Short-form vertical video has quietly shifted from an experimental growth lever to the structural core of Meta’s engagement and advertising strategy. Over the past year, Reels has reshaped how users interact with Instagram and Facebook, altering not only consumption patterns but also the economics of attention across social platforms – a transition that increasingly defines Meta’s competitive position, according to analysis by YourNewsClub.
Recent usage data shows that Reels now accounts for nearly half of all time spent inside Instagram on mobile devices in the United States, up sharply from the previous year. Facebook is following a similar trajectory, with short-form video becoming one of its fastest-growing interaction formats. This momentum is not a reaction to episodic controversies elsewhere in the social media landscape, but rather the result of sustained algorithmic investment, aggressive product prioritization and cross-promotion across Meta’s ecosystem.
From a structural perspective, this transition favors algorithm-driven discovery over traditional social graphs. As Owen Radner, who specializes in large-scale content distribution systems and data flows at YourNewsClub, explains, vertical video generates an unusually dense stream of behavioral signals – from dwell time to micro-interactions – allowing recommendation engines to refine personalization at a pace unmatched by feed-based formats. Reels, in this sense, functions less as a content feature and more as an engagement engine, reinforcing Meta’s advantage in data-driven ranking systems that once defined the rise of TikTok.
Advertising behavior has followed user attention. Brands are increasingly reallocating budgets away from traditional feed placements toward Reels, even though short-form video still produces lower revenue per minute than legacy formats. Meta has acknowledged this imbalance openly, choosing to accept near-term monetization pressure in exchange for long-term control over engagement flows. In internal strategy discussions referenced by YourNewsClub, this trade-off is increasingly framed as a deliberate reinvestment phase rather than a structural weakness.
Crucially, overall activity across Meta’s apps continues to rise alongside Reels adoption. That distinction matters. As Alex Reinhardt, whose work focuses on platform revenue mechanics and advertising liquidity, notes, the real risk would emerge only if Reels displaced higher-yield formats without expanding total time spent. Instead, aggregate engagement is growing, suggesting that short-form video is additive rather than cannibalistic – a key signal for advertisers assessing long-term platform efficiency.
Competition remains intense. YouTube retains scale advantages in long-form consumption, while TikTok continues to lead in average daily watch time. Yet Instagram Reels occupies a distinct strategic position: embedded within an existing social graph while operating on algorithmic discovery principles. That hybrid structure has proven difficult to replicate and increasingly defines Meta’s differentiation in a crowded market.
Meta’s experiments to extend Reels beyond mobile – including connected-TV environments – further signal an ambition to broaden the format’s lifecycle and monetization surface. Within YourNewsClub’s editorial framework, vertical video is no longer treated as a format choice but as infrastructure: a distribution layer capable of supporting commerce, creator monetization and AI-driven advertising at scale.
The broader implication is clear. Meta is not merely competing for attention in short-form video; it is re-architecting its platforms around it. As Your News Club sees it, the success of this strategy will hinge less on user growth – which is already substantial – and more on how effectively algorithmic attention is converted into durable advertising yield without eroding user trust.
If Reels continues to consolidate its role as the primary engagement surface across Meta’s ecosystem, the company’s willingness to absorb short-term revenue inefficiencies may ultimately prove decisive – not only against TikTok and YouTube, but across the next phase of AI-driven media economics that YourNewsClub continues to monitor closely.