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Hey, remember how Instagram told everyone they shouldn’t post Reels longer than 90 seconds because they don’t perform that well, then announced, a month later, that you can now post Reels up to 3 minutes long?
Confusing huh? Well, Instagram has tried to clarify that, announcing that it will be so they recommend longer reels same as shorter in the application.
As you can see in these slides posted on IGwill now recommend longer reels on discovery surfaces and ensure longer clips get the same audience potential as other posts.
Because as noted, Instagram’s advice so far has been:
Which is why the expansion of Reels was announced at the end of last weekit was a bit strange.
But that’s okay, Instagram will continue to show your longer clips to more people, so you can and should post longer Reels in the app. If you want.
Although it still looks a little weird.
In May last year, in An event for Instagram creatorsThe Instagram team specifically pointed out that creators shouldn’t post longer Reels because people don’t like them, and they generally see far less engagement.
Which is why Instagram didn’t recommend them on its discovery surfaces.
To clarify, until last week the maximum post length for Reels created within the app was 90 secondsbut you can also upload longer clips captured via your photo. So while the 3-minute reels are new, you were previously able to post longer clips to the app.
Although Instagram has repeatedly advised against it.
But now Instagram says so:
“The appetite for long-form content is changing, and we’ll continue to improve the way reels are recommended on Instagram.“
I mean, TikTok allows users to post longer clips, so it makes sense that IG would also allow the same, as it looks like they’ll pick up on TikTok being rejected for its uncertainty in the US
But it’s a significant shift, seemingly for no other reason than Instagram wants to do it.
In any case, at least in theory, you shouldn’t see any impact on reach if you decide to publish longer Reels in the app. But whether users like the format is another question.
US IG users can now post 3-minute reels in the app.