Key Takeaways
Global User Base and Growth: By the end of 2024, Instagram is expected to reach 2.5 billion Monthly Active Users.
Advertising and Marketing Potential: Instagram Reels ads offer advertisers the opportunity to connect with a staggering 726.8 million people.
User Engagement with Reels: An impressive 74% of Instagram’s user base engages with the Reels feature.
Advertising Reach and Demographics: The audience demographics for Reels ads are predominantly male at 54.7%, with women making up 45.3%.
Technical Advantages Over Competitors: In a bid to outshine TikTok, Instagram Reels offers 8% more screen space than its competitor.
Launch and Growth
Instagram’s Reels made a grand entrance on August 5th, 2020, rolling out in over 50 countries worldwide. This marked a significant expansion for the platform, showcasing its global appeal.
Initially, Reels debuted in Brazil, where it was known as Cenas. This early launch set the stage for its subsequent global rollout and popularity.
In Brazil, a remarkable surge in growth is anticipated, with projections indicating a user base of 135 million by the year 2025. This forecast underscores Brazil’s vital role in Instagram’s expanding market.
By the close of 2024, Instagram is expected to hit a milestone with 2.5 billion Monthly Active Users. This figure highlights the platform’s massive and ever-growing global user base.
The largest markets for Instagram Reels are led by India, boasting 327 million users, followed by the United States with 169 million, and Brazil closely trailing with 133 million users. These numbers reflect the widespread popularity of Reels across diverse geographic regions.
User Engagement and Demographics
NFL teams experience a 67% surge in engagement when they post Reels, compared to their standard video content.
For NBA teams, posting Reels leads to a 43% higher engagement rate than their regular video uploads.
Reels that hit the mark have a good chance of appearing on Instagram’s Explore page, which attracts 50% of users monthly for new discoveries.
An impressive 17.6 million hours of Reels are watched daily by Instagram users.
A significant 74% of Instagram’s user base engages with the Reels feature.
Among all content types on Instagram, Reels boast the highest estimated reach at 33.8%.
The average impression rate for Reels stands at 33.83%.
For accounts with up to 500 followers, Reels can skyrocket the average reach rate to an astounding 892%.
Reels are a major hit, raking in 35.4% of all likes on Instagram.
The average engagement rate for Instagram Reels is 1.23%.
Reels outperform standard video posts by 22% in terms of interactions.
Engagement rates for Instagram Reels vary with the size of the account, peaking at 3.81% for accounts with fewer than 5,000 followers.
Sharing Reels can significantly boost engagement, typically drawing 300 to 800 likes, in stark contrast to the 100 to 200 likes for IGTV and feed videos.
The MLB witnessed a 13% increase in engagement through the use of Reels.
The NHL enjoyed a substantial 51% boost in engagement by incorporating Reels into their strategy.
Brand and Celebrity Performance
The New England Patriots see an astonishing 500% increase in engagements for each Reel they post.
The Los Angeles Lakers enjoy nearly double the engagements on their Reels, marking a 100% increase compared to other content.
Zara has achieved a cumulative total of 150 million views across all their Reels.
On average, each Reel posted by Nike garners a remarkable 4.6 million views.
H&M has released 17 Reels, collectively amassing over 33 million views.
Chanel averages just over 1 million views for each of their 9 Reels.
A single Reel from Cristiano Ronaldo captivated audiences, receiving over 42 million views.
Gucci maintains an impressive average of 1.4 million views per Reel.
Apple experiences a wide range of viewership on their Reels, with figures spanning from 423k to 6.7 million views per Reel.
Porsche’s most successful Reel achieved over 16 million views within a 12-week period.
A Reels post by Justin Bieber garnered 4.8 million likes, translating to a 3% engagement rate.
Kylie Jenner’s Reels post achieved 1 million views, reflecting a 0.5% impression rate.
Advertising and Marketing
Instagram Reels ads offer advertisers the opportunity to connect with a staggering 726.8 million people.
The audience demographics for Reels ads are predominantly male at 54.7%, with women making up 45.3%.
The age demographics of Instagram’s audience reveal that the largest group is aged 25-34 years, accounting for 31.5%, closely followed by the 18-24 years age group at 30.1%.
A notable 80% of brands on Instagram have experimented with publishing at least one Reel.
An impressive 92% of sports organizations and 88% of sporting goods brands are actively publishing Reels.
According to a survey, 77% of participants reported making a purchase after viewing Reels.
Advertisements on Reels come with a generous 60-second runtime.
The reach of Instagram Reels Advertisements extends to as many as 675.3 million individuals.
Reels Ad Revenue plays a crucial role in Meta’s financial success, contributing to an annual revenue run rate of $10 billion.
Reels that feature TikTok watermarks are given lower priority on the Instagram platform.
Business accounts on Instagram have access to Reels’ Insights for performance tracking.
Reels are equipped with additional marketing and editing tools, enhancing their appeal for content creators.
Usage and Popularity
In 2023, the use of Instagram Reels saw a significant increase of 57.4%.
Instagram Reels captivate a massive audience with 2.35 billion active viewers tuning in each month.
The largest audience for Instagram Reels comes from India, leading globally in user numbers.
A striking 87% of Gen Z views Reels and TikTok as virtually identical platforms.
On the main Instagram feed, video posts, including Reels, constitute 35.9% of all content shared.
The record for the most viewed reel is held by a Samsung ad featuring BTS’s J Hope, amassing over 409,400 likes.
In August 2024, Reels will celebrate its 4th anniversary.
An astounding 200 billion Reels are played daily across Facebook and Instagram.
On average, Instagram users dedicate 30 minutes per day to the app.
A whopping 91% of Instagram users engage with video content on the platform weekly.
On the main Instagram feed, video posts, including Reels, constitute 35.9% of all content shared.
With a view rate of 2.54%, Instagram Reels outshine regular Instagram videos in viewership.
In key performance metrics like median reach, interactions, and views, Instagram Reels have an edge over TikTok videos.
Instagram reigns as the favorite social media platform among Gen Z users.
The record for the most-viewed Instagram Reel stands at a staggering over 289 million views.
The fastest-growing demographic on Instagram is Gen X.
In 2021, Reels overtook Instagram Stories in terms of search popularity.
Discovering Reels is made easy through the use of hashtags.
Technical Aspects and Policies
In a bid to outshine TikTok, Instagram Reels offers 8% more screen space than its competitor.
Instagram has expanded its Reels feature, now allowing videos to be as long as 90 seconds.
The technical specs for Reels are quite specific: an aspect ratio of 9:16, a maximum file size of 4GB, and a recommended resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels.
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