Instagram Tests New 'Your Feed' for Reels

- The "Your Feed" test allows for a highly customizable viewing experience, letting users pin and reorder different feeds, including options for "Following," "Friends," "Latest" (chronological), and even a "Posts only" feed that excludes Reels. - Instagram's prioritization of Reels is a direct response to the format's performance; Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri has stated that Reels and Direct Messages are the platform's biggest drivers of growth. - Data from 2025 shows that Reels have a significantly higher average reach rate (30.81%) compared to carousels (14.45%) and single images (13.14%), making them a critical format for organic visibility. - For restaurants and hospitality businesses, effective Reels strategies include showcasing behind-the-scenes kitchen operations, the artful plating of dishes, and featuring the restaurant's unique ambiance to visually entice potential diners. - Health and wellness brands are finding success on Reels with content like patient testimonials, myth-busting "dos and don'ts" for exercises, and sharing personal wellness journeys, which helps to build trust and community. - For retail and e-commerce, a powerful tactic is to encourage user-generated content (UGC) by creating a branded hashtag and featuring customer-created Reels, as 79% of consumers say UGC highly impacts their purchasing decisions. - AI-powered tools are streamlining content creation for small businesses; CapCut can automate the editing of video clips into professional-quality Reels, while Canva's AI features can quickly design visually appealing graphics and templates. - ChatGPT can be used as a tool to overcome writer's block for social media copy by generating tailored Instagram captions. Providing specific prompts that include the target audience, brand voice, and a call-to-action can produce effective and engaging text for posts.