Businesses need to have an open mindset when it comes to content creation and creators: Arun Srinivas

Arun Srinivas, Director & Head - Ads Business, Meta India, talks about the purpose of introducing #MadeOnReels, and how can businesses use Reels to deliver impact for their marketing efforts.

Instagram Reels came at a time when the demand for short-form videos was already high in the country. Due to this, Reels witnessed a meteoric rise in India and as of January 2023, India had a total of 229 million Instagram users, the largest Instagram audience in the world.

According to a recent statement by Meta, India is the most significant country for the brand in terms of all the new things that feature across its platforms -- Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. With 40% of businesses globally present on Reels, Meta recently rolled out their newest program – #MadeOnReels, which is an initiative that will bridge the gap between creators and brands, helping them attract audiences and increase their retention.

Meta also globally announced their expansion of Ads on Reels making it possible for more creators to earn money for their engaging reels. Social Samosa sat down with Arun Srinivas, Director & Head - Ads Business, Meta India to know more about their recent modal and how brands can make the best use of it and grow their businesses.

Edited Excerpts: 

Can you tell us more about #MadeOnReels?

Reels have been around the country for almost three years, and the fanbase has grown rapidly. Globally today, consumers share over 2 million reels on a daily basis. 

India is the home to the largest Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp user base in the world. And consumer patterns show that Indians are largely keen towards videos, spending a good amount of time on them. Another trend that stands out is the creator economy in India which has grown and today thrives on various social media platforms. Their contribution to video content has grown equally. 

Meta as a platform serves businesses and brands as well. And as a marketer, they want to leverage reels to communicate with their audience as well. Therefore, the concept of #MadeOnReels fits perfectly into the picture, where the creators are on one side and the businesses are on the other. 

What are some factors that brands need to keep in mind while creating content for  Reels; with creators or otherwise? 

Some popular myths that need to be broken when it comes to creating content on Reels:

• Reels and Instagram aren’t a metrocentric phenomenon; it cuts far deep and wide across the nation.
• Reels isn’t just a visual category. Reels is for every industry as a result of the way that sectors like banking, finance, and automotive industry, etc have taken use of this category and changed their business KPIs. 
• People don’t spend enough time on Reels. In fact, the usage of reels effectively has caused the metrics for recall and conversion to soar across categories. 

Recommendations for Businesses while creating content on Reels:

• Businesses need to think surface first. Get your format set up before acquiring content, either from a creator or oneself.
• More than 40% of businesses globally are on Reels; including small and medium-sized businesses. The sheer penetration of Reels has moved recall for brands. To be included in this lot, businesses need to figure out where a certain type of creative works and more importantly not create it at the last minute.  
• Sometimes, your assets are already ready for other mediums like Print or TV, but they can’t always be repurposed on Reels. Businesses need to give Reels its space and create content that works best there. 

Also Read: What should brands keep in mind while creating content for Reels?

Do you think to be successful on a platform like Reels, brands need to have a ‘Creator’ mindset? 

I wouldn’t say that. What I would say is, businesses need to have an open mindset when it comes to content creation and creators. 

Brands need to be open to the idea of different geographical aspects and regions when it comes to creators. They need to figure out a way to fit into the creator’s persona to better connect with their audience. 

Are there any learnings that brands can draw from creators for building a brand on Reels? 

Brands need to understand and keep in mind that not every asset that creators create will have the same appearance and feel as the assets made by them. The creators’ own essence is yet another marketing tool in the brand’s media mix and creators and their content further complement a brand’s core message. 

What are some of your favourite brand-creator collabs in recent times which are good model use cases? 

Loreal has done some amazing work in India. Similarly, Puma has done a great job with a celebrity like Virat Kohli, who’s a creator on his own. 

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These brands demonstrate the potential of stories to be told, and as long as creator freedom and expression is allowed, business results will also come. 

One piece of advice to legacy brands on how to extend their persona on Reels and one piece of advice to new-age brands to prepare to #MadeOnReels.

For established brands, the first challenge for established brands is to move beyond the notion that Reel is a cool medium to explore. Given that short-form videos are becoming increasingly popular in the country, they need to be part of a brand's identity. 

For new-age brands, the challenge they face is how do they widen their user base. The advice would be to find out if they can widen their appeal using reels. They can also start using Reels for performance metrics. 

Is there a brand Reel that you’ve come across that left you in awe? 

The financial service use case was very inspiring for me. I am not a creator myself, and I did not expect that this would generate such fantastic business metrics. The brand used Reels to simplify mutual funds and explain how their products can be used in real time, through the use of vernacular and local language reach.

One capability brands should be building to be relevant to Reels

Brands need to shed the idea of getting everything perfect; from makeup to camera angles and quality. We live in a world where consumers get information from every medium, short-form medium being one of them. Stories need to be told in more authentic and new-age ways; shedding the outer covers.