Instagram Reels Launches In India Amidst TikTok Absence
Despite being one of the most heavy-hitting influences in online culture over the last year, TikTok has run into a few snags in the past couple weeks. Instagram has been quick to insert itself as a potential successor/replacement. While nothing official has occurred in the United States concerning a TikTok ban, India made waves last week as the country announced a ban of the video sharing app. Instagram has had its eye on TikTok for a while, and the current souring opinions toward the app has only ignited its goal to carve out a space for itself in TikTok’s domain.
Instagram’s current iteration of a TikTok competitor comes in the form of a 15-second video sharing feature called Reels. It isn’t a standalone app; instead, it would reside within the Instagram app itself. Sound familiar? It might be hard for some to remember a time before Instagram Stories existed. But there indeed was a time before that feature existed within the app at all. The temporary short video game was popularized by Snapchat, only then to be generally dethroned by an alread-established Instagram. The Gram had the infrastructure and built-in user base to support the feature. And if users could perform the same actions, post the same type of content, and offer it in an app which already housed their followers, why wouldn’t they do that?
The TikTok situation is a bit different in that regard. Content creators on TikTok have already built impressive followings of their own. While Instagram could offer similar features, TikTok regulars don’t necessarily have the luxury of sharing audience crossover between the platforms.
Interestingly enough, this isn’t Instagram’s first attempt at a TikTok variant (as we said, it’s been on their mind). Just last week, the Facebook parent company announced the shutting down of its short-video sharing app, Lasso. It was decided to go all-in on Reels instead.
Instagram Reels in India
As stated above, Instagram has been quick to offer Reels as an alternative to TikTok. Even though they’ve been testing it in several global markets since last year, they launched it in India today. Since India has several video-sharing apps of their own, some of which have seen spikes in downloads since the TikTok ban, Instagram needed to move quickly. India represented TikTok’s highest volume of downloads outside China, so with that amount of users needing a platform alternative, there’s room there to grow.
I’m interested in tracking the download numbers over the next few weeks to see if Instagram’s take on the messaging medium resonates with users. The fact Reels isn’t its own app could actually work against Instagram as some users might look elsewhere because they don’t want/need everything else Instagram is offering. In my mind, that will pull some weight in potential-users’ decisions.
North American expansion?
The major question remaining is when Reels will head to North American markets. With rumors of a potential TikTok ban in the United States, I would expect an introduction of it quickly after. If the ban doesn’t actually go through, that might delay the absolute necessity to bring it quickly.