Tag: Facebook

Meta is expanding the availability of  Facebook Reels for iOS and Android to more than 20 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. Meta is also introducing better ways to help creators to earn money, new creation tools and more places to watch and create Facebook Reels.

Prior to this launch Reels was available on Facebook in India, Mexico, Canada, the U.S, and is now available across sub-Saharan Africa in: Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, Swaziland, South Africa, Seychelles, Senegal, Rwanda, Nigeria, Namibia, Mali, Malawi, Lesotho, Kenya, Guinea, Ghana, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Burkina Faso.

Commenting on the launch Nunu Ntshingila, Regional Director for sub-Saharan Africa at Meta says, “We’ve seen that video now accounts for almost all of the time people spend on Facebook and Instagram, and Reels is our fastest growing content format by far. This is why we’re focused on making Reels the best way for creators to get discovered, connect with their audience and earn money. We also want to make it fun and easy for people to find and share relevant and entertaining content.”

Meta is also creating a variety of opportunities for creators to earn money for their reels. The Reels Play bonus program, part of Meta’s $1 billion creator investment, pays eligible creators up to $35,000 a month based on the views of their qualifying reels. In the coming months, the bonus program will be extended to more countries, so more creators can get rewarded for creating reels that their communities love.

As part of the launch Meta is also launching brand suitability controls, including Publisher Lists, Blocklists, Inventory Filters and Delivery Reports for Banner and Sticker Ads in Facebook Reels in every region they are available, giving advertisers more control over how their ads appear in places they don’t consider suitable for their brand or campaign. Additionally, Meta has been testing full-screen and immersive ads in between Facebook Reels since October of last year, and will roll them out to more places around the world over the coming months. Just like with organic content on Facebook, people can comment, like, view, save, share and skip them.

More Editing Features

In addition to the features announced last year, creators around the world will be able to access:

• Remix: Create your own reel alongside an existing, publicly-shared reel on Facebook. When you create a Remix, you can create a reel that includes all or part of another creator’s reel.
• 60-second Reels: Make reels up to 60 seconds long.
• Drafts: You will soon be able to create a reel and choose to “Save As Draft” below the Save button.
• Video Clipping: In the coming months, we’re planning to roll out video clipping tools that will make it easier for creators who publish live or long-form, recorded videos to test different formats.

Create and Discover Reels in New Places

Over the coming weeks, the following updates will be rolled out to make it easier to create and discover reels in new places:

• Reels in Stories: You can share public reels to Stories on Facebook, making it easy to share favourite reels with friends and giving creators more visibility and reach. You’ll also be able to create reels from existing public stories.
• Reels in Watch: You’ll be able to watch reels directly within the Watch tab and we’re developing tools to help you create reels in the Watch tab as well.
• Top of Feed: We’re adding a new Reels label at the top of Feed so you’ll be able to easily create and watch reels in just a few clicks.
• Suggested Reels in Feed: In select countries, we’re starting to suggest reels that you may like in your Feed from people you do not already follow.

Meta is also exploring ways to make it easier for creators to share Reels to both their Facebook and Instagram audiences, such as cross posting.

You can find Facebook Reels in Feed, Groups and Watch. When viewing a reel, you can follow the creator directly from the video, like and comment on it or share it with friends.

Facebook has announced the launch of Reels Ads in 25  African countries that had the Reels feature on Instagram. Reel Ads will enable businesses on Instagram to reach greater audiences besides allowing people to discover inspiring new content from brands and creators.

Prior to this launch, Reels Ads was successfully tested in select countries globally. Reels it to 25 countries across SSA  including;  Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tunisia, Swaziland, South Africa, Seychelles, Senegal, Nigeria, Namibia, Morocco, Mali, Malawi, Libya, Lesotho, Guinea, Ghana, Egypt, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Algeria.

Commenting about the launch, Jocelyne Muhutu, Facebook’s Strategic  Media Partnerships Manager, SSA  described Reels as the best place on Instagram to reach people who don’t follow you and a growing global stage where brands and creators can be discovered by anyone. “We see Reels as a great way for people to discover new content on Instagram, and so ads in Reels are a natural fit. Brands of all sizes can take advantage of this new creative format in an environment where people are already being entertained,” she added.

Reels ads will be full screen and vertical, similar to ads in Stories, and will appear in between individual Reels. As with regular Reels content, these ads will loop and can be up to 30 seconds. People can comment, like, view, save and share Reels ads.

Reels ads will appear in the most popular places to access Reels content. This includes the Reels tab, Reels in Stories, Reels in Explore and Reels in your feed. Once a user taps into a reel from Stories, Feed, the Reels Tab or Explore, they will enter a viewer that exclusively shows reels that scroll vertically. 

Just like any other ad on Instagram, Instagram will also provide people with controls on the Reels ads they see. If people see an ad they don’t like, they can skip the ad, or tap the menu on the post to hide or report it. 

For more information on how to create a Reels ad, visit the Instagram Help Center.

Nairobi, Kenya; Facebook and Creatives Garage have launched  #RealpeopleRealstories – a campaign that showcases the stories of ordinary people using creativity and innovation to inspire their communities. Through its partnership with Creatives Garage, a social enterprise that works with creatives, Facebook aims to support the creative industry in Kenya by providing a platform where they can amplify their work and inspire others.

Featuring short documentaries debuted on Facebook, the #RealpeopleRealstories campaign showcases the stories of 10 Realpeople, hosted on realpeople.creativegarage.org, an interactive microsite where people can learn more about the campaign. In collaboration with Creatives Garage, Facebook will also offer webinars for those in the creativity industry, on audience engagement best practices, and how to monetize content on Facebook.

Commenting on the campaign, Facebook’s Communications Manager for Eastern Africa Janet Kemboi said, “At Facebook, we support and invest in various communities across the continent. One of our key roles is investing and supporting African youth with diverse creative talent. #RealpeopleRealstories aims to encourage people to share their experiences and motivate others to find solutions to everyday challenges. We are delighted to work with Creatives Garage to amplify the untold stories of ordinary people who are inspiring their communities through their work.”  

Creatives Garage Founder and Managing Director Liz Kilili welcomed the partnership saying  it will help equip those in the  creative industry in Kenya with the right skills to monetise their content:. “Facebook tools have been beneficial for creative and innovative talent across Africa. Now more than ever, creatives need innovative ways to share content that could provide sustainable income streams. While working on the #RealpeopleRealstories campaign, we pulled together a diverse selection of people from across the creative industry in Kenya. We’re very excited that our team of creators have been given the chance to tell these ten powerful stories. Creatives Garage is looking forward to future partnerships that will benefit the creative industry at large.”

#RealpeopleRealstories is part of Facebook’s ongoing efforts in highlighting the successes of people using its platforms. The campaign which runs till December 16th 2020 also highlights how Facebook and Instagram helps people stay connected, express themselves, and pursue goals that help build their communities.

Facebook owner Mark Zuckerburg has revealed that Facebook is set to undergo major changes in their news feed in the coming months. Here is his statement about changes;

One of our big focus areas for 2018 is making sure the time we all spend on Facebook is time well spent.

We built Facebook to help people stay connected and bring us closer together with the people that matter to us. That’s why we’ve always put friends and family at the core of the experience. Research shows that strengthening our relationships improves our well-being and happiness.

But recently we’ve gotten feedback from our community that public content — posts from businesses, brands and media — is crowding out the personal moments that lead us to connect more with each other.

It’s easy to understand how we got here. Video and other public content have exploded on Facebook in the past couple of years. Since there’s more public content than posts from your friends and family, the balance of what’s in News Feed has shifted away from the most important thing Facebook can do — help us connect with each other.

We feel a responsibility to make sure our services aren’t just fun to use, but also good for people’s well-being. So we’ve studied this trend carefully by looking at the academic research and doing our own research with leading experts at universities.

The research shows that when we use social media to connect with people we care about, it can be good for our well-being. We can feel more connected and less lonely, and that correlates with long term measures of happiness and health. On the other hand, passively reading articles or watching videos — even if they’re entertaining or informative — may not be as good.

Based on this, we’re making a major change to how we build Facebook. I’m changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping you find relevant content to helping you have more meaningful social interactions.

We started making changes in this direction last year, but it will take months for this new focus to make its way through all our products. The first changes you’ll see will be in News Feed, where you can expect to see more from your friends, family and groups.

As we roll this out, you’ll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media. And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard — it should encourage meaningful interactions between people.

For example, there are many tight-knit communities around TV shows and sports teams. We’ve seen people interact way more around live videos than regular ones. Some news helps start conversations on important issues. But too often today, watching video, reading news or getting a page update is just a passive experience.

Now, I want to be clear: by making these changes, I expect the time people spend on Facebook and some measures of engagement will go down. But I also expect the time you do spend on Facebook will be more valuable. And if we do the right thing, I believe that will be good for our community and our business over the long term too.

At its best, Facebook has always been about personal connections. By focusing on bringing people closer together — whether it’s with family and friends, or around important moments in the world — we can help make sure that Facebook is time well spent.

Announcing a new Express Wi-Fi by Facebook partnership with Tizeti in Nigeria at AfricaCom, this partnership joins Surf in Kenya and Coollink in Nigeria

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, November 8, 2017/ — As part of Facebook’s (www.Facebook.com) mission to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together, the Facebook connectivity and platform partnerships team will be on the ground in Cape Town at AfricaCom 2017 (http://APO.af/lb7KAQ)  from 7-10 November. Taking part in a number of events, these aim at showcasing how the platform is being used by businesses, start-ups and individuals across the continent to drive the digital economy.

“We are committed to working with people in Africa connect, helping entrepreneurs and developers grow, and to eliminating barriers to connectivity,” says Emeka Afigbo, Head of Platform Partnerships Middle East and Africa. “AfricaCom 2017 is an opportunity to share what we’re doing to serve the 108 million people on the continent who use Facebook each month, as well as how we’re empowering entrepreneurs and startups”.

Announcing a new Express Wi-Fi by Facebook partnership with Tizeti in Nigeria at AfricaCom, this partnership joins Surf in Kenya and Coollink in Nigeria – all aimed at enabling more communities to connect to the internet easily and for an affordable rate.

During AfricaCom 2017, Facebook will also be taking part in the following events and panels:

8 November 2017, 09:50 -10:30: Uche Ofodile will participate in a discussion: Affordable Internet access for all: empowering Africa’s connectivity champions to bridge the digital divide. (http://APO.af/Gm5YnC)

9 November 2017, 10:50-11:10:  Emeka Afigbo will deliver a keynote address: Empowering the architects of Africa’s digital future: fueling innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. (http://APO.af/38MhxX)

9 November 2017, 11:30 – 12:00: Emeka Afigbo will take part in a panel: How are large corporate & tech leaders supporting African startups and stimulating the development of Africa’s tech startup ecosystem? (http://APO.af/38MhxX)

Facebook events in Cape Town during the week include:

Women in Tech meet- up (7 November) – a gathering of over 50 women in tech from across Cape Town, this meet-up explored the challenges faced by women in this sector in South Africa, and tangible ways to encourage more women into technology.

Developer Circle meet-up (http://APO.af/xPspHH) (7 November) – bringing together close to 20 members of the Cape Town Developer Circle for an evening of networking

Cape Town Partner Workshop (10 November) – an invitation-only full-day workshop hosted by Facebook, designed for Cape Town partners to explore Facebook products, platform partnerships, and the latest from the engineering teams.

To download images from the events: http://APO.af/pKdT8y.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Facebook.