially intriguing in the case of Instagram because the platform already allows for longer video uploads in other areas. You can publish longer films in 15-second snippets to Stories and hour-long movies to IGTV. Regular feed videos can be up to 60 seconds long.

As a result, the expansion of Reels clips begins to bleed into IG's other features, perhaps making it a less distinct option inside the overall Instagram experience. We believe it will just enable more users to make lengthier films or repurpose content that they are already submitting to TikTok and YouTube Shorts. Instagram is likely to welcome more cross-posting as a result of aligning with these other, comparable possibilities, which will give it more content for Reels but will also likely result in a more repetitious experience across applications.

Although, it may seem different features within the app overlapping with each other. However, rather than storing different video genres in distinct buckets, this would give Instagram additional content to display inside Reels, which might help to make it a more compelling alternative while also driving more views throughout the various aspects of the app.

All the changes are similar to the interface of TikTok hence Instagram may be gradually trying to convert its Explore page similar to TikTok’s UI. This might assist increase app discoverability and supply more video inventory for Instagram's algorithms, all while streamlining the user experience rather than splitting it.

Summing Up

Instagram has dominated the photo-sharing business since its inception. It is one of the most popular social media platforms, with millions of users. The app started as a simple way to share photographs and videos, but it has evolved into so much more over time.

The new plethoras of features are aiding small businesses to promote their products and influencers to reach the mass population without hassle. For now, experiment with the new Reels until the next big update.