What Facebook is known for, besides being the largest social media, is being a copycat.
As the biggest social media platform there is, Facebook is sitting on tons of resources and capabilities. If it cannot buy something to prevent it from being a competitor, it will copy it as it tries to destroy it. Facebook copies Snapchat and others, and later, also copies TikTok, with what it calls 'Reels' on Instagram.
And this time, Reels are getting ads.
The company announced that it is launching ads in the short-form video platform, to businesses and advertisers worldwide. The ads can be made up to 30 seconds in length, like Reels themselves, vertical in format, similar to ads found in Instagram Stories.
Also like Reels, the ads loop, and people can Like, comment or save them.
Facebook has been testing this on Instagram in select market earlier this 2021, including in India, Brazil, Germany, and Australia, before expanding it to Canada, France, the UK and the U.S. more recently.
According to Instagram, the ads appear in most places users view Reels, including on the Reels tab, Reels in Stories, Reels in Explore, and Reels in users' Instagram Feed.
Ads can also appear between individual Reels posted by users.
But to make sure that user experience is not compromised by much, Reels' ads can only be shown when users are in the immersive, full-screen Reels viewer.
Ads can be identified by their small “sponsored” tag.
And considering how frequent Reels' ads can be shown, Facebook is not detailing much.
The company only noted that the number of ads users can see should vary based on how they use Instagram.
For advertisers, Reels' ads are like Instagram’s other advertising products, which are based on an auction-based model.
"We see Reels as a great way for people to discover new content on Instagram, and so ads are a natural fit," said Instagram's Chief Operating Officer Justin Osofsky. "Brands of all sizes can take advantage of this new creative format in an environment where people are already being entertained."
Following the introduction of ads on Reels, Instagram needs to make Reels a more compelling destination, in order to get more eyeballs to the ads, making advertisers happy.
However, this can be easier said that done.
TikTok managed to successfully tap into the audience and their attention, and has the capacity to charge big money.
TikTok can do this because it has an advantage for being extra simple and straightforward.
Unlike TikTok, Reels is only a part of the larger Instagram platform.
But the thing is, Instagram is a competitor to be feared because it has Facebook on its back. With Facebook's support, Instagram can tap into the already-massive ecosystem.
This is something TikTok lacks.
At this time, both Instagram and TikTok now have over a billion monthly active users on a global basis.