Instagram reels struggle to compete with TikTok

Meta-Owned photo sharing app Instagram is struggling with its reels feature to compete with its arch rival Tiktok, report claims. TikTok has mastered in short-video content which has nudged other social media giants like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. However, we know that Instagram Reels have a long way to go before it make a dent in its rivals’ market share.

The document titled ‘Creators x Reels State of union 2022″ shows that 11 million creators on the Instagram, created content on Reels each month, however, it failed to have any engagement whatsoever.

Meanwhile, whereas TikTok users spend 197.8 million hours per day viewing videos on the network, Instagram users watch Reels for less than one-tenth of that – 17.6 million hours per day — according to the survey.

“This narrative creates a deceptive image of our progress on Reels by using outdated and, in some cases, erroneous data. We still have more to do, but creators and companies are seeing encouraging benefits, and our revenue growth is quicker than we planned, as more people than ever before are watching, producing, and interacting with Reels,” Meta spokesman Devi Narasimhan told the sources.

Famous celebrities despise Instagram’s shift to video
It might be difficult for any platform’s features to flourish if they are not supported by the most powerful influencers of all: celebrities. In fact, a recent celebrity-fueled backlash against Instagram was directly related to the platform’s increased video focus.

Instagram is bound with reposted content
Another reason Instagram Reels are underperforming? Instagram’s approach of down ranking videos that incorporate recycled content from other platforms hampered its own push for original content. Instagram implemented this new regulation in April in an effort to encourage individuals to create films particularly for the Reels platform.

Instagram doesn’t know where it belongs
The most significant challenge that Reels confronts is that Instagram’s desire for more original content and transition to video is a misguided attempt to compete with TikTok. TikTok and YouTube are already recognized as proven platforms for producers to create audiences and careers in video content creation.

Most people still post original videos on TikTok first, then share them on other platforms.

What do you think of Instagram Reels vs TikTok? Let us know in the comments area below.