Meta Focuses on Short-Form Videos
Meta is increasing its focus on short-form videos through Facebook and Instagram Reels, Meta’s short-form video product. Social Native, an online platform providing creator, influencer and user-generated content (UGC) solutions for brands, recently launched Instagram Reels for shoppable video galleries.
According to a news release from Social Native, the new feature aims to enable brands to leverage authentic social content to "power e-commerce, build consumer trust and drive revenue" using Reels.
This launch comes as Meta announced that beginning on Oct. 1, users will no longer be able to host any new or scheduled Live Shopping events on Facebook or Instagram. Users will still be able to use Facebook Live to broadcast live events but won’t be able to create product playlists or tag products in Facebook Live videos.
Social Native’s launch enables e-commerce brands and retailers to curate and use Instagram Reels into shoppable assets with the ability to tag all featured products and drive viewers to product pages. Among other attributes, Social Native's shoppable galleries are customizable, support 9:16 video format (the aspect ratio used for tall videos), and are mobile-first by design.
Brands can utilize content from TikTok, Instagram Reels and other platforms to mirror the social experience on e-commerce, with the goal of creating an engaging and seamless shopping experience.
"Brands that optimize every customer touchpoint with social content are converting well above industry benchmarks," said David Shadpour, Social Native founder and CEO, in the release. "As a Meta official marketing partner, we're pleased to be among the first to bring the engaging experience of Reels to e-commerce sites."
Businesses showcasing UGC on their sites through shoppable galleries have seen an average conversion rate increase double and a 168% average order value increase, according to the release. Social content, and even more so videos, entice shoppers to purchase and create frictionless buying paths.
Social Native has worked with brands including Ikea, H&M and Four Seasons to drive consumers from discovery to purchase with its solutions for social content collection, curation and display.
More recently, Meta revealed it is rolling out new features to Reels, including the ability to cross-post from Instagram to Facebook and gather insights on how a Facebook is Reel is performing. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, revealed on Twitter on Aug. 16 that adding the ability to cross post from Instagram to Facebook can help increase the reach of a user’s video.
He also added that brands and users who post Facebook Reels will now have access to improved insights on Reel performance, including reach, average watch time, total view time and other insights that can help users understand how their Reels are performing on Facebook.