What Are Instagram Reels and How Can You Create Them?

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

SAEDNEWS: Reels on Instagram is a feature for creating and sharing short videos, typically ranging from 15 seconds to 1 minute, with music, effects, and editing tools. In this article, you’ll learn what Instagram Reels are and how to publish one.

What Are Instagram Reels and How Can You Create Them?

According to Saednews, In its early days, Instagram mainly allowed users to share photos, like posts, and comment on other people’s photos and text. Over the years, however, Instagram has continuously expanded its features. Instagram Reels is one of the newer features introduced to give users more creative ways to share short-form video content.

What Are Instagram Reels?

Instagram Reels is a feature that allows users to create short, entertaining videos and enhance them with music, visual effects, text, and other creative tools.

Reels were introduced in 2020 and quickly became one of Instagram’s main video features. Users can record short clips directly through Instagram or upload existing videos from their device. Depending on the available Instagram version and account features, Reels can support videos of varying lengths.

One of the main advantages of Reels is access to a large library of music and audio. Users can choose from popular songs, sounds, and other audio tracks to make their videos more engaging.

Where Did Instagram Reels Come From?

Instagram has often introduced features inspired by ideas that became popular on other social media platforms. For example, Instagram Stories were heavily influenced by Snapchat’s disappearing-content format.

Reels entered the market during the rapid growth of short-form video platforms, particularly TikTok. The feature was designed to allow Instagram users to create and discover short, entertaining videos without leaving the platform.

What Is the Difference Between an Instagram Post and a Reel?

The main difference is the format and purpose of the content.

Traditional Instagram posts can include photos, carousels, and videos, while Reels are specifically designed for short-form video content. Reels also provide dedicated creative tools such as music, effects, transitions, and other editing options.

Reels are particularly useful for reaching people beyond your existing followers because Instagram can recommend them through areas such as the Reels feed and Explore page.

What Is the Difference Between TikTok and Instagram Reels?

TikTok and Instagram Reels are both focused on short-form video content. TikTok is a standalone social media platform built primarily around short videos, while Reels is integrated directly into Instagram.

Both platforms offer features such as music, effects, filters, editing tools, and algorithm-based video recommendations. The main difference is that Instagram Reels is part of the wider Instagram ecosystem, where users can also interact with Stories, posts, direct messages, and other features.

How to Create an Instagram Reel

There are several ways to access the Reels creation interface on Instagram:

  1. Tap the + button near the top of the Instagram app and select the Reel option.

  2. Tap the + button at the bottom of the screen and choose Reel.

  3. Swipe through Instagram’s camera interface until you reach the Reels section.

Once the Reels camera opens, you can start recording your video. You can also select an existing video from your phone’s gallery.

After recording, Instagram provides editing tools that allow you to enhance your video. You can add music or audio, effects, text, stickers, emojis, and other elements. You can also trim unwanted sections of the video before publishing it.

When your Reel is ready, you can add a caption, choose a cover image, tag people, and adjust other publishing settings before sharing it with your audience.