Meta rolls out new Facebook Reels features and extends maximum video length to 90 seconds

Meta today announced that it is adding support for longer Facebook reels of up to 90 seconds, along with new creative tools. Until now, Facebook Reels were limited to 60 seconds. The changes come several months after Meta launched support for longer Instagram reels of up to 90 seconds. The expansion followed TikTok’s move into YouTube territory with videos lasting up to 10 minutes, instead of just three.

The company is also rolling out more creative tools, including a new templates feature that lets users create reels with trending templates. The new feature, which rolled out to Instagram Reels last year, allows users to create new reels using the same structure they just watched. Templates are somewhat similar to TikTok’s own template creation option.

Picture credits: Facebook

Additionally, Facebook Reels is getting a new “Grooves” feature that automatically aligns and syncs the motion of your video to the beat of your favorite song using visual beat technology. Synchronizing video with sounds has been a defining feature of TikTok, so it’s no surprise that Meta is bringing it to Facebook Reels after rolling it out for Instagram Reels last year.

It’s worth noting that all of these new Reels features made their way to Instagram over seven months ago and are now being posted on Facebook. It is possible that Meta wanted to see how they were used on Instagram Reels before moving them to Facebook Reels.

Facebook launched Reels last year in a move that has been seen as a key part of Meta’s response to the TikTok threat. Although Meta initially saw Reels as a way to directly combat TikTok with a feature inside the Instagram app, the company soon realized it could mount a stronger counteroffensive if it also integrated Facebook in the mix and allowed cross-posting between the two social networks. .

Meta says Reels is its fastest growing format and continues to grow rapidly. Reel games on Facebook and Instagram have more than doubled over the past year, the company said in an email. He also noted that Reels’ reshares have more than doubled on Facebook and Instagram in the past six months. Meta plans to continue rolling out new features for Reels to make it easier for creators to discover.