Facebook to roll out Reels to 150 countries

Facebook is rolling out its Facebook Reels product to all users globally, bringing the short video format to its iOS and Android apps in more than 150 countries.

It comes more than a year after Meta, Facebook's parent company, launched Reels on Instagram, and several months after the format came to Facebook's US apps.

Facebook also added new editing options for the short videos, and new monetisation tools that include overlay ads.

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said Reels is the company's fastest growing content format.

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“We want Facebook Reels to be the best place for creators to connect with their community and make a living, so we’re launching new monetisation tools too,” he said.

“To give creators more visibility and reach, they can share their Instagram Reels as recommended content on Facebook. We’re also rolling out Reels in Facebook Watch and letting people share public reels to stories.”

Editing

Facebook is also adding new editing features to Reels, including Remix, which allows content creators to make their own reel alongside an existing public reel, and the ability to make reels up to 60 seconds long. Future features include drafts and video clipping to allow creators to test out different formats.

The company is going all-in on video as it emerges as among the most engaging content on its platform and a major draw for its rival TikTok. Facebook said video accounts for almost half of the time people spend on Facebook and Instagram.

Advertising

The new monetisation options include banner ads that appear as a semi-transparent overlay at the bottom of a Facebook Reel, and sticker ads, a static image ad that can be placed by a creator anywhere within their reel. Facebook said it also plans to roll out full-screen and immersive ads between Reels. Tests of the overlay ads will be available to all creators in the US, Canada and Mexico, with more countries to be added in the coming weeks.

Brands will have tools to ensure they have control over how and where their ads appear, through publisher lists, blocklists, inventory filters and delivery reports for banner and sticker ads.

Facebook also has its Reels Play bonus programme that pays eligible creators based on the views of their qualifying reels, helping them to fund content creation.