Platform features
Reels: definition and examples
What is Reels?
Reels are Instagram's short-form video format, supporting multi-clip vertical videos with music, effects, voiceovers, and other creative tools. They are distributed across a creator's feed, the Reels tab, and the Explore page, giving them the potential to reach audiences beyond a creator's existing followers.
When you'd use it
- 1When the goal is to reach Instagram users who do not follow the account through the Explore tab or Reels feed.
- 2When repurposing a vertical short-form video that already performed on another platform.
- 3When the content uses audio from Instagram's music library and can benefit from the audio trend's existing audience.
- 4When a brand already posts to an Instagram feed and wants the same clip to also surface in discovery.
Example
A food brand cross-posted a 22-second recipe video from TikTok to Reels with a watermark still visible. Reach was limited. When the same brand posted an original version of the same recipe natively on Instagram, the Reel reached 1.2 million non-followers in the first week.
Use cases
- 1Distributing a 30-second product clip across both the creator's feed and the Reels discovery tab.
- 2Repurposing a TikTok video for Instagram by pairing it with a trending audio track from the Reels library.
- 3Building a series of short educational clips that live on the Reels tab and accumulate views over time.
FAQ
Does Instagram penalize cross-posted TikTok videos on Reels?
Instagram has stated that content with visible TikTok watermarks is distributed less broadly than original content on Reels. Removing the watermark before cross-posting reduces that penalty, but fully native content tends to perform best.
Make on-brand short-form video from the footage you already have.