Tribune Web Desk
Chandigarh, July 12
Instagram has announced the extension of the testing of Reels, a new video format, to India.
Diljit Dosanjh and Ammy Virk have become two of the earlier people from Punjab to post on this format.
Reels offer a new way to create and share short videos on Instagram and aims at redefining the future of entertainment on the platform.
With over a billion people globally, Instagram is used by people to express themselves, across its many surfaces – Feed, Stories, IGTV and Live.
With Reels, people can express themselves while entertaining others, whether that’s by trying out a fun new dance or spreading the message on something they care about.
People can record and edit 15-second multi-clip videos with audio, effects, and new creative tools on Reels, share it with their followers on Feed, and, if they have a public account, make them available to the wider Instagram community through a new space in Explore.
Sharing to Reels in Explore means they may appear there and be visible to a larger audience, especially as more than 50 per cent of accounts on Instagram globally visit Explore every month.
Reels in Explore showcases an entertaining selection of Reels made by public accounts on Instagram, which may inspire people to create their next reel.
Ajit Mohan, vice president and managing director, Facebook India, said, “One of the key pillars of our Facebook India strategy is unleashing expression for the country. With the rise in video consumption across the country, and videos making up for over a third of posts on the platform in India, Instagram has a big role to play. People across the big and small cities of India come to Instagram to express themselves safely, and also be entertained. Reels give people the ability to create short form content, with new video editing tools, and be a creator on a global stage.”
Ammy Virk, being one of the early users of Reels, shared his experience ‘Instagram just got lit for me with Reels. Creativity and expression should be fluid across platforms, and I’m glad to host mine on Reels now. I’m excited about this snappy immersive video experience and the wider chance of being discovered by Instagram’s diverse community in Punjab and beyond, considering the dedicated space on Explore.”
The feature was rolled out in India earlier this week, and has already been used by popular Punjabi public figures and creators such as Ammy Virk, Gippy Grewal, Diljit Dosanjh and Arjun Kanungo.
While this is a test, Instagram is committed to getting the experience right and will continue to learn and build as India creates and shares Reels.