Emplifi Reports Instagram Reels Outperformed All Other Video Content Across Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok

Emplifi, a leading customer engagement platform, released video performance data for branded Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels and videos, and TikTok content, offering advertisers valuable insights as they develop social media marketing strategies for the year ahead. After analyzing 2023 video performance for thousands of brand-owned social media accounts using the Emplifi Social Marketing Cloud, Emplifi discovered Instagram Reels are generating massive results for advertisers, outperforming all other types of video content, including branded TikTok videos and Facebook video content.

Emplifi also compared video views for short, medium, and long Instagram Reels, as well as varying TikTok video lengths, and found longer Instagram Reels (over 90 seconds) generated more than double the number of median video views compared to TikTok videos.

“One of the most interesting findings from our research is the shift we’ve witnessed in Instagram Reels video lengths, with longer run-times winning more engagement for brands compared to short-form video. This represents a change in user behavior, with more time being spent on videos that run longer than the average 15-second or 30-second video ad format,” said Zarnaz Arlia, CMO, Emplifi. “This insight offers an exciting opportunity for brands to reconsider their creative strategy on Instagram. The data shows that audiences are responding positively to longer videos — the key is producing entertaining and valuable content that keeps them watching.”

Emplifi’s data supports broader industry findings. According to Insider Intelligence, people spend more time watching social videos than any other social media content format. When looking at the average amount of time U.S. adults spent on social media platforms in 2023, more than half of their time (56.5%) was devoted to social videos, up more than 15 percentage points during the last three years.

Also Read: Dentsu is the first global agency network to become WhatsApp solution partner

Instagram Reels Dominate All Other Instagram Content

Not only are Instagram Reels outperforming videos posted on other social media platforms, but they are also the top-performing content type on Instagram, delivering six times the reach of Instagram Stories.

Yet, brands continue to consistently post more Stories than Reels. Between May and October 2023, the number of Instagram Stories posted by global brands was five times the number of Instagram Reels posted.

Video Lengths Matter on Instagram, Not So Much on TikTok

Emplifi found longer-form videos on Instagram generated more views compared to short- and medium-length videos, while TikTok video views remained in the same range regardless of video length.

Instagram Reels that ran longer in length gained 8,372 median views compared to 3,379 views on TikTok. In fact, longer Instagram Reels outperformed all other Reels lengths, with short Reels (under 30 seconds) earning 6,145 median views and medium-length Reels (30- to 90-seconds) earning a median of 7,830 views.

Based on Emplifi’s analysis, brands are maintaining similar content volume across both Instagram and TikTok, indicating a balanced approach to their overall video marketing efforts. The substantial difference in video views for branded Instagram Reels versus branded TikTok content is likely the result of Instagram’s push to prioritize Reels on the platform.

SOURCE: Businesswire