If you already cut your long videos or podcasts into Reels and send people elsewhere to watch, Instagram now wants the full video to live on the app too. The platform is testing long-form, horizontal video that turns your short clips into a direct path to the whole episode, which could change how you plan everything you post there.
This is a big change in direction for Instagram. It closed its last long-form experiment, IGTV, in 2022, and in 2024 Instagram head Adam Mosseri explained that long-form video was "less symbiotic" with sharing and connecting with friends. That view has shifted as more people watch Instagram together on the big screen, and Instagram VP of product Tessa Lyons now says "we need more than just short-form video." Here's what Instagram is bringing and what you can do now to be ready.
What's changed?
Instagram is testing Features, a new format for horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long. Mosseri and Lyons announced the test on October 26 in a long-form video of their own, which Mosseri opened by admitting, "For a long time, I have been against doing long-form video on Instagram."
Features are currently available to a small test group. Mosseri was open about how early it is when he showed the format to Colin and Samir, noting that "we don't have a lot of content yet." In the same conversation, he showed how Features take up two grid spaces on Explore, so they stand out from regular posts.
The part most worth your attention is how Features connect to Reels. In his conversation with Colin and Samir, Mosseri said Instagram is building tools to help you clip content up, so a long video can also live as short pieces. Viewers who enjoy a clip can then decide to dive in and get the full video.
Lyons described the same idea in the full-length version of the announcement video, explaining that "people might discover a long-form video that they love by seeing a Reel." Your Reels stay the way people find you, and Features give them somewhere to go next.
Mosseri's caption on the announcement talks about giving creators "more room to tell their stories" with the communities they've already built on the app. That makes Features most useful if you already have an audience on Instagram that enjoys your clips.
Pay is the one detail to keep an eye on. Instagram hasn't shared how Features will earn yet, so it's worth watching for updates as the test grows.
Why this matters for creators
Long-form growth has always depended on getting people to press play in the first place. If you make podcasts, interviews or vlogs, you've probably used Reels to win attention and then sent viewers to YouTube or a podcast app for the rest. Features let that whole journey happen in one place, so a viewer who enjoys your clip can keep watching without leaving the app.
This is likely to help most if you have an engaged Instagram following that you'd love to turn into long-form viewers. A Reel that opens the full episode directly means fewer taps, so more of those viewers stay with you.
The TV is a big part of why Instagram is making this move. Lyons said people like to watch Reels and video together, and that Instagram has seen this happening on TV. If you make comedy, commentary or conversation shows, Features give your work a place on the screen a whole household can watch together.
Ninety minutes gives you plenty of room, but you don’t need to fill it. Valentin Farkasch, host of the Orbit For Creators podcast, explained in his tips for podcast creators that his hour-long chats usually become “roughly half an hour of finished video.” A tighter cut gives someone arriving from a Reel every reason to stay to the end.
The real question for you is whether the extra reach and watch time are worth it before there's a clear way to earn from Features. If most of your income comes from sponsors, memberships or your own products, more time with your audience is likely to support those either way. Our guide on why it's hard to monetize an engaged audience covers ways to turn that attention into income.
Uppbeat's take: Let your Reels lead to your full videos, and keep YouTube in the mix for now
We think Features are good news if you already make long videos. Instagram is building around something you likely do already, which is cutting a long video into short clips that tease the rest. Now those clips can lead somewhere on the same app.
Our one reminder is that this is still a test, and Instagram hasn't said how their long-form videos will earn. Treat Features as an extra home for your work rather than a replacement for the platform that pays you today. Here's what we'd do now:
- Pick one long video to test with. Choose a recent podcast episode, interview or vlog that already did well with your audience.
- Plan your clips before you post. Mark three to five moments that stand on their own, then give each one a strong first line. Ignace Aleya's tips on video intros that hook viewers are a good place to start.
- Frame for both shapes. Keep your subject near the center of your horizontal shot so clips crop cleanly into vertical Reels.
- Edit for new viewers. Trim in-jokes and references to earlier episodes, so someone arriving from Explore can follow along from the first minute.
- Compare your results. After a few weeks, check the Feature's watch time against the same video on YouTube, and look at how many views came from your clips.
- Keep clipping while you wait. If you're not in the test yet, regular clips from your long videos will give you a library of Reels ready to link up once Features reach you.
Make your Reels the way in to your long videos
Features let your Reels lead viewers to your full podcast, interview or vlog without leaving Instagram, so it’s worth planning your clips and your long video together. The easiest way to get ready is to look back at a long video you’re proud of and spot the moments that would work as standalone Reels, so you have clips ready to link up when Features reach you.
If you want a deeper look at turning one long video into shorter pieces, our Creator Questions guide on whether it's worth making short versions of long videos looks at how short edits can help a long video reach new viewers.
