Facebook Reels and new monetization options are launching globally
Image Credit: Meta
Announced by Meta earlier this week, Reels are now available on Facebook in more than 150 countries on iOS and Android.
With watching videos counting for half of the time spent on Facebook and Instagram, Meta are continuing to focus on short-form video across platforms. Reels is by far the fastest growing format, giving creators a new way to get discovered, connect with audiences and earn money, while consumers can easily find entertaining and relevant content to share with friends.
Previously launched in the US, Mexico, Canada and India in September last year, creators around the world can now share reels across both platforms with an extra tap, increasing visibility and reach. Meta have also brought over the creator tools from Instagram, allowing anyone to upload and edit reels right in Facebook. All of the same features are available such as Remix and 60-second reels, with new features launching in the coming months, like the ability to save a reel in drafts to come back to later, as well as Video Clipping, making it easier for creators who publish live or long-form, recorded videos to test different formats.
It’s official – Facebook Reels are now global! Create and remix from around the world! https://t.co/DSrR8OgZez pic.twitter.com/tFF590B4Ef
— Facebook App (@facebookapp) February 22, 2022
Users will find Facebook Reels in Groups, Stories, the Watch tab, at the top of Feed and sometimes suggested in the Feed from creators you don’t follow. You’ll be able to easily follow the creator, like, comment and share the reel directly from the video.
As part of their $1 billion creator investment, Facebook and Instagram launched the Reels Play bonus program last year, paying creators up to $35,000 a month based on views of qualifying reels. Continuing to help creators earn a living on Facebook and Instagram, Meta are expanding this program to more countries. This is largely funded by full-screen, immersive ads between reels. Like organic content, users can comment, like, view, save, share and skip ads. These have been in testing on Facebook since October and will continue to roll out with the launch of Facebook Reels around the world.
Beyond the fund, Facebook are working on new direct, ad revenue share, monetization tools, that appears to more closely resemble YouTube’s traditional approach to monetization via their Partner Programme. Facebook Reels Overlay Ads are available in two non-interruptive formats. Banner ads appear as a semi-transparent overlay at the bottom of the Facebook Reel, while sticker ads are static image ads that can placed anywhere within the reel by the creator. All creators in the US, Canada and Mexico that are part of the in-stream ads program are automatically eligible to monetize publicly-shared reel with ads. In mid-March, this will expanding to creators in nearly all countries where in-stream ads are available. You can learn more about Overlay Ads on the Meta for Creators blog.
Finally, Facebook will also be testing Stars on Reels in the coming weeks. Fans can buy and send Stars while watching reels to support the creator.