Reel: meaning and how it works

A reel is a short vertical video format on Instagram and Facebook.

Reels are shown to non-followers, which makes them the main growth format. Read about making reels that travel.

How it works in practice

Reels are recommended to people who do not follow you, so a good reel can reach thousands of strangers. They are usually 7 to 60 seconds and shot vertically.

Example

Example: a 15-second reel showing a recipe in three steps, with text on screen, can be seen by far more people than a feed photo.