Instagram’s gradual but multi-purpose innovation – INSTAGRAM REELS is turning the platform into an e-commerce powerhouse that has been recently added to the app. For anyone who is unaware of what reels exactly are, they are an in-app creation that works a lot like TikTok. One can create and share 15- 30 seconds videos, match videos to music and other audios not only for entertainment purposes but also for business marketing now. The reels are another way for creators to generate revenue directly from the videos they create. Creators also have the option of adding “Branded Content “tags to the reels, giving the viewers more transparency about paid promotions.
Long advertisements can be seen to be failing at places where the content itself can be just seconds long. Although it is challenging for creators to create unique content yet the viewers enjoy it owing to their decreasing attention spans and can also share them with their fellow mates. Twitter had once found a similar application, Vines with the vision of turning it into a revenue-generating platform. It was also used to browse videos it was hoped that videos would trend, though nothing as such happened. It failed to be recognized as a sustainable business model due to its inability to keep pace with its competitors and hence it lost all its star users.
TikTok, at the same time, is on its way to facilitate product placement options on its clips. The Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin, is believed to generate the majority of its revenue from e-commerce listings. With its growing popularity, TikTok is also on the same path.
Live streaming allows the audience to share small tips in the form of donations, which is a great way to earn even for budding creators. In addition, TikTok had also launched link-sharing via your bio and through posts, helping users reach out to more audiences and make more lucrative deals with brands. TikTok’s new partnership with Shopify, an e-commerce platform further gives way for in-stream purchases also while waiting on a huge retail store like Walmart to becomes its new part-owner in the US.
Both TikTok and Instagram Reels are starting to major play role in online business marketing strategies due to their billions of users and reach among them. However, do these platforms are big enough to revolutionize the user’s purchasing behavior?
However, no matter to what degree it does bring a change in customer’s shopping habits, yet it is still a change we witness today.
