Definition: Reels are short, vertical, full-screen videos on Instagram and Facebook that play with sound and are recommended to people who do not follow the account, as well as to followers.
Also called: Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels, reel
Updated October 11, 2026
A Reel lives on the profile like a feed post, but it is also shown in the Reels tab and in recommendations to people who have never seen the account. That makes it the main format for reaching new audiences on Instagram. Stories, by contrast, are shown mostly to existing followers and disappear after 24 hours.
Instagram raised the maximum Reel length from 90 seconds to three minutes in January 2025, as announced by Instagram head Adam Mosseri. Reels are vertical; 1080 × 1920 pixels (9:16) fills the screen. Keep text and faces out of the bottom and right edges, where the caption, audio label and buttons sit.
The first second decides whether people keep watching, so open on the payoff or a clear promise rather than a logo or intro. Add on-screen text, because many people watch with the sound off, and end cleanly so the loop feels natural. Watch time and shares are the signals to track, more than likes.
A bakery films a 25-second Reel: the first frame is a croissant being torn open, then three quick shots of the lamination steps, then the tray coming out of the oven. On-screen text reads “72 hours to make one croissant”, and the caption gives opening times.
Short-form video is vertical video, usually under three minutes, made to be watched full screen on a phone in a feed that plays the next clip automatically, such as TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
Stories are full-screen, vertical photos and videos that appear at the top of the app and disappear after 24 hours, unless the account saves them to a profile Highlight.
A safe zone is the part of an image or video frame that stays visible after the app overlays its buttons, captions and profile details.
Watch time is the total amount of time viewers spent watching a video or channel, usually reported in minutes or hours.
Video completion rate is the percentage of views in which a video was watched all the way to the end.
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