Meta is expanding the availability of Facebook Reels for iOS and Android users in more than 20 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. The company is also introducing better ways to help creators to earn money, new creation tools and more places to watch and create Facebook Reels.
Prior to this expansion, Reels was available on Facebook in India, Mexico, Canada, the U.S, and is now available across sub-Saharan Africa. Countries incorporated include Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, Swaziland, South Africa, Seychelles, Senegal, Rwanda, Nigeria, Namibia, Mali, Malawi, Lesotho, Kenya, Guinea, Ghana, Cape Verde, Cameroon and Burkina Faso.
Meta is also creating various opportunities for creators to earn money for their reels. The Reels Play bonus program, part of Meta’s Ksh. 113.8 billion (USD 1 billion) creator investment, pays eligible creators up to Ksh. 4 million ($35,000) a month based on the views of their qualifying reels.
As part of the launch Meta is also launching brand suitability controls, including Publisher Lists, Blocklists, Inventory Filters and Delivery Reports for Banner and Sticker Ads in Facebook Reels in every region they are available. This gives advertisers more control over how their ads appear in places they don’t consider suitable for their brand or campaign.
More editing features
In addition to the features announced last year, creators around the world will be able to access the following features.
Remix: Create your own reel alongside an existing, publicly-shared reel on Facebook. When you create a Remix, you can create a reel that includes all or part of another creator’s reel.
60-second Reels: Make reels up to 60 seconds long.
Drafts: You will soon be able to create a reel and choose to “Save As Draft” below the Save button.
Video clipping: In the coming months, we’re planning to roll out video clipping tools that will make it easier for creators who publish live or long-form, recorded videos to test different formats.
New updates
Over the coming weeks, the following updates will be rolled out to make it easier to create and discover reels in new places.
Reels in stories: You can share public reels to Stories on Facebook, making it easy to share favourite reels with friends and giving creators more visibility and reach. You’ll also be able to create reels from existing public stories.
Reels in watch: You’ll be able to watch reels directly within the Watch tab and we’re developing tools to help you create reels in the Watch tab as well.
Top of feed: We’re adding a new Reels label at the top of Feed so you’ll be able to easily create and watch reels in just a few clicks.
Suggested reels in feed: In select countries, we’re starting to suggest reels that you may like in your Feed from people you do not already follow.
Users can find Facebook Reels in Feed, Groups and Watch. When viewing a reel, you can follow the creator directly from the video, like and comment on it or share it with friends.