The Rise of Reels: Instagram’s Winning Strategy Against TikTok
In a stunning reversal of fortunes, Instagram has reclaimed its throne as the world’s most downloaded app, dethroning the once-unstoppable TikTok juggernaut. This seismic shift can be attributed to Instagram’s strategic embrace of short-form video content, a realm once dominated by its Chinese-owned rival.
Instagram’s meteoric rise to prominence began in 2010, fueled by its innovative photo- and video-sharing capabilities and bolstered by the influencer phenomenon that saw celebrities like the Kardashians grace its platform. However, in recent years, the app faced formidable competition from TikTok, the short video platform that captivated users worldwide with its addictive content.
Recognizing the threat posed by TikTok, Instagram made a bold move in 2020 by introducing Reels, a feature that allowed users to create and share short, engaging videos. This strategic maneuver, widely viewed as an imitation of TikTok’s core functionality, ultimately proved to be a game-changer for Instagram.
According to data compiled by Sensor Tower, a renowned market intelligence company, Instagram was downloaded a staggering 767 million times globally in 2023, marking a 20% increase from the previous year. In contrast, TikTok’s downloads grew by a mere 4%, reaching 733 million – a notable shift from its reign as the most popular download globally between 2018 and 2022.
Sensor Tower attributes Instagram’s resurgence to the remarkable popularity of its Reels feature, combined with its established strengths in photo-sharing and the ephemeral Stories feature, which itself drew inspiration from the pioneering Snapchat app.
According to Sensor Tower, TikTok has just over 1.1 billion active users each month, compared to Instagram’s roughly 1.5 billion. Nonetheless, users of TikTok spend an average of 95 minutes a day on the app, as opposed to 62 minutes on Instagram, which emphasises how captivating and addictive the platform is.
Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder and CEO of Instagram’s parent company, Meta, has long recognized TikTok as a formidable competitive threat. In 2022, he acknowledged that Meta’s apps faced numerous competitors vying for users’ attention, with platforms like TikTok “growing very quickly.” Reports also emerged that Meta had paid a Republican consulting firm to sow public distrust around its rival.
Amidst Instagram’s triumphant comeback, TikTok faces mounting political opposition in the United States due to concerns over its Chinese ownership. This week, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers introduced legislation that could potentially ban the app if its parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, fails to divest its ownership within approximately six months.
As the battle for digital supremacy rages on, Instagram’s strategic pivot and embrace of short-form video content have propelled it back to the top, reclaiming its position as the world’s most downloaded app – at least for now.
