Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has announced that its ‘Sharing to Reels’ feature is now available to all app developers. This move comes shortly after TikTok unveiled its own developer-facing feature called Direct Post, aimed at making it easier for third-party apps to publish videos on its platform. The goal of Instagram’s Sharing to Reels is to leverage the broader community of video editing apps to generate more content for its short-form video platform and compete with TikTok.
Key Takeaway
Instagram’s ‘Sharing to Reels’ feature is now accessible to all app developers, allowing them to integrate a button that enables users to export their videos directly to Instagram Reels. Previously, users had to export their videos from the third-party app to their device and then re-upload them to Instagram Reels. This new feature streamlines the process and saves time for content creators.
Leveraging Third-Party Apps for More Content
Last November, Instagram introduced the Sharing to Reels integration as a limited alpha test with several app partners, including Lightricks, Reface, Smule, VivaVideo, SNOW, B612, VITA, and Zoomerang. The company initially planned to expand the test to more partners in 2023 without specifying a specific timeline.
With the opening up of access to all interested app developers, any app can now offer integration that allows their users to export videos to Instagram Reels with a single tap. This eliminates the need to go through the process of exporting and re-uploading the video, providing a seamless experience for creators.
How It Works
To use the Sharing to Reels feature, users first create and edit their video within the third-party app. Once the editing is complete, they can tap the share button to access the Instagram Reels icon. Tapping the icon will take them to the Instagram Camera, where they can further customize their reel with audio, effects, voiceover, and stickers. Additional clips can be recorded or uploaded to enhance the existing video. The users can then add a caption, hashtags, location, or tags before publishing the video.
Smule, one of the early testers, saw a 150% increase in shared content after implementing the Sharing to Reels feature, according to Meta. Although specific metrics for other alpha test partners were not shared, Meta highlighted the convenience and time-saving aspect of the feature. The exported reels will gain broader exposure through public recommendations on the Reels and Explore tabs in Instagram. Additionally, users can share their content via Stories and direct messages.
Expanding Accessibility
Meta also offers a similar integration for sharing videos from third-party apps directly to Facebook Reels, which was announced last year. However, no new partners were announced with this expanded availability of the Sharing to Reels feature. Meta is now allowing interested developers to integrate the feature into their apps to provide a smoother workflow for their users.
