YouTube’s ‘Reels’ Takes on ‘Stories’ 

2017 was packed with technology developments, trends and bandwagons, including various social media platforms getting into the “Stories” game.

Well, before the year closes out, one more social media service has decided to announce the creation of its own Stories-like service.

YouTube’s Reels

Snapchat, the video and photo sharing social media service, was the original app that created the Stories option. The app’s service was so popular that Instagram, Skype and Messenger decided to create their own Stories-like platforms, too.

Now, YouTube is throwing its hat into the social media Stories ring with its Reels.

YouTube announced Reels’ beta in late November. Reels is reported to be a Stories-like new feature, but it won’t be an exact copy of other Stories-like services.

Although the app won’t be released to the public anytime soon, it will be available to YouTube creators with more than 10,000 subscribers — but there’s no word yet on exactly when. Once live, users will be able to access Reels via a new tab on YouTube’s channel.

The “Reels” purpose

YouTube told TechCrunch that it created Reels to allow YouTube users to publish content that’s shorter than a typical full-length video. These shorter videos could help YouTubers engage with their fans in different ways, driving fan engagement.

YouTube content creators will be able to create Reels “by shooting a few quick mobile videos of up to 30 seconds each,” TechCrunch reported. Then, YouTubers can add filters, music, text and more, including new YouTube-centric stickers. TechCrunch added that “unlike Stories on other platforms, YouTube creators can make multiple Reels” that won’t expire.

Content flow

TechCrunch explained that Reels will allow YouTube to keep its same look. Other Stories-like services actually changed the appearance of their respective social services, which irked some users.

“Since Reels are posted to a separate tab on the creator’s channel, similar to Community [another YouTube feature] itself, viewers could choose to go watch these new videos or not,” TechCrunch reported.

“But if users engage with Reels, then YouTube will take that as a signal that you’d like to see them more often. That could trigger their appearance on the viewer’s YouTube home page as recommendations.”

What this means for you

Just like every new addition to social media, you will be able to use Reels to reach fans in new and exciting ways.

For example, if you’ve found success with other social media platforms’ Stories-like features, Reels will probably be a welcome service for you once it goes public. The ability to post several fun, 30 second clips that you can customize could help you better connect—or at least connect in a different way—with your YouTube fans.

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Abbie Stutzer is a writer and editor from Lawrence, Kansas. Find her on Twitter at @abbiestutzer and on Insta at @abbiestutzer. Email her at abbie@ynotcam.com.