Reels is doing lots of things well, but there are issues that still need work, and there's a theme for updates that could truly tilt the short-form video landscape in Meta's favor. Winning the users This is pretty basic, but it bears repeating: where users go, advertisers will follow. Just about every social media platform (Snap, Pinterest, Meta) big in the B2C space had a better-than-expected Q3 2023 earnings call, which is an indicator of a rising macroeconomy more than any individual platform developments. Much more impressive, and a more positive development for Meta's growth prospects: the estimated 40% jump in user time spent on Instagram since the Reels launch. As much as advertising capabilities related to Reels will be good for business, new UX-related features like swipe-left functionality and easily added music are investments directed at keeping people on the platform longer, which is the surest bet to earn more advertising spend.