Meta has announced some new editing tools for Instagram Reels as part of a product education workshop at its Mumbai office, designed to help Indian creators make the most of Reels and its evolving Reels monetization options.
India has become a key growth focus for Meta, as regional connectivity evolves, and mobile adoption rises among Indian consumers. Indeed, India now has more Instagram users than any other single region, beating out the US as the app’s top market.
The ban on TikTok in the region has also played a part in this – which is also an element within this new expansion push.
First off, on the new editing tools – coming soon to Instagram users globally, Reels creators will be able to:
Split a single clip into two clips.
That could make it easier to create multi-post updates, and ensure they remain consistent.
Instagram’s also adding new Reels playback speeds controls to further customize presentation.
It’s also adding a new way to swap out one clip for another, without changing the timing or order of other clips or audio.
That’ll make it a lot easier to chop and change elements of your clips, while also making it easier to test variations and see what works.
These are some handy editing tools, which will provide more capacity to create standout Reels in the app. The new editing features are being rolled out to all IG users over the coming weeks.
In addition to this, Meta also announced that Reels Gifts will soon be rolling out to Indian Instagram users.
Reels gifts were first launched to US users in November last year, providing a simple, engaging way for viewers to send donations to Reels creators in the form of cartoonish, interactive stickers. And soon, Indian Reels creators will also be able to generate revenue from the same, which will add another monetization pathway for short-form creators in the app.
As noted, Instagram has seen big growth in the Indian market, while it’s also become a key platform for Indian creators, following the ban on TikTok in the region back in 2020, which was implemented due to an ongoing border dispute with the Chinese Government.
Since then, Instagram has surged to the top of the Indian download charts, with Reels becoming the primary replacement for TikTok – which, at one stage, had over 200 million Indian users.
Given this, it makes sense for Meta to make India more of a focus and leverage the popularity of Reels as it looks to keep pushing its usage stats. The additional editing tools will also have value for all creators worldwide.
