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Just days after TikTok announced a new developer-facing feature, Direct Posts, that makes it easier for third-party apps to publish videos on its platform, Meta has announced that its own sharing tool for mobile apps will be available. The Reels widget is now available to all developers. Similar to TikTok’s Direct Posts, the idea of Sharing to Reels is to take advantage of Meta’s short-form video platform and the broader community of video editing apps to generate more content to rival TikTok.
The Sharing to Reels integration launched in a limited alpha test last November with a number of app maker partners, including Lightricks (VideoLeap), Reface, Smule, VivaVideo, SNOW, B612, VITA, and Zoomerang. The company said at the time that it planned to expand the trial to more partners in 2023, but did not give a specific timeframe.
Today, Sharing to Reels is opening up access to any app that wants to offer an integration that will allow their users to instantly export their videos to Instagram Reels with the tap of a button. Previously, users would have to export the video from a third-party app to their device, and then re-upload it to Instagram Reels.
To use the feature, users will first create and edit their video in a third-party app, tap the Share button when completed, and then tap the Instagram Reels icon. This will take them to the Instagram camera, where they can continue to customize their Reel with audio, effects, voiceover, and stickers. They can also record or upload additional clips to add to their existing videos. To complete the upload process, users tap “Next” to fill in a caption, hashtag, location, or tag others, then tap “Share” to publish.
Meta says early tester Smule saw a 150% increase in shared content after implementing the feature, which helped it earn more organic traffic, but it didn’t share any similar metrics for its other alpha testing partners. . However, it cited the convenience and time-saving nature of the feature, and noted that Reels exported by users will appear through public recommendations on the Reels and Explore tabs in Instagram, offering broader exposure. Additionally, users can also share their content through Stories and direct messages, Meta said.
The company offers a similar integration for sharing videos from third-party apps directly to Facebook Reels, which was also announced last year.
Meta did not announce that any additional partners are coming on board with this expanded availability – it is simply opening up access to interested developers.
However, in the case of TikTok’s direct posts, the company has partnered with several high-profile apps, including apps that support AI editing, such as Adobe’s AI-powered video editing software Premiere Pro and its AI creativity app Adobe Express. Were. Other direct post partners included Twitch, SocialPilot, and ByteDance’s CapCut.
