Brands on Reels Must Show Their Logo in First 5 Seconds

Over 50% of time on Instagram today is spent watching Reels. Year-over-year, time spent with video on the platform grew by more than 30%. For marketers, this isn’t just a statistic – it’s a clear signal of where to direct their resources.

What Works For Brand Campaigns

Research by Toluna for Meta brought specific numbers. It turned out that dynamic brand display – when the logo or name appears in the video multiple times in different scenes – increases the likelihood of ranking in the top 20% of ads by purchase intent 1.8 times.

Another strong element is the combination of music and spoken word. When a video uses both voiceover and a music background, the chance of ranking among top-performing ads by brand interest grows twice.

Source: Facebook.com/business

Similarly, this applies to how the message is delivered. Ads that communicate the main message both visually and through audio have a 1.8 times higher chance of positive results in brand interest.

Surprisingly effective are also everyday life situations. Videos capturing people in daily activities have a 50% higher chance of strong purchase intent than those not using such scenes.

Completely Different Rules For Direct Response

Those doing performance marketing focused on immediate sales must proceed differently. Here, the product rules. When the product is shown multiple times in the video, the probability of the ad ending up in the top 20% based on purchase intent grows 2.7 times.

The ratio of brand to product is interesting. Videos work best where the brand is present but doesn’t cover more than 25% of video duration. In that case, the chance of success is higher by 4.8 times.

The strongest factor, however, is adding context around the product – technical specifications, benefits, unique features. This increases the chance of placement in the top 20% by 5.3 times.

Call-to-action also has its place. A visual or audio call to action improves results 1.9 times. And using emojis as a native platform element helps 2.5 times.

Audio Foundation For Both Categories

One rule applies universally – combine music and speech. For DR campaigns, this means a 2.1 times increase in the chance for top placement; for brand campaigns, 2.0 times.

Meta recommends not forgetting the hook – the opening shot or moment that captures attention. When created using both visuals and sound together, purchase intent grows by 50%.

The 9:16 format, vertical video, native elements – all of this is standard today. But research shows that detail in execution matters. It’s not about uploading anything in vertical. It’s about precise brand timing, balancing elements, using sound wisely.

Test and learn as the only way

Facebook recommends every brand create their own testing system. A/B tests, incrementality measurement, variant comparison. No universal formula will work for all products and all audiences equally.

Numbers from research are a useful starting point. But every e-commerce must find out what works in their category, for their customers, at their price level.