Instagram provided information about the hottest trends and more updates on Reels. This was posted on the Creators Instagram blog.
We strive to make Instagram a home for creators like you to express your creativity, connect with your audience, and earn a living. Today, we’re announcing improvements to Reels – that empower you to do what you do best.
Key Updates:
- Central destination to find trending audio and hashtags
- Redesigned editing experience bringing together video clips, audio, stickers, and text
- New insights on total watch time and average watch time to help you better understand how your reels are performing, plus new recognitions for hitting key milestones.
- Updates to gifts, including an easier way to recognize fans and bringing gifts to more creators internationally
Find Out What’s Trending on Reels
Creators are always looking to discover fresh content ideas, so now we’re adding a dedicated destination for you to be inspired by the latest trends. You’ll be able to see the top trending songs and hashtags on Reels, see how many times the audio has been used, tap in to use it, or save the audio for yourself.
You’ll also be able to see what the top trending topics and hashtags are on Reels to inform your own content. For example, festival season might be trending earlier than you think! We’ve found that people actually start sharing their #coachella content before the festival even begins. These are the types of insights you can tap into with the new trends destination.
Making it easier to Edit Reels
We’re making it easier for you to edit your reels on Instagram by bringing together video clips, audio, stickers, and text on a unified editing screen. This makes it easier to align and time elements of your reel to the right moments in a more visual way. Keep an eye out for even more exciting tools to come as we continue to invest in more ways to make editing your reels simpler and easier. This is available globally, across both iOS and Android devices.
The Verge reported that the biggest change is in the video editing process. Users will now be able to tweet uploaded clips, audio, stickers, and text overlays all in the same screen instead of having to do it in separate steps.
Stills shared by the company show a timeline editing feature similar to what TikTok has, which helps when lining up audio and video clips and makes transitions smoother.
According to The Verge, keeping content creators happy with how they make money on the platform has been a challenge for both Instagram and TikTok – both of which have been overhauling or cutting funds meant to reward users for high-performing content.
One alternative for monetizing content has been virtual tips from fans, and TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram all have a version of the feature. A new update to the Reels gifting feature will show a creator which fans have sent them gifts; they’ll then be able to acknowledge it by tapping a heart icon.
I use Instagram as a place where I can share my artwork with my friends. I’ve never had an interest in using Reels. That said, I’m certain there are younger people who use Instagram that primarily focus on making Reels, and I hope the new features work well for them.