Reels has become a popular video creation tool on Meta’s
platforms and the company is encouraging users to create, post, and share more
Reels content. According to Meta’s statistical data, more than 20% of the total
time that people spend on Instagram is devoted
to Reels. Considering this, Meta is sharing helpful insights with users of how
its video distribution algorithms work, so creators could learn to adopt content
creation approaches accordingly.
The first significant element that Meta’s algorithm system
targets is ‘originality,’ the primary purpose of which is to highlight original,
authentic content so creators on the app could receive the deserved attention. Meta
further clarifies that its systems work to reduce the reach of re-shared
content. Therefore, one way to ensure maximum reach is by choosing
originality over re-posting of already existing content.
The next important video element that Meta considers is ‘capturing and retaining attention.’ What the company wants creators to know by this is to strategize their content in a way that it matches well with what the audience wants to see. According to Meta, a slow and gradual decline in the audience retention graph indicates that the video was received well, whereas an early drop off likely suggests that the content wasn’t up to the viewer’s expectation. You may call this the art of storytelling, and it’s a lot more complex to attempt than it seems. Another tip that Meta includes in this is utilizing a longer-form storytelling approach, across multiple videos, and posting bonus, unexpected content to keep viewers engaged.
Meta also explains that video length is not an important
element when it comes to video ranking and clips should be only as long as they
need to be, so as to hold the audience’s attention for the entire duration.
In addition to that, “repeat viewership” is a valuable element
too, as people regularly coming back to view an account’s videos or actively
searching for them is “a strong, positive signal for distribution,” as per
Meta.
With regard to maximizing content discovery via Facebook
Search, Meta suggests creators to write clear titles and descriptions for the videos,
as well as adding a few relevant tags. “This can help more people see your
content, both via Search results and via the recommended videos that we show to
people in Feed and in Facebook Watch,” explains Meta.
Lastly, as any content creator would know by now, Meta prioritizes
content that gives rise to interactions between people, such as
friend-to-friend or person-to-person interactions. This implies the significance
of discussions over the latest topics and trends, creating polls, asking
questions, etc., so people could enjoy engaging with your content.
