Are Instagram's Reels already losing steam?

If Instagram wanted to beat TikTok at its own short video game, it seems to be coming up short. The visually focused social network of the Meta group was largely inspired by the Chinese giant when it came to this format, but the results are disappointing.

This is what a new report relayed by the Wall Street Journal indicates.

Internet users apparently spend ten times more time watching videos on TikTok than checking out Reels on Instagram. Meta has been regularly brandishing the success of its latest format, largely modeled on the offering of its most serious competitor. In April 2022, Instagram revealed that 20% of its users' time was spent on Reels.

However, for the Wall Street Journal, the reality is quite different. According to an internal document, the engagement generated by Reels has dropped by 13.6% during the four weeks analyzed, and many Reels users have "no engagement whatsoever." The American giant defended itself by underlining that these figures did not entirely reflect reality, without giving any other explanation.

While Meta continues to dominate the global social media scene with a large number of active users, both weekly and monthly, users are spending more and more time on other social networks. The latest study by Hootsuite and We Are Social showed that users prefer TikTok for entertainment content.

On top of that, last July Instagram users called out Adam Mosseri, the platform's boss, as they were tired of seeing Instagram turning into "a less successful version of TikTok," focusing more on videos than photos. The campaign "Make Instagram, Instagram Again" was promoted by stars like Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian. Criticism that met with a pushback from Adam Mosseri, who reasserted the social network's ambition in short video content. Which means the latest report will have the effect of a cold shower for Meta.