Will Instagram Reels Replace TikTok?
Is the digital landscape big enough for both of them?
Launched early August this year, a lot of talk surrounds the TikTok copycat, Instagram Reels. If you’ve been a user for years like I have, then you remember when Instagram copied SnapChat by introducing Instagram Stories to the platform. It’s easy and fair to say this was a successful addition to the platform. But will the same success find Instagram Reels?
“We see Reels as us responding to what the community has already been doing, already been asking for.” — Instagram Director of Product Tessa Lyons-Laing
It’s obvious that Instagram shares a community with TikTok, but just because there’s overlap in users between the two social media platforms, it doesn’t automatically mean their behaviors, interests, and habits will overlap, too. Think of it this way: just because a person likes spaghetti and meatballs at their favorite Italian restaurant doesn’t mean they want pasta at a tacorita.
The developing question then is: Will Instagram’s TikTok knockoff last?
Before we dive into if we think Instagram Reels are here to stay, here’s a quick recap of what they are:
- Short-form video content in full 9:16 portrait mode.
- Can be anywhere from 3–15 seconds in length.
- Filmed directly using the Reels camera, uploaded from your camera roll or a mix of both.
- Are mobile-only, so can only be uploaded on mobile devices.
- Can be one fluid video or a combination of a few combined together.
- May be augmented with text, sound (originals or music licensed by Instagram) or filters.
- Can be posted either just for Reels or both on your feed and on Reels.
The competing premise of the two are very similar: create short-form, music-driven and influencer-fueled content that captures the attention of a wide audience. However, the biggest constructed difference between Reels and a TikTok is length. TikTok can be up to 60 seconds, while Instagram limits creation up to 15 seconds.
So what short-form video creation tool will last? To answer this question, we’ve got to ask a few more.
1. Is it easily adoptable?
This first question centers on usability. It’s beginning to feel like a bit of a maze to find all the features on Instagram. (Did you know Instagram has Well-Being Guides?!) With every new addition to the platform, it seems like another “room” in a very large house has just materialized out of thin air. It can be confusing to keep track of where everything is.
When it comes to adopting a new feature on a platform, the first step is to make sure people understand just how to get there. It’s like a path to purchase in a customer’s journey; as you increase the friction (or obstacles), the less likely someone is to complete a purchase. In this case, we’re concerned with the use of a new feature. People need things to be easy. Complicate and confuse your customer, and I guarantee you they’ll no longer be one.
“It’s horrible. Not only does Reels fail in every way as a TikTok clone, but it’s confusing, frustrating and impossible to navigate…To me, it’s really unclear whom this feature is for.” — Taylor Lorenz, Internet Culture, NY Times
So, are people finding Reels? The “resident TikTok expert” from the NY Times has her doubts. For me, I see the biggest problem with Reels is that where one watches a Reel and where one creates a Reel are in two completely different places. Unlike TikTok where it’s literally the only thing you can create, Instagram Reel creation is hidden in the Stories feature. You have to first go there and then slide over to get to the starting point in creating a Reel. For the more tech and social media savvy users, this may not be a big deal, but for widespread adoption there’s going to be a major learning curve — one that might never happen.
Fortunately for Instagram, TikTok helped decrease the learning curve for actually creating Instagram Reels. Because TikTok went first, a wider audience already understood the basics in creating a Reel. If TikTok wasn’t a thing, they’d have a much harder time introducing Reels and getting people to use them. This learning curve already happened over on TikTok.
Naturally, not everyone on Instagram went to TikTok to learn where to even begin making a TikTok before Instagram Reels launched, but a great deal of users did make the jump. I don’t necessarily want to give credit to COVID-19 on this one, but I will say the increase of people working from home got a great deal of millennials to make the jump to TikTok — much to the disgruntlement of Gen. Z.
But what about watching them? The verdict is out. In the discover section, Reels are featured at the top (and you’ll also see them sprinkled within the Explore page, but they look just like a Story, so a user doesn’t know what they’re clicking on). Reels can also populate your followers’ feed, but they may not get as much attention as a normal video or image would.
Which leads to the second question…
2. Are Instagram Reels helping with engagement?
A compelling reason a user would want to be one of the first to adopt any new feature Instagram pushes out is to increase their engagement and hopefully their following. To many creators, it’s thought that Instagram may reward you with increased exposure by being an early adopter. Additionally, since there’s less clutter, your Reel is more likely to be seen, engaged with and even featured. It’s all about the chance of getting your chance in the spotlight, something TikTok made happen for a whole new generation of creators.
Being ‘liked’ triggers dopamine released in the brain, which tells the brain to seek more pleasure.
More likes and more follows are the product of higher engagement. They’re all related and on social media, it’s everything. Engagement and audience size is the currency of social media. A huge reason TikTok became the mega social media star it is today is because the likelihood of going viral was way higher than that on Instagram. Everyone was uploading videos in hopes it would magically gain millions of views and thousands of new followers. Social media is built to be addictive, and the early adopters of TikTok were seeing this viral success. This only made them love the platform more and spend more time there.
However, Instagram Reels is likely not the secret sauce your Instagram engagement rate has been looking for. This alone can deter creatives and businesses from adopting the new feature. If there’s not any benefit from learning something new, why do it?
The key component to users seeing increased engagement is really about discovery. The amount of increased discovery one could potentially get by adopting Instagram Reels is going to be a big factor in its stickiness. Currently, TikTok has Instagram beat, and unless Instagram starts showcasing content in a new and surprising way, I can see Reels falling off the creator’s toolkit.
The last and likely the most important question is about sentiment…
3. How does the community feel about things?
This is likely the most important question because if people just plain don’t like it, it doesn’t matter how many tools or cool features come with it. How easy it is to use and a visible increase in engagement can both push people towards a positive sentiment. However, if the masses don’t see this early on and like it enough to adopt it, it’s not going to survive in the long haul. It’s like getting the ick in dating…once it’s there it doesn’t matter how good a person looks on paper later on; it’s just going to work out.
Sorry, not sorry…
Sentiment is hard to measure. It’s not like conversion rates, ROI, or anything you can find in Google Analytics. Sentiment is an emotion and feelings don’t have objective numbers tied to them. One person’s four is another person’s ten. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and there is no standard. And a handful of factors influence how the majority might feel.
Instead, you have to do some good old fashioned social listening, but even this may not be very useful until a few months out. If you want to quickly gauge a big picture on what people are thinking (or are going to think), start with influencers — specifically the creatives with massive followings. If they give their stamp of approval, it’s more likely others (especially other creators in their audience) will follow.
TIME interviewed a collection of creative influencers and the general consensus was very simple: no one wants to put their eggs in one basket.
When it comes to a social media following, diversification is key.
And so they’ll give it a try. For now, their sentiment leans more yes than no. However, if all their efforts go wasted and find that previous content types work better in terms of engagement and increased followers, they’ll likely forget about Reels. If this happens, you can bet others will follow — flipping the sentiment towards a big fat ‘no’.
As for the life of Instagram Reels, it’s diversification that’s currently saving it today and discovery that’ll make it survive until tomorrow.
