Meta Adds New Tools for Reels Creators, Including A/B Testing, Reach-Based Incentives and More

Meta’s adding a range of new tools and upgrades to help creators glean more insight into the content performance, and optimize their approach.

And as Meta looks to lure more creators, especially for Reels content, some of these could be particularly appealing, with Meta even offering increased reach and exposure as a reward for posting.

First off, Meta’s adding a new A/B testing option for Reels creators, so you can experiment with the best approaches to your content.

As you can see in this example, Reels creators will be able to text four different versions of each Reel, with alternative captions and/or thumbnail images. The system will then distribute each version to a subset of your initial audience, with the winner determined based on which variation sees the most engagement after 30 minutes.

From there, the top performer will be shown to more users outside of that initial test pool.

So, it’s not extensive feedback testing, but it will give you some good data on initial response to specific elements.

You’ll also be able to see the full results of your test, so that you can learn from what worked, and what didn’t.

It’s a good way to help Reels creators maximize their performance, by providing direct insight into each experiment, which will then guide your approach on future posts.

On another front, Meta’s also added a new way to create Reels from your existing video clips.

As you can see in this sequence, now, when creating a Reels, you’ll be able to select “Your content” as a source, which will then let you choose from your existing videos. You can then trim and edit your clips into the Reels format, providing another way to create Reels clips.

And given that Reels are the fastest-growing content type in the app, driving 200 billion views a day across Facebook and IG, it’s probably worth considering how you can tap into this, any way that you can.

Meta’s also rolling out a new “Achievements hub” in its Professional Dashboard, which will display creators’ various achievements in one place.

Achievements are Meta’s way of driving specific behaviors and post types, by incentivizing creators with rewards and badges in-stream.

And there’s one new incentive, in particular, that’s likely to generate a lot of interest.

“Creators who are 18+ that finish all Progression levels can become eligible to get increased visibility in Feed or have the Rising Creator label featured on their page or profile – both of which may help you get discovered more easily.”

Any additional reach is always valuable, and by adding this as a reward, you can bet that a lot more creators will be looking to complete the various challenges, in order to generate maximum exposure for their content.

Meta’s also added a new content management element to its Professional Dashboard, where creators will be able to see all of their posts, Reels, and videos in one place.

“From there, you can easily view each individual post and take actions like hiding it from your profile and pages or moving it to the trash. You can also see content performance insights. Previously creators had to go through each post individually in their feed.” 

Meta’s also rolling out new account highlights cards, so you can more easily see how your content is performing over time.

Which is very similar to the data notes provided in YouTube Studio, guiding your development based on each element.

Meta’s also adding new Reels metrics, including Reels-specific Reach broken down by followers and non-followers, distribution scores, and retention graphs. It’s also adding more insight into Reels replays to further contextualize your engagement.

Finally, Meta’s also adding new shortcuts within the Creator Support Hub that will link you to more relevant Help Center pages.

These are some good updates, that’ll no doubt help creators put more focus on Reels, and drive them to maximize their Reels content performance. Though there is some level of concern in giving users more reach within the Meta eco-system.

For years, Meta has been telling us that it needs a News Feed algorithm to sort through the thousands of posts that its system could show you each day, in order to highlight the most relevant content for each individual. But now, Meta’s inserting more content from profiles that you don’t follow, while it’s also giving extra reach boosts to creators, and to paying Meta Verified brands.  

Does that negate the need for the algorithm to some degree? And if Meta’s showing you more and more content from people based not on your interests, but on its own boosting incentives, will that not eventually erode that process?

I guess, it largely depends on how many creators and brands take this up, but it seems like it could be a problem if it’s a popular option.

You can learn more about Meta’s latest creator tools updates here.