Reel
Reels are short-form, looping vertical videos on Instagram and Facebook, up to 90 seconds, designed for entertainment and discovery.
Reels are Meta's answer to TikTok — short-form, vertical video surfaced primarily through algorithmic discovery rather than follower feeds. They appear in the Reels tab, Instagram Explore, and Facebook's video feed.
For advertisers, Reels is one of the highest-reach placements on Meta because the platform is aggressively pushing the format. Reel ads auto-play with sound and loop, making a strong hook even more critical.
Top-performing Reel ads are shot in 9:16, look native to the platform (think UGC aesthetic rather than polished studio), and deliver the key message in the first 3 seconds. Keep safe zones in mind — platform UI overlays the bottom 15–20% of the frame.
Related terms
Story
Stories are full-screen, vertical, ephemeral posts on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat — typically 15 seconds or fewer — widely used as an ad placement.
Short
YouTube Shorts are vertical videos up to 60 seconds that appear in YouTube's short-form feed, competing with TikTok and Reels.
Vertical (9:16)
A 9:16 aspect ratio video format (1080×1920 px) for full-screen mobile placements like TikTok, Reels and Stories.
UGC
UGC is content created by real customers or creators rather than the brand itself, often used in ads because it feels authentic and native to social feeds.
Hook
A hook is the opening 1–3 seconds of a video ad, designed to stop the scroll and compel the viewer to keep watching.