六周前,為了趕超廣受歡迎的TikTok,Instagram也推出了同類軟件Reels,人們可以在該平臺上發(fā)布一些諸如穿著溜冰鞋跳舞、在家自制熱狗派小吃等短視頻。然而到目前為止,該服務(wù)的用戶和廣告商都覺得,Reels并不會對TikTok構(gòu)成很大的威脅。
TikTok的用戶抱怨稱,Reels提供的視頻編輯工具很有限,他們無法在視頻中添加很多特效,像慢動作等。一些Z世代的年輕用戶說,Instagram這個社交媒體在青少年中流行已經(jīng)是幾年前的事情,現(xiàn)在,在這里“網(wǎng)上沖浪”的主要都是些“老人”了。
Pivotal研究所(Pivotal Research)的分析師邁克爾?萊文在最近給投資者的一份報告中說:“我對Reels的總體印象是有些悲觀的。我認為它只是一個模仿者,目前還沒有任何吸引力?!?/p>
對Instagram及其母公司Facebook而言,這是一場豪賭:為了跟上最新的社交媒體趨勢,并進一步保持其廣告優(yōu)勢,他們做出了很多努力——而短視頻應(yīng)用程序Reels是他們的最新動作。
但是,競爭格局尚不明晰。美國總統(tǒng)特朗普揚言,出于國家安全考慮,將關(guān)閉TikTok這項背靠中國公司的業(yè)務(wù)。自此,TikTok開始和甲骨文和沃爾瑪公司洽談美國業(yè)務(wù)的出售事宜,并提出了交易協(xié)議,而特朗普一面有意默許這些協(xié)議,一面又對此表示懷疑。
根據(jù)移動應(yīng)用數(shù)據(jù)分析公司Sensor Tower的數(shù)據(jù),很明顯,Reels尚未吸引到很多用戶——如果Reels表現(xiàn)不錯,則會反映在Instagram的下載量中——這一數(shù)據(jù)應(yīng)該有所上升。但根據(jù)Sensor Tower的數(shù)據(jù),從8月5日至9月15日,Instagram在美國用戶中的安裝總數(shù)為470萬,與6月24日至8月4日期間的數(shù)量相同。
那些頗具影響力的“大V”——利用自己的聲望,能夠?qū)⑵放粕痰漠a(chǎn)品推廣給成千上萬的粉絲,并從中獲得一筆可觀的廣告費。他們普遍認為,Reels不像TikTok那樣,有著某些讓人眼前一亮的吸引力。因此,他們可能不會花很多時間在上面。
“Reels太簡單,功能只在基本水平上。”24歲的洛杉磯社交媒體網(wǎng)紅CJ Operamericano說。
Instagram的發(fā)言人表示,盡管尚未發(fā)布重大更新,但Reels正在努力“改善用戶體驗”;并在某些國家或地區(qū)測試位于Instagram應(yīng)用主頁面上的Reels選項卡,這將利用Instagram的10億用戶,大大增加Reels的曝光量。
不過,Instagram拒絕透露Reels的用戶數(shù)量。但是,為了證明Reels的吸引力,該公司提到了一些知名人士,說他們正在使用該服務(wù)來制作美食、美容和舞蹈等視頻。
為了把一些頂流網(wǎng)紅吸引到Reels上來,Instagram推出了補貼政策,主動幫助創(chuàng)作者承擔(dān)視頻制作成本。Instagram方面解釋稱,公司早已對“引流”這件事情“輕車熟路”。
然而,目前很多Reels上的發(fā)布者往往都只是轉(zhuǎn)推自己在Tiktok上的視頻,并不會把Reels當成主戰(zhàn)場。Reels對他們的意義多半在于“多渠道宣傳”,讓那些有意與Tiktok紅人合作卻不曾接觸過Tiktok的廣告商看到自己。
“很多客戶都是通過Instagram找到我的。”網(wǎng)紅Operamericano在談起自己的品牌合作方時說道,“但Tiktok才是我的主要平臺?!?/p>
值得注意的是,Reels此番幾乎與特朗普的“Tiktok禁令”同步上線,很難說清楚是純屬巧合,還是有意為之。近期,字節(jié)跳動有意與甲骨文達成交易,在不涉及任何算法和技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)讓的基礎(chǔ)上將甲骨文列為“值得信任的合作伙伴”。特朗普方面在9月19日曾經(jīng)表示“原則性同意”,但據(jù)路透則9月21日報道,特朗普現(xiàn)下又聲稱:“如果美國公司對Tiktok沒有完全的控制權(quán),那么就不會批準這筆交易?!?/p>
來自美國得克薩斯州理查森市的一名16歲的TikTok用戶卡拉?比靈頓認為,Reels上的用戶平均年齡要比Tiktok上大一些,所以很難出現(xiàn)類似于Tiktok上“舞蹈挑戰(zhàn)”一樣的爆款活動。她表示自己日常仍然會使用Instagram,但不會去用Instagram的Reels。如果要和朋友聊天,她就會用Snapchat,如果要看短視頻,她則會選擇Tiktok.
當被問及“為什么不用Reels”時,比靈頓回答道:“它完全就是Tiktok的翻版,既然我已經(jīng)有Tiktok了,那么類似的軟件對我來說沒有任何意義。”
其實很多廣告商也對Reels持懷疑態(tài)度,近期Pivotal研究所針對54家大型廣告商的研究發(fā)現(xiàn),61%的受訪者并不認為Reels會是TikTok的有效競爭對手。至于Reels業(yè)務(wù)到底能不能幫助Instagram增加廣告收入,有一半的受訪者對此持保留態(tài)度。
盡管市場反應(yīng)冷淡,但分析師認為,現(xiàn)在就對Reels下結(jié)論還為時過早,未來也不能排除大量Instagram用戶受誘惑去嘗試Reels的可能性。
貝爾德股票研究所(Baird Equity Research)的分析師科林?塞巴斯蒂安說:“Instagram手中的流量市場可能會促使新媒體領(lǐng)域發(fā)生‘天翻地覆’的變化。”
這種樂觀預(yù)測主要還是植根于Reels本身的熱度。根據(jù)塞巴斯蒂安的說法,Reels第一天上線之時,谷歌后臺和“Reels”相關(guān)的搜索量就呈現(xiàn)出爆發(fā)式的增長態(tài)勢,這表明用戶對Reels的興趣及好奇感相當充足。盡管后幾個星期Reels的熱度開始放緩,但最近有關(guān)Reels的搜索量又開始重新溫和上漲,9月第一周,其搜索量就同比增長了15%。不過,目前的數(shù)據(jù)依然低于Reels亮相首日的戰(zhàn)績,大致穩(wěn)定在當日搜索量的1/4左右。
從長遠來看,Reels很可能會在將來殺入短視頻市場,成為有力的市場競爭者。但在它找到自己的定位特色之前,時髦的年輕人可能還是會更傾向于在Tiktok上繼續(xù)參加他們的“舞蹈挑戰(zhàn)”。(財富中文網(wǎng))
編譯:陳聰聰、陳怡軒
六周前,為了趕超廣受歡迎的TikTok,Instagram也推出了同類軟件Reels,人們可以在該平臺上發(fā)布一些諸如穿著溜冰鞋跳舞、在家自制熱狗派小吃等短視頻。然而到目前為止,該服務(wù)的用戶和廣告商都覺得,Reels并不會對TikTok構(gòu)成很大的威脅。
TikTok的用戶抱怨稱,Reels提供的視頻編輯工具很有限,他們無法在視頻中添加很多特效,像慢動作等。一些Z世代的年輕用戶說,Instagram這個社交媒體在青少年中流行已經(jīng)是幾年前的事情,現(xiàn)在,在這里“網(wǎng)上沖浪”的主要都是些“老人”了。
Pivotal研究所(Pivotal Research)的分析師邁克爾?萊文在最近給投資者的一份報告中說:“我對Reels的總體印象是有些悲觀的。我認為它只是一個模仿者,目前還沒有任何吸引力?!?/p>
對Instagram及其母公司Facebook而言,這是一場豪賭:為了跟上最新的社交媒體趨勢,并進一步保持其廣告優(yōu)勢,他們做出了很多努力——而短視頻應(yīng)用程序Reels是他們的最新動作。
但是,競爭格局尚不明晰。美國總統(tǒng)特朗普揚言,出于國家安全考慮,將關(guān)閉TikTok這項背靠中國公司的業(yè)務(wù)。自此,TikTok開始和甲骨文和沃爾瑪公司洽談美國業(yè)務(wù)的出售事宜,并提出了交易協(xié)議,而特朗普一面有意默許這些協(xié)議,一面又對此表示懷疑。
根據(jù)移動應(yīng)用數(shù)據(jù)分析公司Sensor Tower的數(shù)據(jù),很明顯,Reels尚未吸引到很多用戶——如果Reels表現(xiàn)不錯,則會反映在Instagram的下載量中——這一數(shù)據(jù)應(yīng)該有所上升。但根據(jù)Sensor Tower的數(shù)據(jù),從8月5日至9月15日,Instagram在美國用戶中的安裝總數(shù)為470萬,與6月24日至8月4日期間的數(shù)量相同。
那些頗具影響力的“大V”——利用自己的聲望,能夠?qū)⑵放粕痰漠a(chǎn)品推廣給成千上萬的粉絲,并從中獲得一筆可觀的廣告費。他們普遍認為,Reels不像TikTok那樣,有著某些讓人眼前一亮的吸引力。因此,他們可能不會花很多時間在上面。
“Reels太簡單,功能只在基本水平上。”24歲的洛杉磯社交媒體網(wǎng)紅CJ Operamericano說。
Instagram的發(fā)言人表示,盡管尚未發(fā)布重大更新,但Reels正在努力“改善用戶體驗”;并在某些國家或地區(qū)測試位于Instagram應(yīng)用主頁面上的Reels選項卡,這將利用Instagram的10億用戶,大大增加Reels的曝光量。
不過,Instagram拒絕透露Reels的用戶數(shù)量。但是,為了證明Reels的吸引力,該公司提到了一些知名人士,說他們正在使用該服務(wù)來制作美食、美容和舞蹈等視頻。
為了把一些頂流網(wǎng)紅吸引到Reels上來,Instagram推出了補貼政策,主動幫助創(chuàng)作者承擔(dān)視頻制作成本。Instagram方面解釋稱,公司早已對“引流”這件事情“輕車熟路”。
然而,目前很多Reels上的發(fā)布者往往都只是轉(zhuǎn)推自己在Tiktok上的視頻,并不會把Reels當成主戰(zhàn)場。Reels對他們的意義多半在于“多渠道宣傳”,讓那些有意與Tiktok紅人合作卻不曾接觸過Tiktok的廣告商看到自己。
“很多客戶都是通過Instagram找到我的?!本W(wǎng)紅Operamericano在談起自己的品牌合作方時說道,“但Tiktok才是我的主要平臺?!?/p>
值得注意的是,Reels此番幾乎與特朗普的“Tiktok禁令”同步上線,很難說清楚是純屬巧合,還是有意為之。近期,字節(jié)跳動有意與甲骨文達成交易,在不涉及任何算法和技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)讓的基礎(chǔ)上將甲骨文列為“值得信任的合作伙伴”。特朗普方面在9月19日曾經(jīng)表示“原則性同意”,但據(jù)路透則9月21日報道,特朗普現(xiàn)下又聲稱:“如果美國公司對Tiktok沒有完全的控制權(quán),那么就不會批準這筆交易?!?/p>
來自美國得克薩斯州理查森市的一名16歲的TikTok用戶卡拉?比靈頓認為,Reels上的用戶平均年齡要比Tiktok上大一些,所以很難出現(xiàn)類似于Tiktok上“舞蹈挑戰(zhàn)”一樣的爆款活動。她表示自己日常仍然會使用Instagram,但不會去用Instagram的Reels。如果要和朋友聊天,她就會用Snapchat,如果要看短視頻,她則會選擇Tiktok.
當被問及“為什么不用Reels”時,比靈頓回答道:“它完全就是Tiktok的翻版,既然我已經(jīng)有Tiktok了,那么類似的軟件對我來說沒有任何意義?!?/p>
其實很多廣告商也對Reels持懷疑態(tài)度,近期Pivotal研究所針對54家大型廣告商的研究發(fā)現(xiàn),61%的受訪者并不認為Reels會是TikTok的有效競爭對手。至于Reels業(yè)務(wù)到底能不能幫助Instagram增加廣告收入,有一半的受訪者對此持保留態(tài)度。
盡管市場反應(yīng)冷淡,但分析師認為,現(xiàn)在就對Reels下結(jié)論還為時過早,未來也不能排除大量Instagram用戶受誘惑去嘗試Reels的可能性。
貝爾德股票研究所(Baird Equity Research)的分析師科林?塞巴斯蒂安說:“Instagram手中的流量市場可能會促使新媒體領(lǐng)域發(fā)生‘天翻地覆’的變化?!?/p>
這種樂觀預(yù)測主要還是植根于Reels本身的熱度。根據(jù)塞巴斯蒂安的說法,Reels第一天上線之時,谷歌后臺和“Reels”相關(guān)的搜索量就呈現(xiàn)出爆發(fā)式的增長態(tài)勢,這表明用戶對Reels的興趣及好奇感相當充足。盡管后幾個星期Reels的熱度開始放緩,但最近有關(guān)Reels的搜索量又開始重新溫和上漲,9月第一周,其搜索量就同比增長了15%。不過,目前的數(shù)據(jù)依然低于Reels亮相首日的戰(zhàn)績,大致穩(wěn)定在當日搜索量的1/4左右。
從長遠來看,Reels很可能會在將來殺入短視頻市場,成為有力的市場競爭者。但在它找到自己的定位特色之前,時髦的年輕人可能還是會更傾向于在Tiktok上繼續(xù)參加他們的“舞蹈挑戰(zhàn)”。(財富中文網(wǎng))
編譯:陳聰聰、陳怡軒
Six weeks ago, in an effort to play catch-up to the hugely popular TikTok, Instagram introduced Reels, a service for posting video clips of people dancing on roller skates and making homemade Hot Pockets. But so far, the verdict from users and advertisers is that Reels isn't much of a threat.
TikTok users complain that Reels' tools for editing videos are limited and that they don't let them add as many special effects to their videos, like slow motion. And some of the young Generation Z users said Instagram, the go-to social media service for adolescents just a few years ago, is now mostly where older people hang out.
“My overall impression of...Reels has been somewhat negative," Michael Levine, an analyst at Pivotal Research, said in a recent note to investors. "I think it's a copycat that doesn't have any traction just yet."
For Instagram and its parent company, Facebook, the stakes are considerable. Reels is their most recent effort to keep up with the latest social media trends and, by extension, retain their ad dominance.
The competitive landscape, however, is uncertain. President Trump threatened to shutter TikTok, owned by a Chinese company, over national security concerns. Since then, after TikTok proposed a deal involving Oracle and Walmart, Trump both tentatively approved the combination and cast doubts on it.
What is clear is that Reels has yet to gain many users, according to mobile app data analytics firm Sensor Tower. If it had, it would likely have been reflected in an increase in the number of downloads of Instagram's app. But the number of installs by U.S. users of Instagram from Aug. 5 to Sept. 15 totaled 4.7 million, the same number as from June 24 to Aug. 4, according to Sensor Tower.
Influencers, who are paid by brands to promote their products to their thousands of followers, generally agree that Reels lacks some of the bells and whistles of TikTok. Therefore, they don't spend much time on it, if any.
“Reels is pretty simple and basic,” says a 24-year-old social media influencer from Los Angeles who goes by the name of CJ Operamericano.
An Instagram spokesperson says Reels is working to “improve the experience" for users, though no major updates have rolled out yet. It's also testing a Reels tab on the home screen of Instagram's app in some countries, a spokesperson said, which would increase the visibility of Reels to Instagram's 1 billion users.
Instagram declined to disclose the number of users Reels has. Instead, as proof of the appeal of Reels, it pointed to several high-profile influencers who are using the service to make videos focused on food, beauty, and dance.
But to attract some top influencers to Reels, Instagram is covering the production costs of their videos. Instagram explains that it has a “l(fā)ong history” of trying to bring emerging creators to its service.
Still, several influencers who are now on Reels use it merely to cross-post their videos from TikTok, which doesn't require much extra effort. They also say it helps them show off their social media portfolio to advertisers, who want to reach TikTokers but don't use the service.
“A lot of clients find me through [Instagram],” says Operamericano, referring to brands who do deals with her. But “TikTok is my main platform.”
Reels, whether intentionally or by coincidence, debuted at around the same time that President Trump threw TikTok’s future into uncertainty. Since then, TikTok's owner, ByteDance, proposed spinning out the service and making enterprise software company Oracle TikTok's “trusted technology provider.” The deal falls short of the sale that Trump had initially demanded, and just two days after offering his approval Trump suggested he may reverse course and ultimately block the deal.
Kara Billington, a 16-year-old TikTok user from Richardson, Texas, says users of Instagram, and therefore Reels, seem to skew a little older, meaning fewer dance challenges. She still uses Instagram, but not Reels. To connect with friends, she typically uses Snapchat; for watching videos, she uses TikTok.
Asked why she doesn't use Reels, Billington says, "It's literally another TikTok, and there's already an app for that so there's no point."
Advertisers are also skeptical about Reels. A recent survey by Pivotal Research of 54 large ad agencies and advertisers found that 61% of respondents say Reels isn't an effective competitor to TikTok. Additionally, half of the respondents were unsure whether Instagram's ad revenue will increase because of the addition of Reels.
Despite the mostly lukewarm reception, analysts said it’s too soon to discount Reels. They cite Instagram's legions of users who could potentially be enticed to try Reels.
“Having the power of Instagram to push Reels to users can make the difference between ‘life and death’ for a new social media format,” says Colin Sebastian, an analyst at investment bank Baird Equity Research.
There are reasons for optimism. Interest in Reels spiked when it debuted, based on the number of times users searched for it on Google, according to Sebastian. After slowing for several weeks, it's now making modest gains again, with searches for Reels increasing 15% during the week of Sept. 9 compared to the previous week. However, searches are still four times lower now than during the week Reels debuted.
Reels has a big opportunity to become a dominant competitor in short-form video. But until it manages to step up its features, hip youngsters will continue dance their way to big money on TikTok.