Branded video content on Instagram Reels has outperformed TikTok and Facebook in generating massive results for advertisers, a new report has revealed.

According to customer engagement platform, Emplifi, Instagram Reels (over 90 seconds) generated more than double the number of median video views compared to TikTok videos.

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Reels also became the top-performing content type on the Meta-owned social media platform, delivering six times the reach of Instagram Stories, the research revealed.

However, brands continue to consistently post more Stories than Reels, this comes as between May and October 2023, the number of Instagram Stories posted by global brands was five times higher compared to the number of Reels.

Emplifi CMO Zarnaz Arlia said: “One of the most interesting findings from our research is the shift we’ve witnessed in Instagram Reels video lengths, with longer run-times winning more engagement for brands compared to short-form video.

“This represents a change in user behaviour, with more time being spent on videos that run longer than the average 15-second or 30-second video ad format.

“This insight offers an exciting opportunity for brands to reconsider their creative strategy on Instagram. The data shows that audiences are responding positively to longer videos — the key is producing entertaining and valuable content that keeps them watching.”

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UK regulator, The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), has partnered with Instagram to launch a series of videos aimed at encouraging good practice.

Each video shares aspects of rules advertisers must follow, which include clearly disclosing ads, tackling misleading messaging or being upfront about the price of goods and services.

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The videos also feature content creators including @YourBoyMoyo, @FatsTimbo, @simplysayo, @ThatsWatson and @Shesnotfunny.

The partnership is part of the advertising regulator’s new five-year strategy, AI-assisted, Collective Ad Regulation, which aims to ensure social media influencers are being “honest and truthful”, and help inform people who follow content creators of the ad rules that are in place and the expectations they should have around being treated fairly and not being misled.

ASA Director of Communications and Marketing Donna Castle said: “These videos will help raise awareness of the ASA system and the rules that all UK ads must follow.

“We’re grateful to Meta and all the content creators for their help in bringing this initiative to life in such a creative and engaging way. It’s crucial that all advertisers, including those online, follow the rules that keep people safe and prevent them from being misled.”

Meta Director of Business Partners Nick Baughan added: “Meta is committed to ensuring the people advertising on our platforms do so responsibly. We have a long-standing partnership with the ASA and this new campaign will help not only the creators and advertisers on our platforms but will benefit the communities using them.’’

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The feature, which has been added to Instagram’s version of TikTok called ‘Reels’, enables users to create their own content alongside somebody else’s previously created video.

To remix a reel, users select the video of their choice and tap the three dots on the top right side of the video then, from the menu that appears, tap the ‘Remix This Reel’ option. The user then has the option to record in real-time or use a pre-recorded video from their camera roll and they can edit it as they would with any other video upload.

Reels enables users to record short videos that can be edited with audio, effects, and other creative tools. These videos can be shared on feeds, stories, or on Explore.

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Holi, often known as the ‘festival of colours’, celebrates the triumph of good over evil as we enter the spring months. Traditionally, the festival would be celebrated with colourful street parties and carnival-like events. However, with the current restrictions in place, this isn’t currently possible. So, from 12pm BST on Monday 29 March, Time Out London’s Instagram page will host ‘Holi at Home’.

The schedule for the day includes content from chef, columnist, and author Ravinder Bhogal, who will be cooking up a popular Indian street food dish and providing some other kitchen tips; jewellery designer and henna artist Nisha Davdra, who will teach viewers how to recreate popular henna designs; and presenter and entertainer Sugapuff teaching some Bollywood dance moves.

“At this time of year, the capital is usually alive with Holi celebrations and festivities, from The Holi Festival of Colours in Wembley to The Magic of India Colour Party at Swiss Cottage,” said Samantha Willis, Time Out Engagement Editor. “With large scale events still unable to take place, we are delighted to be working with Instagram to create Holi at Home and provide live activities from a henna masterclass to a Bollywood dance party for everyone to enjoy and learn more about Holi.”

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The Facebook-owned app is introducing a feature that prevents adults from sending messages to people under 18 who don’t follow them and will begin encouraging teens to be cautious of the conversations they’re having with the adults that they are connected to.

In the instance of the former, adults who try to message teens that don’t follow them will receive a notification telling them that the option to DM that user doesn’t exist. Meanwhile, in the latter, young people will be served safety notices when an adult has been detected as acting suspiciously, such as when an adult is sending a large amount of friend or message requests to people under 18.

Going a step further, Instagram will explore ways to make it more difficult for suspicious adults to find and follow teens. In the coming weeks, the app will look at restricting these adults from seeing teens in their ‘Suggested Users’, preventing them from discovering teen content in Reels or Explore, and automatically hiding their comments on public posts by teens.

The app is also going to start encouraging teens to make their accounts private at sign-up by educating them on what the differences are between public and private accounts and promoting the benefits of private accounts to them.

In order to make all of the above work, Instagram is developing artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to help it verify the ages of users, acknowledging that some young people are not honest about their date of birth when creating an account.

Finally, Instagram has published an updated version of its ‘Parents Guide’ with expert partners specific markets. The guide features the latest safety tools and privacy settings, as well as tips for parents on discussing online safety with their children. The guide has launched in the US, Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, and Singapore, adding to the existing guides in the UK, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain.

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Previously, Instagram only allowed users to stream with one other person, but this update opens the door for livestreaming podcasts with multiple guests and having jam sessions, which were previously only possible on other platforms.

“Being able to have open, face-to-face conversations on Instagram Live has helped us capture attention and connect directly with our millions of Roommates,” said Angelica Nwandu, Founder of The Shade Room. “Were excited to use Live Rooms to expand our reporting capabilities, engage with our followers, and to continue growing our platform.”

The Live Rooms feature also gives viewers the ability to buy badges for the hosts – building on Instagram’s updates to Live last year – and use other interactive features including Shopping and Live Fundraisers.

In order to start a Live Room, users have to swipe left and pick the Live camera option. Here, they can add a title and tap the ‘Rooms’ icon to add guests. The person who starts the stream will remain at the top of the screen when they add guests, and guests don’t have to all be added at the same time.

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Klarna, which enables consumers to ‘buy now, pay later’ on products from a range of retailers, ran a campaign with four influencers in April and May, encouraging people to use Klarna to purchase clothes and beauty products and, in turn, ‘lift their low mood’.

The ASA received a complaint about the campaign from Labour MP Stella Creasy, who argued that the Instagram posts were irresponsible.

Klarna argued that the key theme of the ads “was to take care of one’s self during the COVID-19 lockdown period” and that the focus was on “improving one’s mental health and staying entertained during the lockdown period”.

The four influencers – Bradley Harper, Claire Menary, Aisha Master, and Yasmin Fatollahy – each supported Klarna’s claims, stating their posts focused on how the products could improve mood, rather than shopping with Klarna.

However, the ASA disagreed and deemed that the ads were in breach of rule 1.3 (social responsibility) of the CAP (Committees of Advertising Practice) Code. As such, the ads can no longer appear in their current form and any future advertising “must not irresponsibly encourage the use of Klarna’s deferred payment service, particularly by linking it with lifting or boosting mood”.

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‘The Instagram Christmas Edit: Supporting Small Businesses’ features gifts from businesses across fashion and beauty to food and homeware, with creators including LGBT activist Tanya Compas, body positivity champion Megan Jayne Crabbe, and fashion stylist Monikh Dale offering up product suggestions from their favourite small businesses.

Brands include black-owned, vegan hair and skincare brand @okin.epidermis, eco-friendly drinks brand @punchydrinks, homeware brand @daphine, and luxe shirt brand @withnothingunderneath. All of the products featured in the catalogue are linked to the brand’s Instagram page and instantly shoppable.

“Small businesses are an integral part of the Instagram community and over the last few months we’ve seen over 1.5m mentions, posts and comments from people in the UK, showing their support for small businesses and buying local,” said Eva Chen, Vice President of Fashion Partnerships at Instagram. “That’s why we have teamed up with a group of amazing Creators to create The Instagram Christmas Edit, a shoppable catalogue packed full with some of the much-loved and unique British brands on Instagram, just in time for Christmas.”

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The ‘Disco Spirit’ experience on Instagram will give fans one hour to ‘dance’ with Kylie’s ‘Disco Spirit’, which will perform Real Groove as part of a celebration of the singer’s Disco album.

Kylie and her team worked with Facebook’s Creative Shop to create the experience using Spark AR and Instagram technology. The experience, driven by motion captured dance moves, draws on the themes and visuals of Disco.

Fans can experience the Disco Spirit for one hour only on Kylie’s Instagram page from 7pm UK time tomorrow (26 November).

“Come dance with my Disco Spirit. I loved working on this project and having a sparkling avatar embody the spirit of my album, DISCO, is an absolute thrill; to be the first of its kind on Instagram is very exciting,” said Kylie.

Ricardo Caetano, Head of Facebook Creative Shop UK, added, “We are very excited to have the opportunity to work on this project with Kylie Minogue, BMG and Studio Moross. With the main goal of enabling and celebrating self-expression, we designed this experience together, to give fans a different type of interaction with Kylie’s visuals and music, bringing fans closer. This project allowed us to explore how established concepts of performance, identity and presence are all converging and being stretched by music and technology.”

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The ‘Banter or Bullying? No Offence’ campaign follows on from last year’s ‘Banter or Bullying?’ campaign. This time, entertainer Chunkz, doctorand presenter Dr. Radha Modgil, and social media personalities Chessie King, Holly H, and Olimata are all calling out bullying online.

Chunkz has dropped an ‘anti-diss track’ on Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat; Holly H is showing why ‘no offence, but…’ comments won’t phase her on Instagram Reels; Dr. Radha Modgil is providing personal advice on how to deal with cyberbullying and how to spot when banter goes too far; Olimata has shared a personal public service announcement for those who have ever used ‘no offence, but…’ to mask a hurtful comment; and more.

The campaign launch coincides with the release of a report from Cybersmile and Instagram which found that 65 percent of 13- to 18-year olds in the UK believe terms like ‘banter’ and ‘no offence, but…’ are being used to mask bullying behaviour, both on and offline.

The survey of 3,003 teens also revealed that 83 per cent of young people have seen someone left upset by ‘banter’. And 75 per cent of teens agree that people are more likely to take it too far when talking online.

Meanwhile, 68 per cent have been hurt by a comment which started with ‘no offence but…’. However, 33 per cent find it difficult to talk to friends and family about their personal boundaries when this happens.

“This research demonstrates that a majority of young people are aware of their own personal boundaries and how subtle nuances in conversation can be used to disguise bullying or affect the way that communication is perceived,” said Dan Raisbeck, Co-founder of Cybersmile. “We believe it is vital to educate and encourage young people to make use of the features and tools available to them to control their online experience, and maintain their digital wellbeing.”

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