Most people think of Facebook as a forgotten platform, a has-been social media space that’s faded into an almost MySpace-like existence of irrelevance.

New data from Emplifi shows that’s not true, that users are not only using Facebook Reels, but using longer videos over TikTok-style short videos.

Facebook Reels are making waves similar to their Instagram Reels counterparts. The trend is clear: longer Facebook Reels are achieving broader reach than shorter ones. 

When it comes to engagement, Facebook Reels are killing it, racking up over triple the median views compared to other video formats on the platform. This is an important metric to consider in forming your digital content strategy.

This makes sense when you consider that Meta has been making big strides on its Meta Business Suite, where you can create Instagram Reels and Facebook Reels at the same time, pushing your video out to both platforms at the same time, with the same post.

So if you’re doing Instagram Reels, why not just click the option for a Facebook Reel and push it out to both platforms? I think the data shows that this is exactly what people are choosing.

Parallel to this, Brands have really embraced Facebook Live, posting 1.5 times more videos than they did in the previous year. This increase highlights a key shift in consumer preferences towards real-time, interactive experiences.

This data comes to us from Emplifi, a user engagement platform that helps clients reach users through a variety of means. They recently released a report on video performance data for branded Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels and videos, and TikTok content.