Facebook’s undisputed kingdom has a name and a location: India. According to data from the Indian government, the social network has around 410 million users, far outnumbering even the US, Facebook’s centre of operations. This makes India an ideal place to test Facebook’s new functions.
As a result of the tensions unleashed in 2020 between India and China, the TikTok application was censored, something that FB took advantage of to test a new similar application based on short videos. Because we already know that Facebook has no qualms about assimilating versions of its rivals’ most successful apps for itself. The next move was predictable: incorporating Reels into Facebook.
Test run in India
The giant South Asian country will once again act as a test platform for Facebook and its Reels project. Facebook users are expected to share Instagram Reels, a good opportunity to expand the reach of these videos, with the logical benefit for their creators. This will bridge the 200 million user gap between the two apps, or at least that’s the intention.
The new feature is currently only available to a limited number of influencers and public figures in India who have public accounts. But Facebook has no choice but to exploit the potential of short videos and their overwhelming success, especially among younger users. And it will do everything in its power to do so.
Reels “made in Facebook
Regardless of whether or not Reels are eventually shared on the Facebook platform, Mark Zuckenberg’s company has been working on creating its own short video format since 2020. A name has not yet been assigned, but it is foreseeable that it will end up being associated with Reels in some way.
These short videos on Facebook can be created from the camera on the main news page. Recording videos, selecting previous videos, adding songs, audios and other effects will complete this new function that can bring economic benefits to companies.
Because the social element of eCommerce is in full swing, as evidenced by Instagram. And therefore, the phenomenon could be repeated on Facebook through Reels. Let’s see what the tests in the Asian country and the subsequent general application of this new function reveal.